7 brilliant things to do this weekend

Featuring awesome gigs, live theatre, Hollywood blockbusters and more

It's hot, it's sweaty, so what better news could there be than the fact that Beijing's outdoor pools open this weekend? Once you've splashed about, there are plenty of brilliant activities everywhere from the hutongs to the Great Wall to get you going.

THINGS TO DO

Great Wall Clean-up Hike

Jiankou Great Wall. 3 Jun. 260RMB.

No, you're not cleaning up leftover snow seen in this exceptional picture above – get your boots on and head to one of the wilder parts of the Great Wall to pick up the trash left behind by arrogant sods too lazy and rude to do it themselves. The annual clean-up hike is a Beijing Hikers tradition, this year held in partnership with Gung Ho! Pizza, who will be providing dough-based snacks at the end.

FOOD & DRINK

Jing A Bottle Launch at Chez Gérard

Chez Gérard. Jun 2. Free

The new and expanded Chez Gérard, at 45 Beiluoguxiang, is hosting an afternoon hangout session with Jing A beers, half-price deals on cheese and charcuterie and all kinds of dumplings from your boy Mr Shi. 98RMB will get you a mix of four different bottles of Jing A beer plus a free gift of a bottle opener keyring.

MUSIC

Leo Kalyan

Yugong Yishan. Jun 1. 150RMB

Based in East London, Kalyan spent his youth travelling between the UK and Lahore. After experimenting with making music for several years, in 2014 he began teaching himself to produce in earnest and subsequently uploaded remixes (or 'refixes') of Jessie Ware's 'Running' and Duke Dumont's 'Need U' to SoundCloud. The tracks caught on, gaining blog attention and helping Kalyan rise to the top of influential music blog aggregator Hype Machine.

The Devils & Libido

School Live Bar. Jun 3. 60RMB

The Devils & Libido are an alternative noisecore two-piece from Tokyo, and last year they put on one of the most explosive shows of 2017. With bass and drums combining to form a sound that is new-wave noise, hardcore, math noise, but at the same time pop-inspired and melodic, The Devils & Libido are sure to bring a fire set.

Knower

Blue Note. May 31. 320RMB

Indietronica duo Knower – made up of Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi – first started gaining a dedicated following after releasing their music on YouTube. Since then, they've since gone on to perform at Bonnaroo, had their music featured on Grand Theft Auto V and toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Check them out at the slightly incongruous jazz venue Blue Note tonight.

FILM

The Young Karl Marx

Cinemas around Beijing

This sturdy biopic examines the life of Karl Marx, and his journey from firebrand young journalist to eventual co-writer of The Communist Manifesto, alongside trusted friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels. A fascinating portrait of the fractious proto-socialist ferment of the time.

ART

Olafur Eliasson: The unspeakable openness of things

Redbrick Contemporary Art Museum. Until Aug 12. From 120RMB

A retrospective of Olafur Eliasson's most iconic works, The unspeakable openness of things is the revered Icelandic-Danish artist's first solo show in Beijing. Encompassing Red Brick Museum's eight exhibition halls, visitors will journey through a series of large-scale immersive installations – including Eliasson's seminal work The blind pavilion – which playfully explore light, mist, geometry and illusion.

For full details and more fabulous things to do, hit 'Read more'.

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