The best things to do in Beijing this week

Your weekly guide to amazing events around Beijing

Heads up, all you Beijing ladies. It's International Women's Day this Friday (March 8) – and yes, you're entitled to half a day off work here in China. With a host of events celebrating women this week, as well as many other happenings around town, get out and give thanks to all those special ladies in your life.

As well as these highlights, there are many more things to do in Beijing this month: explore, enjoy and don't forget to Instagram us your snaps with #timeoutbeijing.

International Women's Day

March 8 is International Women's Day, an opportunity to reflect on the continuing fight for gender equality around the world and a cornerstone in the movement for women's rights. Remind yourself why it's fantastic to be a woman, or why you love those women in your life so much, and how it's pretty much time to forget all this gender inequality nonsense. Forever. 

A Crash Course to the Forbidden City

Tiananmen West Subway Station. 11am. Wed 6. 350RMB. 

A Crash Course to the Forbidden City is a humble attempt to unlock the meaning behind the chambers of the palace in a condensed and hopefully entertaining way. It's an attempt to give you a comprehensive history of the palace from when it was built 600 years ago till the last boy-emperor finally left in 1924. To get tickets, click here. 

Beijing Monologues

The Local. 7.30pm. Thu 7. 50RMB. 

Thrive Beijing presents their third edition of Beijing Monologues, a night where solo speakers from all over the world will share their funny, moving, awkward, loving, hilarious moments from life in Beijing focused on love, dating and relationships.

Femme Festival Bazaar

Modernista. 12pm. Sat 9. Free. 

This Women's History Month, in celebration of the countless triumphs of women around the world, Rumble in the Jumble is seizing the day with their Femme Festival market. Of course, you don't have to be a woman to join in the celebration, you just have to love and respect the amazing women in your life. Expect a wide array of vendors ranging from delicately hand-embroidered clothing to hot-as-hell hummus, from vintage clocks to man-made gemstones to cupcakes galore. Special features include customised pop-up poetry by Boriqua in Beijing and on-the-spot tattoos by Black Rabbit.

Street Photography

Qianmen Station. 1pm. Sat 9. 500RMB. 

Beijing, with its immense history, culture and scenery, is a great place for one’s photography skills to be refined outside of the studio. In this programme, you will be able to take your camera on a trip around the streets of Beijing’s hidden treasures: undiscovered alleyways, local cultural gems, populated and unpopulated avenues, cityscapes, diversity hot spots, and more.

Republican Ladies and the Women of Dashilar

Beijing Postcards. 2pm. Sat 9. 300RMB. 

When the six-year-old emperor Puyi abdicated in 1912, change was upon Beijing. Suddenly the old matriarchal structures of society were no longer kept in place. At the top of society, Republican ladies would enjoy freedom and opportunity as never before. This walk and talk takes place in the old Beijing neighbourhood Dashilar. A place that traditionally was the 'melting pot' of Beijing society, Dashilar was at the centre of development as new modern storefronts, newspaper houses, brothels and movie theatres sprung up and became important vehicles of change. For more information, click here or extract the QR code below. 

Mohammed Magdi

The Bookworm. 8pm. Sun 10. 150RMB; 120RMB (presale). 

Mohammed has a lot of preconceptions to conquer: He was once an English teacher in China (but no longer!), he's a bearded Arab man (but self-proclaims to be non-creepy), and he's won (and come second) in international comedy festivals, so has to keep up that reputation. Can he make you laugh? And will he let you touch his beard? Find out answers to those puzzling mysteries and more this Sunday for his one-night-only show in Beijing. For more information, click here.

Mardi Gras Drag Brunch

Home Plate Sanlitun. 12pm. Sat 9. 300RMB; 250RMB (presale). 

Brunch with a side of… Mardi Gras drag? Yes, please. Haus of Lily and Home Plate have teamed up to create a revolutionary Mardi Gras drag brunch. Performances from 11 queens with one grand finale will be sure to bring the energy of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parade to Beijing. Not to mention the extensive buffet, complete with a whole hog, breakfast sausages, potato hash, scrambled eggs, fruit skewers, pancakes and more. Slow Boat draft beer and selected cocktails will also be available for purchase. 

Whale Fall

Omni Space. 8.30pm. Wed 6. 120RMB; 90RMB (presale). 

Hailing from sunny California, Whale Fall is an instrumental post-rock group that embraces the unknown with their kaleidoscope of traditional rock fused with pastoral strokes of piano, cello, brass and occasional analogue synth. In other words, expect a cinematic sound experience that ranges from new wave and indie, to post-rock and psych (and perhaps everything else in between).

Allman Brown

Dusk Dawn Club. Fri 8. 100RMB; 80RMB (presale). 

Ah, the soft, dulcet tones of this Hong Kong-raised, London-based heartthrob. Brown rose to Spotify prominence after the release of 'Sweetest Thing', a hit song that saw him enter the world of stardom around the world. He's gone on to create further smashing singles, as well as his debut album 1000 Years.

Slowcook

Dada. From 10pm. Fri 8. Free. 

Slowcook is a passionate music lover, vinyl collector, founder of Equaliser and member of UK party collective Brudenell Groove. Heavily influenced by the UK's underground music scene and 12-hour-long afterparties in Leeds, her eclectic DJ sets vary and incorporate everything from disco to house, UK garage to footwork, jungle to dub. Support from LV Zhiliang and Genreless.

Nordic Film Festival: Framing Females

Danish Cultural Center. Wed 6-Sun 10. Free. 

For this third edition of the annual Nordic Film Festival, the Danish Cultural Center teams up with the UCCA and the Nordic embassies in Beijing to celebrate all things female. Framing Females showcases a multitude of female talent, featuring films made by women, films that highlight the struggle of being a woman, films that document the beauty of women, and so much more. Head to the Danish Cultural Center to catch free screenings. Registration required as space is limited, so click here to sign up and check out all the screening times. 

Captain Marvel

On general release from Fri 8. 

Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes after two alien races at war trap Earth in the middle of the maelstrom. Set in the '90s, Captain Marvel brings out a whole new period of the MCU to explore, and Danvers might just be the lady to do that. 

International Women's Day Concert

NCPA. 7.30pm. Thu 7. 100-600RMB. 

In celebration of International Women's Day, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, led by Zheng Xiaoying, will perform a programme that includes overtures from Verdi, Weber and Bizet, as well as highlights from Chinese classical music.

Civilization: The Way We Live Now

UCCA. Sun 10 Mar-Sun 19 May. 60RMB (early bird). 

Civilization: The Way We Live Now explores contemporary life through the works of over 120 renowned photographic artists. The exhibition takes you through the last two decades to witness the changes and patterns seen throughout our world. 

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

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