The best things to do in Beijing this week

Your weekly guide to the very best of Beijing

With more Hollywood blockbusters, killer live music and toe-tapping musicals heading to Beijing this week, there's plenty to look forward to. Oh, and did we mention there's one helluva beer festival as well? Get excited, Beijing.

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

Bookworm Literary Festival

The Bookworm. Until Sun 31. 

Coming to a close this Sunday, make sure you don't miss some of the very last (but not least) events from this year's Bookworm Literary Festival. This week sees photojournalist Adrian Bradshaw look back at the last 40 years of Chinese history (Mar 26), NüVoices discuss women in sci-fi (Mar 31) as well as a Literary Festival-themed trivia night (Mar 31). Extract the QR code below for the full list of events and links to buy tickets, and read our best of the fest. 

BlackExpo

27 Yard. 11am. Sat 30. 20RMB (general admission); 60RMB (admission plus drink).

More than just a market, BlackExpo is an interactive cultural experience placing the spotlight on the community and businesses, services, and talents therein. Open to the entire Beijing community, BlackExpo is a unique opportunity to further shape the black narrative here in China and in the world at large while also discovering your new favourite food, accessory, or skincare product. After the main event, the party continues with an official BlackExpo afterparty at Prague Bar and Restaurant in Sanlitun.

Film and board game night

Camera Stylo. 7.30pm. Fri 29. Free. 

Do you like movies? Do you like board games? Do you like movies about board games? Then Camera Stylo's film and board game night is for you. Kicking off with beer and cocktails followed by a screening of Jumanji (the original, not The Rock version), head on afterwards to their new hangout room to play some table-top games. Have a specific game you'd like to play? Bring it along – the more games, the merrier. To register, click here.

Vintage market

Camera Stylo. 1.30pm. Sun 31. Free. 

Can't get enough of Camera Stylo? Head back on Sunday for vintage knick-knacks and items galore. With over 20 vendors selling their wares, expect to find everything from vintage clothing, antiques, film cameras, furniture and even an on-site barber. Browse the selections, meet some fun people, or simply drop by for a drink on their rooftop patio. For a full list of vendors, click here.

Beijing Invitational Craft Beer Festival 2019

TRB Copper. Fri 29-Sun 31. 228RMB (per person, per session); 628RMB (three sessions, one each day); 1,028RMB (all sessions). 

After the success of its previous instalments, Great Leap Brewing's Beijing Invitational Craft Beer Festival returns for a fifth year. No less than 40 craft breweries from around the world have been invited to participate, bringing with them only the choicest of brews for your sampling pleasure. Ladies and gentlemen, let there be beer.

Morena Leite kitchen takeover

Mosto. 5.30pm. Fri 29. 580RMB. 

The Brazilian Embassy, Minsheng Art Museum and Mosto have teamed up to host Morena Leite for the Brazilian Food Festival, bringing a taste of Brazil’s vibrant culinary style to Beijing. Trained in Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Morena is a pioneer in her field, combining classic French techniques with Brazilian ingredients. Join her this Friday as she serves up a curated menu of innovative Brazilian classics. Seats are limited so reservations are a must. Email [e-mail] or call 138 1132 5451 for bookings.

Aussie Drinks

Ossie Bar. 6.30pm. Fri 29. 50RMB (free for AustCham members).

Aussie Drinks heads to the very-appropriate Ossie Bar this Friday, offering Aussies, friends and interested newcomers the chance to mingle and catch up. Enjoy discounts on Australian beer and wine in the company of some true blue, dinky-di legends – or AustCham, as they're probably better known as. For more information, click here.

The Soft Moon

Omni Space. Sun 31. 240RMB; 180RMB (presale). 

With four albums under his belt, American singer-songwriter Luis Vasquez has already made a name for himself in the dark side of contemporary music where he resides with his heavy rhythms, travels to the most anguished side of the '80s and writes mutant songs that go from EDM to krautrock to synthesised punk. Hear for yourself as he heads to Beijing off the back of his 2018 release Criminal.

Nick Höppner

Zhao Dai. From 10.30pm. Sat 30. Tickets tbc. 

Berlin-based house and techno DJ Nick Höppner is widely considered to be one of the backbones of today's techno underground with monthly residencies at Berghain and Panoramabar, plus solo releases for music label Ostgut Ton. He heads to Zhao Dai in support of his much-anticipated debut album Folk this Saturday.

Sofar Sounds

Unspecified venue. 2.30pm. Sat 30. 100RMB.

Sofar Sounds is a global, grassroots network of artists, hosts, and guests, all with the goal of helping to bring the magic back to live music. Curating intimate gigs in unique spaces, they return this weekend with another secret gig in a secret venue. To apply for tickets, scan the QR code below. The address will be revealed the day of the performance and an email sent to ticket recipients.

Omnium Gatherum

Mao Livehouse Wukesong. 8.30pm. Sun 31. 320RMB; 260RMB (presale).

Hailing from Finland, Omnium Gatherum have been pumping out rip-roaring, hair-raising death metal for over 22 years. The majestically maned rockers now return to Beijing this week in support of their latest album The Burning Cold.

Dumbo

On general release from Fri 29. 

Circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) enlists former star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock in an already struggling circus. But when they discover that Dumbo can fly, the circus makes an incredible comeback, attracting persuasive entrepreneur VA Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who recruits the peculiar pachyderm for his newest, larger-than-life entertainment venture, Dreamland.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

In cinemas now.

Five years and two spin-off movies later, writer-producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller return to Bricksburg for a bigger, louder and brasher second Lego instalment. Everybrick hero Emmet (Chris Pratt) is still his glass-half-full self, while Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), his Master Builder girlfriend, has become more brooding as their town, now known as Apocalypseburg, takes a beating from Duplo invaders. When an alien kidnaps Lucy, Batman (Will Arnett) and pals, Emmet mounts a solo mission to rescue them. To read our full review, click here.

Bohemian Rhapsody 

In cinemas now.

The afterlife has rarely been quiet for Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who died young in 1991 after a flurry of late-life creativity. First came Wayne’s World, with Mike Myers head-banging along to Queen’s 1975 hit ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Then came a massive tribute concert in 1992 and a globetrotting stage musical, We Will Rock You in the 2000s. Now, 27 years on, comes the authorised movie biopic to push the Freddie Mercury legend even further into the realm of the unreal. Bohemian Rhapsody is as brash, loud and mask-wearing as Mercury at his most playful. 

Stateless Existence

Lan Space. Until Thu 16 May. Free. 

Caochangdi gallery Lan Space presents Stateless Existence, an exhibition of works from artists Duo Lanna, Zhang Kaitong and Wong Perng Fey. According to the organisers, 'existence refers to the creative act undertaken by each exhibiting artist of producing a visible object, as well as the thought processes foregoing the creation of that object. Conversely, a stateless existence represents the collective mode of display of the artists' works. It is a state of non-occurrence, a presentation in the purest sense, a depiction of the mind's ideal world and a presentation of the generative processes involved.' Confused, yet intrigued? Us too.

National Geographic: A New Age of Exploration 2.0

Beijing World Art Museum. Until Sun 23 Jun. 80-210RMB. 

Covering 130 years of the landmark magazine's stunning history, this exhibition brings to life photos taken from all corners of the earth and elaborates on the often haunting stories behind them. After doing so well the last time this exhibition was in town, it returns again with over 100 classic Nat Geo images.

Music Fans Classical: Canon in D

Beijing Concert Hall. 7.30pm. Fri 29. 100-580RMB.

Join Music Fans Classical at Beijing Concert Hall as they play a packed programme of beloved classics, including Pachelbel's Canon in D, the theme from Schindler's List, Greensleeves and loads more.

School of Rock 

Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. 7.30pm. Until Sun 14 Apr. 180-1,180RMB. 

With a new score from Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, a book by Julian Fellowes and an incredible cast, School of Rock hits all the right notes. The story follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a bit of extra cash by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band.

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

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