25 wonderful things to do in Beijing this week

Photo: The Lion King/Fairview Entertainment

Happy Monday, Beijing! With music, films and parties galore, it's shaking up to be another great week. Read on for our top picks.

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 or let us know on Facebook what you really enjoyed.

Hike the Yinmeng Temple and Sujia River

Photo: Beijing Hikers

Beijing Hikers. Sat 13. 7am-6pm. 380RMB/340RMB for members

Almost 1,000m up into the Yudu Mountains, north of Yanqing City, is Yinmeng Temple. Follow a scenic path through birch forests down into the Sujia River valley, past tall cliffs, canyons and mountains. The hike finishes with picturesque views of Beijing city from the mountains. Hikes must be booked via their website.

NBA Exhibition: Unstoppable Beijing

Photo: 247 Tickets

Yang Art Museum. Sat 13-Fri 13 Sep. 10am-6pm. 75-160RMB 

'Unstoppable Beijing' is a multi-level experience with interactive exhibits, video, and imagery to showcase the passion of the league, its teams and players, going back to the league's early years and exploring the many ways the NBA has evolved since 1946.

Singles Night

Luga's Brewery and Bistro. Sat 13. 7pm-late. 60rmb

The end of an era, this is the last event hosted by OohLavi and Beijing Singles for the foreseeable future. Join the group to see off the match-making event and perhaps make a love connection. The event is open to both Chinese and expats, so go along and mingle. 

Storytelling Spoken Word: Fight

Photo: 4corners

4corners. Wed 10. 8-10pm. FREE

At these storytelling events, share your favourite real-life stories, all for your own listening pleasure. Hear stories on fights, everything from the physical to metaphorical; justice served on a classmate, martial arts, inner demons and even historical anecdotes. 

Buy One Get One Free on Weekday Food Specials

Photo: Aurora

Aurora Beijing. Thu 4-Sun 14 (every day except Friday, Saturday). 10.30am-11pm. 

Here's yet another reason to head to this Sanlitun bar street establishment. Aurora is offering daily food promotions from Sundays till Thursdays, where it's a buy one get one free on their food specials. 

Centro's Super Value Lunch

Centro Lounge & Bar. Tue 14 May-Wed 31 Jul. 12-2.30pm. FREE

Centro now offers excellent value for money lunch meals at only 58RMB. These quick, satisfying and yummy dishes will help you breeze through the work week. Every lunch meal bought at Centro will earn you points. Accumulate enough and redeem them in exchange for cool incentives.

Mosto x Le Sommelier Wine Dinner

Photo: Mosto

Mosto. Fri 12. 7.30-9.30pm. 498RMB. 

Join innovative wine purveyors Le Sommelier and their expert sommelier Emilio Muedra for an intimate wine dinner at Mosto. Featuring wines from the pioneers of the Mendoza Malbec, the Altos Las Hormigas Winery in Mendoza, Argentina. The session includes a five-course dinner paired with five Altos Las Hormigas wines.

Laurent Bàn

Photo: 247 Tickets

Mao Livehouse. Tue 9-10 Wed. 8-10pm. 580RMB

Laurent Bàn is a French singer-songwriter who began his artistic career in graphic design before moving to Paris and playing his first musical role in an Alfredo Arias's musical titled Heartbreak of an English she-cat. Bàn continued on in other musicals, many of which on international stages, including Notre-Dame de Paris and Hair and soon enough, released two solo albums.

Lenka

Photo: 247 Tickets

Tango. Tue 9. 8-9.30pm. 380RMB/280RMB adv

Known for her upbeat, cheerful sounds, Lenka's music has always been a positive craze. Australian born Lenka's quirky theatrics derived from her early career as an actress and an education in fine arts. Catch the cheery singer-songwriter when she performs in Beijing.

Mark Gardener (Ride)

Photo: 247 Tickets

Omni Space. Wed 10. 8.30-10pm. 180RMB/150RMB adv

An English rock band formed in Oxford in 1988, Ride consists of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence ‘Loz’ Colbert, and Steve Queralt. Dubbed 'the brightest hope' for 1991 by music critics, their album Nowhere has hailed critical success. Catch the indie shoegazing frontman Mark Gardener live in Beijing.

Nancy Harms

Photo: 247 Tickets

Blue Note Beijing. 11 Thu, 7.30-9.30pm; 12 Fri, 7.30-9.30pm, 10pm-midnight. 200RMB/280RMB

Born and raised in Minnesota, Nancy Harms relocated to New York City in 2010, and since then, has toured Europe multiple times, from France, England, Norway, Italy to The Netherlands and Denmark. Catch this sultry jazz goddess at Blue Note Beijing.

The Great Buffalo Blues

Photo: 247 Tickets

Modernista. Thu 11. 9pm-midnight. FREE

Waiting for some summertime specials? Don't miss out the folk blues melodies of The Great Buffalo Blues this Thursday. Bring a friend, have a cocktail and listen to the romantic acoustic ballads set up by this talented music duo.

TechNOrules Featuring DAMIE

Photo: Lantern

Lantern. Sat 13. 10.30pm-late. 80RMB/50RMB adv

Korean rising techno superstar DAMIE will be making her Beijing debut at Lantern. Now firmly based in Seoul, DAMIE has long harboured a deep fascination with all things futuristic. Her innovative and experimental way of working has led her to some of the contemporary scene's most innovative imprints.

Summer Night Out

Photo: Intercontinental

InterContinental Beijing Sanlitun. Fri 12. 9pm-late. 288RMB/188RMB adv

Enjoy summer at Intercontinental with their summer night out party. With everything a party should have, live DJs, delicate canapé, free flow wines and Proseccos and special cocktails, party this evening at the Top Tapas and Top Bar at the Intercontinental. 

A Casa Tutti Bene (There Is No Place Like Home)

Photo: There Is No Place Like Home/Lotus Production

A story about a big family reunited to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Grandma Alba and Grandpa Pietro in a big villa, on the island they've all moved to. The weather turns for the worse, and they all remain stranded on the island and the idyll between them seems to be over.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Photo: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile/COTA Films

Camera Stylo. Sat 13. 10pm-midnight. FREE

Single mother Liz falls for Ted Bundy and refuses to believe the truth about his crimes for years. A drama based on a true story of the life of American serial killer and necrophile who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier.

The Lion King

Photo: The Lion King/Fairview Entertainment

Cinemas around Beijing. Opens Fri 12.

We all know the story of the Disney animated classic, The Lion King. Watch it again, this time in a photorealistic animated version. The battle for Pride Rock is soon ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama. Now, with help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba must figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

Toy Story 4

Photo: Pixar Animation Studios

Cinemas around Beijing. Fri 21 Jun -Sun 21 Jul

Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the gang embark on a road trip with Bonnie and a new toy named Forky. The adventurous journey turns into an unexpected reunion.

Dresden Kreuzchor

Photo: 247 Tickets

NCPA. 7.30-9pm. Tue 9. 80-500RMB.

Watch one of the oldest and most renowned choirs in the world, the Dresden Kreuzchor live in Beijing. Made of boys aged nine to 19, listen to the choral sounds of this contemporary and modern ensemble.

Gershwin Piano Quartet

 Photo: 247 Tickets

NCPA. Sun 14. 7.30-9pm.100RMB-480RMB.

The Gershwin Piano Quartet sheds new light on the music of George Gershwin. Featuring four pianists on four grand pianos, playing, arranging and improvising on some of Gershwin’s most popular songs and orchestral works.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann

Photo: 247 Tickets

NCPA.Wed 10-Sun 14. 7-9.30pm. 100-680RMB

Les Contes d'Hoffmann is the fantastic love story of Huffman and three women. Sitting in the Luther Pub beside the Nuremberg Opera House where his play is performed, the drunken Hoffmann recounts three love stories.

Magic Drama: One Starry Night and Out of the Blue

Photo: 247 Tickets

Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. 180-480RMB. Various time

Magic Drama: One Starry Night and Out of the Blue is a unique combination of art and education. Learn to appreciate the multimedia magic of 28 masterpieces by nine masters including Van Gogh, Monet, and Da Vinci, accompanied by the live piano compositions of Mozart, Chopin Debussy and more.

Anthony Browne's Happy Museum

Photo: The Visitors Who Came to Stay (1984)/Anthony Browne

National Museum of Classic Books. Sat 22 Jun-Sun 22 Sep (everyday except Monday). 88RMB-218RMB

See 162 original paintings by Anthony Browne, a surrealist artist who has won the International Andersen Prize for illustrators. The main characters of his popular books will be shown for the first time in China collectively, its vivid picture book characters and absurd and humorous artistic imagination to the delight of Beijing's audiences.

Leandro Erlich: The Confines of the Great Void

 Photo: Leandro Erlich/Port of Reflections (2014)

CAFA Art Museum. Thu 11-Sun 25 Aug (every day except Monday). 60RMB-120RMB

Calling himself a conceptual artist working in the real and perception field, Leandro Erlich's works are all about subverting the normal and rethinking the expressions of reality. At this exhibition, the Argentinean artist showcases his largest solo exhibition yet.

Li Tao: Universe

Photo: Li Tao/Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa. Thu 30 May-Tue 30 Jul (every day except Monday). FREE

Li Tao makes extensive use of industrial materials and finished products made of aluminium, and presents unfamiliar structures and textures by cutting, bending and casting. Through the reconstruction and recreating the functional form of the materials, Li Tao gives the material a new perspective and aesthetic value.

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