22 brilliant things to do in Beijing this week

Photo: 247 Tickets

Your weekly guide to the best of Beijing

Happy Monday, Beijing! With music, films and parties galore, it's shaping 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.

Electric Bicycle Tour of Old Beijing

Culture Yard. Every Wed and Sun. 1-4pm. 400RMB/350RMB

This tour of old Beijing sets you on an adventure that shows you the best of Beijing, like a local. See the historical landmarks that make this city such a magical place whilst whizzing along breezily on an electric bike. You'll get to see bucket-list attractions that include the Lama Temple, Confucius Temple, the Drum and Bell Towers, Houhai Lake, Beihai Park, the Forbidden City and of course, many of the hutongs. Each destination is accompanied with a retelling of its history and stories.

InterNations Beijing at Sofitel

Photo: Ctrip

Sofitel Wanda. Fri 23. 7pm-late. 30-130RMB

Get into the mood and the groove with an international meet-up at Internation's end-of-summer gathering. Admire Sofitel's LED-lit catwalk which leads to a circular bar counter, and the fanciful golden globe DJ booth that hangs high from an imperial-inspired ceiling in round and square patterns. Dance, network or make new friends.

Storytelling Wednesdays: Crazy

Photo: 4corners

4corners. Wed 21. 8-11pm. FREE

At Storytelling, you'll share your favorite real-life stories (and fictional ones too) on a weekly theme. This week, hear stories on nutty people and animals, crazy situations, mad love, kooky scientists or who knows what else.

UnTour Food Tours: Beijing Hutong Breakfast

Photo: Untour Food Tours

Every Wed. 8-11am. 420RMB/210RMB (Children)

Heard about Beijing’s hutong alleyways, but not sure what to do or where to go? Join UnTour Food Tours for breakfast as they sample the most authentic and delicious snacks hiding in plain sight once you get off the crowded roads and into the backstreets. Wake up early and explore the culinary scene with trusted vendors, your bilingual guide and a small group of new foodie friends. Over the course of three hours, you’ll eat your way through China’s 5,000 years of culinary history, try new foods and gain an appreciation for the artisans making these handmade treats.

Gluten-Free Set Meal at Gung Ho

Photo: Gung Ho Pizza!

Gung Ho! Pizza (Sanlitun).  Until Dec 26. 2-11pm. 149RMB for two

Gluten-intolerant? Come get your pizza-comfort every Thursday with a friend at Gung Ho! Pizza, the only gluten-free friendly pizza joint in town. Gluten-free pizza, salad, side dish and dessert for 149RMB a pop. Feeds two people.

Little Italy Sunday Buffet

Photo: Via Roma

Via Roma. Sun 25. 11.30am-3.30pm. Various price

For the love of all food and things Italian, Via Roma now presents 'Little Italy'. A new type of family Sunday lunch buffet, Little Italy is built for an all-inclusive food journey and will serve up Italian classics, specialities and creations fit for an entire Italian family, bambini included.

Migas Mercado Summer Lunch Sets

Photo: Migas Mercado

Migas Mercado. Every Mon-Fri until Aug 30. 11.30am-2.30pm. FREE

Welcome the summertime with Migas new summer business lunch menu. It's a simple and delicious two-course meal with five options of starters and main courses to choose from, including soups, salads, homemade sausages amongst the other classic Migas lunch options.

4Rock Beijing Showcase

Photo: 4Rock/Showstart

School Live bar. Tue 20. 9pm-late. 100RMB/80RMB adv

Chinese rock n' roll hero 4Rock returns to the stage with a showcase at School Bar. Although the independent artist has released a couple of albums in the recent past, it'll be the first time for him to take the stage in three years. Don't miss it.

Queen Tribute Night at Beersmith

Photo: Beersmith/Hen Jen Beijing

Beersmith Gastropub. Sat 24. 9pm-late. 100RMB

Beersmith's in-house band Soul Shake will lead a rocking Queen tribute show, presenting all the classics and greatest hits of Queen and bringing back to the golden age of British rock and roll.

Shii

Photo: Shii/Merrie Records

Dusk Dawn Club. Sat 24. 9-11pm. 100RMB/80RMB adv

Merrie Records presents Shii, a Chengdu indie electronic artist currently residing in Wuhan, China. Shii brings femininity and sensitivity to China's expanding electronic music scene. Her music is influenced by IDM, glitch and dream pop, and her songs are lucid dreams filled with passion and observation creating an evocative and intimate sound.

Afro House-Ish Friday Session

Photo: Migas Mercado

Migas Mercado. Fri 23. 10pm-late. FREE

Once again Maclarry brings his afro tunes to make this a big Friday for dancing. A versatile Nigerian born DJ, he started his career in clubs and for big events in the US, and quickly adapted to mixing various styles together. Now at Migas Mercado he is fusing two of his favourites genres, House and Afro with his own personal touch.

Blasterjaxx

Photo: 247 Tickets

One Third. Fri 23. 9pm-late. 100RMB adv

Thom Jongkind and Idir Makhlaf, better known as producer/DJ duo Blasterjaxx, hits the dance floor at One Third this Friday. The duo boasts unique sound which is best described as a crossover between electro-house, progressive and big room, with distinctive personalities on stage – while one is often prominent and empowering, the other prefers staying quietly in the background.

Hologram Dreams

Photo: Dada

Dada. Sat 24. 10pm-late. 30RMB

A voyage from funk into the future. DJs Heatwolves and The Count of Monte Disco take Dada's dance floor on a hyper-loop journey from city-pop, Italo disco, and Chicago house into new wave, electro, and cybernetic madness. Seminal classics, brand new sounds, unknown pleasures, and rare anime visuals. The hologram train only rolls through Beijing a few times a year – don't miss it.

Lantern Presents: Beroshima

Photo: Toxic/Beroshima

Lantern. Sat 24. 10.30pm-late. 80RMB

For nearly thirty years now, Frank Muller has been part of the backbone of the European house and techno scene. The German-born artist is a DJ, producer and live act who is always evolving under his own name and aliases like Beroshima.

Angry Birds 2

Photo: Angry Birds 2/Rovio Animation

Cinemas around Beijing.

Red, Chuck, Bomb and the rest of their feathered friends are surprised when a green pig suggests that they put aside their differences and unite to fight a common threat. Aggressive birds from an island covered in ice are planning to use an elaborate weapon to destroy the fowl and swine way of life. After picking their best and brightest, the birds and pigs come up with a scheme to infiltrate the island, deactivate the device and return to their respective paradises intact.

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw

Photo: Fast and Furious/Universal Pictures

Cinemas around Beijing. Opens Fri 23.

Ever since hulking lawman Hobbs and lawless outcast Shaw first faced off in 2015’s Furious 7, the duo has swapped smack talk and body blows as they’ve tried to take each other down. But when cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton gains control of an insidious bio-threat that could alter humanity forever these two sworn enemies will have to partner up to bring down the only guy who might be more cold-blooded than themselves.

Yesterday 

Photo: Yesterday/Etalon Film

Cinemas around Beijing. 

There’s a lot that’s mind-bendingly corny about director Danny Boyle and writer Richard Curtis’s Yesterday, a peppy 'what-if?’ musical comedy that imagines a world in which the Beatles never existed. The euphoric, guilt-free fantasia explores a world of one young guitarist whose stardom is made, when the Beatles are mysteriously erased from global cultural memory.

Notre Dame de Paris

Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. Until Sep 1. Various time. 880-1,180RMB

Based upon the 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo (who also wrote the novels behind Les Misérables and The Grinning Man), Notre Dame De Paris features an international ensemble of singers, dancers and acrobats to tell the tale of the hunchbacked cathedral bell-ringer, Quasimodo, and his tragic love for the gypsy, Esmeralda. With unforgettable music composed by Richard Cocciante, and lyrics by Luc Plamondon, Notre Dame De Paris continues to capture imaginations and send hearts soaring around the world.

La Fanciulla del West

NCPA. Various dates. 7-9pm. 100-680RMB.

La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) is Puccini's seventh opera. It is ranked as the most mature four opera works by composers, along with Career of the Artist, Tusca and Madame Butterfly. The play is the only major opera to describe California's gold rush so far. The story ends with two lovers riding horses toward the sunset. The theme of music is interspersed with contemporary and local folk music and Indian ballads, which injects a strong regional colour into this pure American theme.

Botanic: A National Amalgamation Project

Photo: Sackler.org

Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology at Peking University. Until Aug 29. FREE

Botanic, an exhibition of world flowers representing countries around the globe, is Iranian artist Maryam Najd's research project on cultural and national amalgamation using national flowers. With the current focus on refugees and caravans of people seeking a better life, the exhibition is an attempt to recognise the unique contributions that each country has made to the world through flowers. Together, the individual flowers form a great garden representing our Earth, our humanity.

Japanese Animation and Studio Ghibli Manuscript Exhibition

Photo: 247 Tickets

Polar Bear Gallery. Until Aug 29. 68RMB/55RMB adv  

Japanese animation has captured the hearts and minds of millions worldwide, this exhibition at Polar Bear Gallery showcases some of the best cels (short for celluloid) that anime has to offer. Featuring work from Studio Ghibli and Osamu Tezuka, this is an event for true fans of anime and newcomers alike.

Lucy Sparrow's Felt Art Imaginarium

Photo: Lucy Sparrow/WeChat

M Woods. Until Oct 11 (except Mon). 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.

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