15 of the best things to do in Beijing this weekend

Your weekend guide to the best of Beijing

With the Mid-Autumn Festival coming up next Monday, this weekend is packed with festivals of a different kind: books, plants, music and film fests are just some of the offerings on the Beijing plate this weekend.

Mid-Autumn Fair

The Bookworm. Sat 22. Free. 

The Bookworm's seasonal market is back just in time for autumn. Featuring jewellery, home decorations, crafts, beauty products, coffee, wine, jams, arts, desserts and so much more, the market is sure to fill both your bags and bellies. 

FCCC Summer Party

Polish Embassy. Sat 22. 280RMB (non-members); 230RMB (FCCC members two-for-one, students with ID).

Join the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China at the poolside in the Polish Embassy's garden. Enjoy gelato by the pool, craft beer and cocktails, two bouncy castles, a Vietnamese buffet by Susu and a live band.

Ha Ha Land

Salud. Sun 23. 75RMB; 50RMB (presale).

Seeing as next Monday is a holiday for a lot of us, use your Sunday evening wisely and check out some stellar Beijing stand-up courtesy of Comedy Club China. Featuring local comedians Eric Selley, David Jacobs, Nigel Tu and Premium Sly.

Pop Plant-Based Festival 2018

Today Art Museum. Sat 22-Sun 23. 

Beijing's first-ever plant-based festival is set to feature over 100 vegan food vendors, an outdoor fitness festival, loads of live music and an evening afterparty. The market is free entry, with the various fitness classes priced around 70RMB (presale) and the party at 100RMB. You can get a 10-percent discount by entering 'timeout123' at checkout.

Amanda Zhang at Little Creatures

Little Creatures. Sat 22-Sun 23. 

Amanda Zhang, known for her video blog Sex and the Kitchen, heads to Little Creatures this weekend to bring you brunch with a twist. Her menu features Gillardeau oysters (98RMB for 6, 188RMB for 12), coffee-crusted steak and eggs (208RMB) and dark ale-roasted chicken (90RMB half, 168RMB whole), to be quenched by happy-hour-priced beers and wines, followed with gelato from Lingxia Gelato Lab.

East Palace West Palace

Zhao Dai. Fri 21. 100RMB

Zhao Dai hosts a Sino-queer party extravaganza this Friday. With some of the hottest queens in town, Michael Cignarale on the decks and art by Mate, the evening is packed full of things to take your fancy. A portion of all ticket proceeds will be donated to Beijing Gender, an NGO that advocates for gender and sexual diversity, and sexual health awareness. 

Neon Music Festival

National Stadium. Sat 22-Sun 23. 367-1,252RMB. 

Get ready to glow from the inside out this weekend at Neon. Cover yourself in UV paint and catch some of the biggest names in EDM right now. The lineup includes Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Kshmr and Lost Frequencies. 

Upstream Gaze Festival

Omni Space. Sat 22-Sun 23. 180RMB (two-day); 130RMB (one-day); 100RMB (one-day, presale).

Modernsky is hosting an excellent two-day shoegaze and psychedelic bonanza, featuring Fazi (pictured), Birdstriking, Default, Last Goodbye, The Romp and more.

Rye Music Festival

Changyang Music Theme Park. Sun 23-Mon 24. 520RMB (two-day, presale); 300RMB (one-day, presale). 

Celebrate the three-day weekend and Mid-Autumn Festival at Rye Music Festival, featuring Chinese and international bands with metal, indie, rock and psych vibes. Lineup includes The Royal Concept, Hedgehog, Carsick Cars, Future Orients and so much more.

Time Out 50: Covers Exhibition

Beijing Quanyechang Cultural Arts Center. Sep 22-Oct 7. Free. 

Over the years, Time Out's magazines have seen countless fantastic cover designs – some groundbreaking, some risqué, some fronted by world-famous stars – and to celebrate this half-century in the game, we're going to be showing off just a few of the best. Some of the most memorable covers from London's 50 years in print are on show, as well as a look back at our own 14 years in action here in Beijing.

Shōji Ueda: Retrospective

Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. Sep 23-Nov 25. Free. 

From the sand-dune landscapes that surrounded his home in Tottori, Japan and inspired by the Surrealist works of Man Ray and René Magritte, Shōji Ueda choreographed and photographed beautiful and bizarre worlds. This exhibition displays the breadth of his modernist oeuvre including his signature black-and-white series and his later high-fashion and commercial work.

China Women's Fim Festival 

Girl Rising trailer via QQ

Various locations. Fri 14-Sun 23. 

As the festival comes to a close this Sunday, head out each day to locations across the city to catch the last few films that celebrate women worldwide. See The Heart on Friday, or Girl Rising and Transit Havana on Sunday, with many more incredible Chinese and international films in between. Check out our preview here or scan the QR code below for the full schedule. 

Death Wish

Death Wish trailer via QQ

Cinemas around Beijing. On general release Fri 21. 

Having been assigned a score of one star out of five by our friends at Time Out New York, Death Wish is a film that's so bad it's almost good. Or just straight-up bad. Watch Bruce Willis take on Charles Bronson's infamous role as a meek-family-man-turned-stony-avenger and make your own mind up. 

Cats

Century Theatre. Sep 21-Oct 7. 100-1,080RMB. 

Based on TS Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical Cats is set in a larger-than-life junkyard playground that's home to a variety of feline characters. With spectacular sets, breathtaking choreography and of course, the hit song 'Memory', Cats is a musical like no other.

Mariinsky Ballet: La Bayadère

NCPA. Sun 23. 160-880RMB. 

The much-acclaimed Mariinsky Ballet comes to Beijing this September with their famous La Bayadère. Created by Marius Petipa in 1877, La Bayadère is one of the world's most loved ballets. The ballet tells the story of the love between Nikya, a temple dancer (bayadère), and Solor, a warrior.

For more great things to do in Beijing this weekend, hit 'Read more'.

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