21 fantastic things to do in Beijing this week

Your weekly guide to the very best of Beijing

Happy April, Beijing! Get into the season of jokes, spring festivals and tomb sweeping this week with these brilliant things to do around town.

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. 

A Crash Course to the Forbidden City

Tiananmen East Station. 11am. Wed 3. 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. Walk through the palace with Beijing Postcards and learn just a little bit more about this incredible piece of imperial history. 

Qingming in Beijing

Qingming Jie, or tomb-sweeping festival, is a national public holiday in China that commemorates family ancestors. Falling on Friday April 5 this year, Qingming is traditionally a time to visit your family tomb and offer the deceased gifts for the afterlife, such as paper money, cars and wine. Whether or not you're making a pilgrimage to the laojia (hometown) this Qingming, read up on the background of the holiday here.

Three Shadows Photography Art Market

Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. 11am. Sat 6. Free.

For photo enthusiasts, make sure not to miss this year's Three Shadows Photography Award (TSPA) at the photography-themed market. The TSPA happens every spring and brings together young Chinese and international artists and photographers. Music performances, photography lectures, photographic publications and handmade books are just some of the things to expect at this yearly event, where guests get to enjoy innovative and cutting-edge photography along with comprehensive art-related information at the event.

Scavenger Hunt in Old Dashilar Neighborhood

Beijing Postcards. 3pm. Sat 6. 300RMB. 

Explore the multilayered history of the old area of Dashilar with this scavenger hunt. Keep your eyes peeling for traces of Qing Dynasty architecture, Republican-era brothels and ornaments smashed up by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

Loreli Affordable Art Market

El Nido at The Other Place. 1pm. Sun 7. Free. 

An affordable range of magazines, cards, paintings and more will be available at this spring's Loreli Affordable Art Market. Join a talented band of local artists, including illustrators, designers, painters and photographers, and browse through a range of great, and affordable, artwork. For more information, click here.

Hutong Races

North Beihai Station. 2pm. Sun 7. 50RMB. 

This Sunday, race to find answers and complete challenges in seven hutongs around Prince Gong's Mansion. Teams from across Beijing will compete to win the Hutong Cup to prove they are China's most hardy expeditioners. Form a team with your friends and join in all the fun and activities. Hutong Races welcome newcomers and there are great prizes, freebies and rewards available at every level of the game, except here, every second counts. Extract the QR code below to register. 

Jing-Jing Beer Garden

The Opposite House. 5pm. From Tue 2. Free. 

Opening softly this Tuesday (April 2), Jing-Jing is back just in time for beer garden season. Enjoy Jing A brews alongside small bites from Jing Yaa Tang while sitting below the streets of Sanlitun. Head to the sunken garden at The Opposite House for a full range of Jing A's core and seasonal brews, and get 10RMB off draft beers and cocktails until 7pm on weekdays. The official opening party kicks off this Saturday at 5pm, with the first 50 beers on the house as well as complimentary snacks passed around at opening time. 

Emily Burns

Dusk Dawn Club. 9pm. Thu 4. 80RMB; 60RMB (presale).

With hit songs 'Friends Don't Kiss Friends' and 'Girlfriend at the Time', Emily Burns has garnered millions of streams and support around the world. Following the release of her LP Seven Scenes from the Same Summer last year, Burns is set to release singles throughout this year – hopefully showcasing a few of those as she plays in Beijing. The young star draws inspiration from the likes of Tove Lo and sings of everything from love to spite, with heartfelt activism and earnest cynicism throughout all her work.

Robedoor

Zhao Dai. From 10pm. Thu 4. 80RMB. 

LA deep-dream doomsayers Robedoor embark on their inaugural China tour this week. The prodigious drone duo of Britt Brown (founder of seminal American DIY weirdo network Not Not Fun Records) and Alex Brown have let the smelted metal feedback loops pool and congeal on their latest full-length release, New Age Sewage. Catch them mid-ritual in Beijing.

Still Corners

Omni Space. 8.30pm. Fri 5. 160RMB; 130RMB (presale).

Soundtrack-inspired themes from the likes of Vangelis, David Lynch, Ennio Morricone and French new wave cinema combine with '80s synth pop and hushed '60s-style pop vocals to create Still Corner's alluring sound. The group released their fourth studio album Slow Air in 2018, but expect a selection of songs from throughout their career as they head to Beijing this week. 

Jammerz

Boxing Cat Brewery. 4pm. Sat 6. Free. 

Celebrate the sweeping of tombs with Comedy Club China and their pick of Beijing's silliest DJs. Day drink and enjoy great beats from DJs that may or may not have better day jobs. For all the necessary information (repeated), click here.

Edor

Soi Baochao. From 9.30pm. Sat 6. Free. 

Edor (イドアー) is the moniker for Belgian producer, musician and songwriter Maxime Honhon. After collaborating with many other bands and artists during composition, production and live performances (such as Konoba, Time For T, Sonnjford, Black Mirrors, Electric Château and more), Maxime decided to launch his solo project: Edor.

Shazam!

On general release from Fri 5. 

Set in the DC universe, Shazam! follows 14-year-old foster kid Billy Batson who can turn into the adult superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi) just at the utterance of that one word, Shazam! However, Batson needs to master his powers (and puberty) to fight the evil plan of Dr Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).

Monster Family 

On general release now. 

Dracula answers the phone and it’s a wrong number. But he falls for the woman on the end of the line, Emma, and gets a witch to turn her into a vampire so he can romance her. But she’s got a husband and family, who also get turned into monsters. They try to get back to their own bodies while Emma fends off an amorous Dracula, taking them to the UK and beyond.

Dumbo

On general release now. 

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.

Stateless Existence

Lan Space. Until Thu May 16. 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.

Leila Alaoui: Ya Rayah

Galleria Continua. Until Sun Jun 2. 

Late French-Moroccan artist Leila Alaoui used her photographs and videos to explore identity, diversity and migration. For the first exhibition of her works in China, Galleria Continua presents Ya Rayah, the title deriving its meaning from the Algerian song of the same name, translated as 'O, you who are leaving'. Speaking to exile, the song and Alaoui's exhibition examine the suffering and melancholy experienced by those no longer present in their homes. As in her other works, Alaoui used her lens to bring truth and light to abandoned migrants around the world, hoping to engage viewers with the reality of those 'left to disappear behind clichés and statistics'. This incredible exhibition displays the humanity and depth of emotion Alaoui poured into all her work and stands as an homage to the strength and dignity she imparted throughout her short life.

Translation: The 11th Three Shadows Photography Award Exhibition

Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. Sat Apr 6-Sun May 19. Free.

The 11th year of Three Shadow's Photography Awards is upon us, with the 2019 winners announced at the opening of the gallery exhibit. Judging the awards are five experts from around the world: Hai Jie (critic, China), Kimi Himeno (director and chief editor, Japan), Marcel Feil (deputy director, Netherlands), Peter Pfrunder (director and curator, Switzerland) and Rong Rong (co-founder and director, China).

School of Rock 

Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. 7.30pm. Every day until Sun Apr 14. 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.

Zhang Haotian

NCPA. 7.30pm. Thu 4. 160-280RMB.

This Chinese-Canadian rising piano star from Nanjing has graced stages around the world. Admitted to the Royal Academy of Music at just 20 years old, Zhang has had a rather incredible career for someone so young. Hear a special recital at the NCPA this week and catch the young star in all his glory.

The Groom Has Cold Feet

Qing Lan Theatre. 2pm & 7pm. Sun 7. 80-180RMB. 

With all the fun characters of a western, and the twists and turns of a murder mystery, this interactive show will get you thinking. When the reviled Albert Webster turns up murdered the morning of his wedding to local sweetheart Kayla May Blossom, there’s no shortage of suspects in the sleepy town of Pine Grove. Can you help the team from Dreamaker Theatre solve the case?

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

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