22 of the best things to do in Beijing this week

Your weekly guide to the best of Beijing

There's a whole lot going on this week, Beijing. From film screenings to stage shows, Lantern Festival celebrations to international DJs, this week has it all. Get planning now and make the most out of your weekdays in Beijing.

As well as these highlights, there are many more things to do in Beijing this weekend: explore, enjoy and don't forget to Instagram us your snaps with #timeoutbeijing or let us know on Facebook what you really enjoyed.

Lantern Festival

Parks around Beijing. Tue 19. 

Arriving on the fifteenth day of Chinese New Year, and the eve of its first full moon, the Lantern Festival (Yuánxiāojié, 元宵节) marks the end of celebrations. It’s a spectacular show of illuminations, as people hang lanterns, release them into the sky or float them on water, symbolically ‘letting go’ of their old selves in the new year and celebrating as the darkness of winter begins to fade.

Book Launch: Beginner's Guide to China-Africa Relations

The Bookworm. 7pm. Wed 20. 60RMB. 

If you are curious about the extraordinary evolution of China-Africa relations in the 21st century, look no further. Lina Getachew Ayenew has spent the past five years documenting China's emergence as a key player in Africa's economic development, distilling mega-themes from the work of leading researchers. Head to The Bookworm this Wednesday for the launch of her comprehensive work.

Film Meet: Screenwriting for Chinese Audiences

The SLab. 7pm. Thu 21. 50RMB. 

For its first public recording, Middle Earth-China’s cultural industry podcast hosts a panel discussion to answer questions about working in screenwriting for Chinese audiences with three scriptwriters: Cai Jinru, Joey Wang and Jordan DeFazio. Follow The SLab on WeChat (ID: TheSLabBeijing) for more information.

Beijing Postcards Historical Pub Quiz

The Bookworm. 7.30pm. Fri 22. 30RMB. 

When did the last emperor leave the Forbidden City? When were girls first allowed to attend university? Where is the birthplace of Erguotou? The Beijing Postcards Historical Pub quiz is back to test your knowledge about the city you live in. This quiz is partly a talk, partly a game show, with all questions relating to the history of Beijing. The topics are rooted in archival research done by Beijing Postcards; answers come from dusty archives, not Wikipedia. But don’t be afraid – questions are multiple-choice. For this quiz, Dutch quizmaster Jan Maas will present a segment of questions related to the Dutch history of Beijing as co-host. 

Red Lantern Party

Café Zarah. 7pm. Fri 22. Free. 

Attention to baozza (a baozi-pizza hybrid) fans: Zarah has recently launched two new savoury flavours (Italian Sausage and Hawaiian) which will be available during their Red Lantern Party as part of a special deal together with Jing A’s limited edition Koji Red Ale. This special Jing A draft beer is a 5.5 percent blushing red ale brewed with Koji sake rice, wasabi root and ginger. At the Red Lantern Party, it will be pouring from the taps at 50RMB per glass (400ml) with the following special offer until the kegs run dry: Buy one Koji get one new flavour baozza (vegetarian spinach cheese flavour part of the deal) or buy one Koji, get one Koji free. Head out for red lanterns, red blankets and outdoor heating. 

Art Battle International

Yue Space. 2pm. Sun 24. 100RMB; 80RMB (presale).

Art Battle International is a live art competition that sees 12 artists compete in front of a live audience. Three rounds of 20-minute live painting sessions are watched by the audience, who then vote for the best artists to advance. Although there's only one winner by the end of the night, all of the art is auctioned to the audience. Along with the art, have some drinks, listen to live music and join in the after party with local bands Spittunes and Paths, as well as mixtapes by DJ Bass Ventura and DJ Chloë. Get your tickets before they run out. 

Common Burger Pop-Down Week

Arcade by Hatchery. Mon 18-Fri 22. 

All week long, enjoy a variety of Common Burger deals at Arcade by Hatchery. Vegetarian Monday: 50 percent off vegetarian burgers and sandwiches (and other healthy veggie snacks); Free Fries Tuesday: For any purchase of a burger or sandwich, get a plate of fries or a salad for free; Seafood Wednesday: Get 50 percent off mussels, fish and chips, or spicy squid; Hungry and Thirsty Thursday: Buy one, get one free wine by the glass and 30 percent off bottles of wine from 5-10.30pm. Get 50 percent off Common sides; Boozy Friday: Get a milkshake and add a shot of bourbon for free, or buy a drink from the bar and get 50 percent off any Common Burger branded side. For more information and to learn how to win yourself a free burger, click here.

Make your own tangyuan 

Little Creatures. Tue 19. 

Ready to make your own tangyuan this year? Celebrate the end of the Spring Festival at Little Creatures with a pint and a chance to make tangyuan filled with either red bean paste, sesame paste or peanut butter. 

Kodaline

Tango. 8pm. Mon 18. 520RMB; 450RMB (presale).

Kodaline's distinct alternative folk sound have brought them awards and fame around the world. With Platinum albums and top hits, such as 'All I Want' and 'High Hopes', gracing the background of many films and TV shows, their success has continued to soar. They head to Beijing with their latest album Politics of Living – which hit number 1 in Ireland, perhaps to no one's surprise.

Lillies and Remains

Yue Space. 8.30pm. Thu 21. 120RMB; 90RMB (presale). 

Just over ten years ago, Lillies and Remains burst onto the post-punk, new wave scene in Japan. Blending unforgettable hooks with metallic guitar riffs and a nihilistic take on the world, frontman Kent and guitarist Kazuya have created a rather unique sound that's captured attention both in Japan and abroad. They head to Beijing with their album tour from Romanticism.

Nathan East

Blue Note. 7.30pm. Thu 21-Fri 22. 220-420RMB. 

A founding member of the chart-topping contemporary jazz group Fourplay, East was 16 years old when he got his first break and found himself on the road with Barry White. The next time the phone rang, Quincy Jones was on the line. The calls kept coming and for the last forty years, East has been churning out hit songs with artists as legendary as Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand and Stevie Wonder.

Sunsiaré

Zhao Dai. 10pm. Fri 22. 80RMB. 

Sunsiaré, the brains behind one of Asia’s most exciting new clubs, heads to Zhao Dai this Friday. Sunsiaré has been living in Asia for more than a decade and has become a key part of the regional scene since playing the opening night of Korner in Taipei back in 2012. Now based in Hong Kong, he is the music director of 宀 (Mihn) Club. 

Pezzner

Aurora Club. From 10pm. Sat 23. 100RMB; 50RMB (presale).

David Brian Pezzner was born in California, and the American DJ and producer might look about as normal and Dad-like as they come. But when he's not looking after his daughter and wife, he writes music for nightclubs, teaches electronic music and DJs around the world with his techno sounds.

Songs To Make Love To

Modernista. 9.30pm. Sat 23. 100RMB; 60RMB (presale). 

Continue the celebration of love this weekend with Sugar House's throwback to the lovely days of '90s and '00s R&B tunes as well as current R&B music. Dance the night away with well-known love (making) songs spun by DJs Maclarry and Dirty Dishes.

Craig David

Beijing Exhibition Center. 7.30pm. Sun 24. 480-880RMB. 

The one, the only, the man of a generation's dreams. Or some people at least. Craig David finally hits Beijing this weekend to play a DJ set under his TS5 guise, dropping R&B classics alongside hip-hop, house, dub, reggae and hopefully some of the classic noughties hits he made his name with. David burst onto the UK garage scene after releasing the banger that is 'Re-Rewind', and followed it up with softer R&B hits 'Fill Me In', '7 Days' and 'Walking Away' on his 2001 debut Born To Do It. 

The Imitation Game

Cinker Pictures. 7.30pm, Wed 20. 4pm, Thu 21. 150RMB. 

Hidden codes, secret meanings and mixed messages pulse through the reliable, old-fashioned, buzzing copper wires of true-life British period drama The Imitation Game. Snappy and not too solemn, but perhaps not as much of a psychological puzzle as it could have been, the film gives us key episodes in the tragic life of Alan Turing. He was the mathematician whose biting, anti-social intelligence briefly ran in step with the needs of the British war effort in the 1940s when he was employed to help break the Nazi Enigma code at Bletchley Park. For more information and to get tickets, click here. 

Alita: Battle Angel

On general release from Fri 22.

Visionary filmmakers James Cameron (Avatar) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) create a groundbreaking new heroine in Alita: Battle Angel, an action-packed story of hope, love and empowerment. Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in.

If Beale Street Could Talk

Camera Stylo. 11pm. Fri 22. Free. 

Barry Jenkins' adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk is so faithful, it’s practically joined at the hip with James Baldwin’s 1974 novel. From the opening moments, in which the author’s words are recited in voiceover, Jenkins channels all of Baldwin’s lyricism and anger into a story of love and injustice that burns with a gentle flame, occasionally blazing into a white heat. It’s beautifully crafted and it’s definitely cinematic.

A Star Is Born

Camera Stylo. 11pm. Sat 23. Free. 

Bradley Cooper directs and stars in this well-trodden fable about fame, recruiting a surprisingly unassuming Lady Gaga as his foil and love interest. She delivers one of this year’s most nuanced performances, as well as co-writing the film’s inescapable soundtrack. Oscars will surely follow. Possibly most of them.

China National Traditional Orchestra: Lantern Festival Concert

NCPA. 7.30pm. Tue 19. 80-500RMB. 

The China National Traditional Orchestra, founded in 1960, is regarded as the standard-setter, model and benchmark for China's folk music performance. The orchestra not only performs typical traditional music in various forms but dabbles in contemporary Chinese music, western classical music and other genres. Hear them play this Lantern Festival with conductor Hu Bingxu leading the way.

Mozart, L'Opera Rock

Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. 7.30pm. Fri 22-Sun 24. 180-1,180RMB. 

Original songs and Mozart classics combine in this dazzling show that follows a dramatisation of Mozart's life, exploring the music and the man that became immortal. Original songs include 'Le bien qui fait mal' ('The good thing that hurts') and 'Tatoue-moi' ('Tattoo me'), using the composer's melodies with a passionate rock twist.

National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra

NCPA. 7.30pm. Sat 23. 80-400RMB.

Conducted by Zhang Yi, the National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra returns to the NCPA stage along with incredibly talented young cellist, Xu Xuanhan. This February, they perform classics from Bizet, Tchaikovsky and Balakirev.

For other great things to do in Beijing this week, hit 'Read more' below. 

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