27 brilliant things to do in Beijing this week
Photo: Slow Boat
Your weekly guide to amazing events around 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 or let us know on Facebook what you really enjoyed.
Beijing Farmers and Good Friends Market
Support local Beijing farmers at the roving Beijing Farmer's Markets. This time they're coming to the heart of Beijing city, Nali Patio in Sanlitun. Browse through the extensive range of organic fresh produce and local artisanal products including homemade rice wines, wild blueberry juices and ginger candies.
Beijing Zhonghe Guoan vs. Beijing Renhe
Mindful Mothers
Beijing Mindfulness Centre. Every Wednesday. 10-11.30am. 150RMB
The Mindful Mothers class is a safe space for sharing and learning how to implement mindfulness in your role as a mother, partner and professional. Roles are complex, so learn how to bring love and kindness in your interactions, whilst being mindful of your own needs.
The Hutong Tour
Shichahai Sports School Tennis Hall. Wed 17. 9am-12.30pm. 500RMB
Visit Beijing's ancient, labyrinthine alleyways where ‘real’ Beijing life happens. To help you navigate some of the most interesting corners, Bespoke Company has arranged a walking tour with a local Chinese guide who knows the hutongs like the back of her hand.
Chops Menu Promotion
Photo: The Cut Grill
The Cut. Every Monday. 11.30am-2pm, 6-10pm. 500RMB.
Gin and Tonic Tuesdays at Slow Boat Taproom
Photo: The Cut Grill
Slow Boat (Dengshikou). Every Tuesday. 11am-midnight
Make your Tuesdays a tipsy one with gin and tonic specials at Slow Boat Dengshikou. Every Tuesday, its signature G&Ts are a buy one get one free all day long. Choose from flavours such as fruity strawberry and black pepper, roasted botanicals, and funky pink peppercorn and grapefruit. All gin and tonics are made with organic gin.
Mosto x La Social Colombia Independence Day
Photo: Mosto/La Social
Mosto. Sat 20. 5.30pm-3am. FREE
Celebrate Veinte de Julio (also known as Colombia Independence Day) with Mosto and La Social on Saturday July 20. These two icons have teamed up for party that would do Colombia proud. Begin with a special menu of Colombian favourites at Mosto and then party the night away at La Social.
Bisiugroup Road Show
Photo: 247 Tickets
Yue Space. Sun 21. 8.30-10pm. 100RMB adv
Bisiugroup has a retro Taiwanese grassroots influence that blends into rock and folk. From their costumes to their music, the vintage vibe of the good old days is ever-present. For years, they have been invited to perform at major music festivals. They participated in the Ho-Hi-Yang Gongliao Rock Festival earlier this year and took home the Ocean Indies Judge's Choice Award. Catch them at Yue Space for a night of retro folk rock.
Matzka and Mr Woohoo
Photo: 247 Tickets
Blue Note. Wed 17. 7.30pm-late. 320RMB adv
Matzka is a Taiwanese aboriginal reggae singer, guitarist, music producer and songwriter. The band was established in 2010, with the Taitung County native being a word of mouth sensation since winning a government-sponsored songwriting contest several years ago.
Okamoto
Photo: 247 Tickets
Mao Livehouse. Fri 19. 8.30-10pm. 580RMB/360RMB adv
Okamoto is a four-piece rock band from Shinjuku, Tokyo, with all band members use Okamoto as their last names, paying respect to both the avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto and the legendary punk band The Ramones. Famous for their modern take on nostalgic, retro-rock and pop, their danceable tunes make them the darlings of the festival circuit in Japan.
Mitsume
Photo: 247 Tickets
Omni Space. Wed 17. 8.30-10pm. 200RMB/160RMB adv
Japanese indie band started out in 2009 as a four piece self-recorded band. Their third album, Sasayki, released in 2014 marked the band's breakthrough in the music scene, touring cities in both Japan and internationally.
The Doo Wop Project
Photo: 247 Tickets
Blue Note. Fri 19. 7.30-9.30pm, 10pm-late. 260-360RMB
From the classic sound of five guys singing tight harmonies on a street corner to the biggest hits on the radio today, The Doo Wop Project takes audiences on a journey from foundational tunes like the Crests and Flamingos all the way to DooWopified versions of modern musicians like Michael Jackson, Jason Mraz and Maroon 5.
Eric Duncan
Photo: Eric Duncan/Migas Mercado
Migas Mercado. Fri 19. 10pm-3am. FREE
Music makes you dance, so unwind with the beats of Eric Duncan on the top balcony of Guomao. With over 22 years of experience in the international clubbing scene, Duncan has become somewhat of a pro at music production, with insane remixing skills and countless releases on both vinyl and digital platforms.
Hello Summer Party at Zarah
Photo: Zarah
Café Zarah. Fri 19. 7pm-1am. FREE
Celebrate the comeback of the Beijing-bikini season with Zarah's Hello Summer Party. With the launch of a new summer drinks menu including their famous homemade Sangria, it's just in time to cool you down during Beijing’s hottest months. Sip your way through the new menu and enjoy a whole night happy hour cocktails.
Svarog
Photo: Lantern/Wechat
Lantern. Fri 19. 10.30pm-late. 80RMB/50RMB adv
The artistic name of Oleksa Moroz, Svarog is a musician and DJ from Lviv, Ukraine. Started in 2015 with cult label Circular Limited, Svarog has been showcasing the best of deep techno. Deep but evocative, Svarog combines the sounds of saturated timbres, industrial, and atmospheric landscapes to create broken senses of rhythm and beats.
China Through Cinema: For Fun
Photo: Beijing Film Studio/Van Ho Film and TV
Cultural Yard. Fri 19. 7.45-9.45pm. 50RMB
For Fun (找乐) by Ning Ying follows janitor Old Han, who has, for many years, worked at the Peking Opera. Upon retirement, he befriends a group of likeminded individuals who share the same passion for the fine art form. They decide to rent a space to put on private performances but things come to a halt when the group discovers that the space they have been renting is soon to be torn down.
Fighting with My Family
Photo: Fighting With My Family/MGM
Cinemas around Beijing. Opens Fri 19.
This playful movie captures the boastful, performative nature of WWE, spiked with mini-dramas and constant role-playing. The drama becomes the lingua franca of an atypical household in ‘Fighting with My Family’, the sweetest of comedies with a sizeable number of body slams.
The Little Vampire 3D
Photo: The Little Vampire 3D/A.Film
Cinemas around Beijing. Opens Sat 20.
Introducing the story of Rudolph, a thirteen-year-old vampire whose clan is threatened by a notorious vampire hunter. He meets Tony, a mortal of the same age, who is fascinated by old castles, graveyards and, guess what else, vampires. Tony helps Rudolph in an action and humour-packed battle against their adversaries. Together they save Rudolph's family and become friends.
Gesher Theatre: Fathers and Sons
Photo: Gesher Theatre/Eyal landesman
Capital Theatre. Thu 18-Sat 20. 7.30-9pm. 40-680RMB
The play Father and Son, adapted from Ivan Turgenev's novel of the same name, focuses on the display of inter-generational conflicts. Dwelling in concepts of nihility and conservatism of the past and present, it is the showcase of the revolutionary mood surging in the hearts of the 19th century youths.
Kodo: Evolution
Photo: 247 Tickets
Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. Sat 20 7.30-9.30pm; Sun 21 2.30-4.30pm. 99RMB-1,080RMB
Japan’s preeminent taiko drumming troupe Kodo explores the limitless rhythmic possibilities of the traditional drum and in the process, forge a new direction for the vibrant and living art-form.
Komissarzhevskaya Academic Theatre of St. Petersburg: Don Juan
Photo: 247 Tickets
National Centre for the Performing Arts Multi-functional Theatre. Fri 19-Sat 20. 7.30-9.30pm. 100-500RMB
Don Juan, the legendary fictional libertine, is a handsome and bold mister. Noted as an embodiment of all secret passions and overt impulses, see the world of delight, a kingdom of passion and sin in the cheerful and witty theatrical interpretation of the classic mythological character.
Li Fangfang and the Beijing Wind Orchestra
Photo: 247 Tickets
National Centre for the Performing Arts. Thu 18. 7.30-9.30pm. 80-400RMB
Beijing Wind Orchestra, founded in 2009, is a large professional wind orchestra composed of 80 musicians with profound musical knowledge and exquisite skills. The Orchestra performs a wide range of repertoire in different styles, including classic wind orchestra pieces, light music, chamber music, and jazz.
Neverland with Mikelangelo Loconte
Photo: 247 Tickets
Tango. Thu 18-Fri 19. 8-10pm. 580RMB/880RMB (VIP)
Mickelangelo Loconte is an Italian singer, author, composer, musician, performer and artistic director. He began his career in France with the musical Les Nouveaux Nomades. Since then he gained critical acclaim with his performance as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Mozart.
The King's Singers
Photo: 247 Tickets
NCPA. Fri 19. 7.30-9.30pm. 180RMB/680RMB
The King's Singers were officially born on May 1st, 1968, when six recently-graduated choral scholars from King's College, Cambridge, gave a concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank in London. The group's big London debut was the launchpad for the five decade long career of The King's Singers that we know now.
Lucy Sparrow's Felt Art Imaginarium
Photo: Lucy Sparrow/WeChat
M Woods. Sat 6-Fri 11 Oct (everyday except Monday). 80RMB/50RMB (students)
Using felt as her primary material, Uk-based Lucy Sparrow is renowned for her bright and engaging recreations of objects from everyday life. Having received worldwide attention for her felt installations, Lucy Sparrow’s Felt Art Imaginarium is the artist’s first exhibition in Asia, and comprises an immersive installation specially commissioned for M WOODS.
Techne and Art: Ecologies of Pre and Post Modern Subject ivities
Photo: Annabelle Lim
Space Station Art. Sat 6-Sun 4 August (everyday except Monday). FREE
Techne and Art rounds up modern and contemporary carpets from Persia and the contemporary artworks from Iran, Central Asia and China, eliciting dialogues on form, structures of thinking, bodily perception and affective capacity. Not reducible to any specific identifiable regimes, these works reveal preand postmodern ecologies of subjectivity.
Wavelength: Made in Illusion
Photo: 247 Tickets
Times Art Museum. Sat 6-Sun 6 Oct (everyday except Monday). 58-88RMB
Following the first cooperation in 2017, Wavelength will once again join hands with Beijing Times Art Museum to usher in a comprehensive conversation into 'How Art Discusses Consumer Culture'. Through various art forms like installations, sculptures, paintings, and new media, this exhibition brings together thirty artists and hundreds of works in the discussion of substance and materials in the world of manufacturing and consumption.
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