25 brilliant things to do in Beijing this week

Photo: Hua Qing Perpetual Motion Machine/Parkview Green WeChat

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.

NBA Exhibition: Unstoppable Beijing

Photo: 247 Tickets

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

This is your last week to catch Unstoppable Beijing, a multi-level experience with interactive exhibits, video, and imagery to showcase the passion of NBA, its teams and players. Take a trip back in time to NBA's early years and explore the many ways it has evolved since 1946.

Chinese Tea Tasting with the British Club of Beijing

The Westin Beijing Chaoyang. Tue 10. 10am-noon. 150RMB 

Sample some amazing teas and hear a fascinating presentation on the history and benefits of Chinese tea from Johnny New, owner of Geng Xiang Tea and Nic Doering, founder of Cultural Keys. Apart from this month's great talk, come and enjoy a light brunch and prosecco, win exciting prizes in a fabulous raffle, mingle, make new friends, and enjoy.

Beijing Arrivals: The History of Dashilar

Beijing Postcards. Thu 12. 3-5.30pm. 300RMB 

Beijing Arrivals is a walk and talk that starts out in Beijing Postcards’ hutong gallery with a brief introduction to Dashilar. The walking tour takes you to explore the different districts of the neighborhood, followed by a visit to a couple of families who have been part of Beijing Postcards' oral history project.

Mooncake Making & Tea Tasting at the Hutong

Photo: The Hutong

The Hutong. Sat 14. 2.30-5pm. 200RMB/180RMB (for members)

Come and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with the Hutong by making some mooncakes, as well as sampling and making handcrafted teas. During two-and-half hours, you’ll also get to learn the history and technique behind these traditions, and find out which moon cake flavours pair well with different types of tea.

Storytelling Anniversary at4Corners

4corners. Fri 13. 8.30-11pm. FREE

Share and exchange your favorite real-life stories on a weekly theme at Storytelling. This time, hear stories on getting into awkward situations, bad luck, getting caught in the act, and almost perfect SO or who knows what else?

Meatless Mondays

Photo: Slow Boat Brewery 

Slow Boat (Dengshikou). Every Monday. 10am-midnight. FREE

Kick off this week in a healthy fashion at Slow Boat Dengshikou Taproom's meatless Mondays. Enjoy buy one get one free on all veggie burgers and the Thai Vegan Chop Salad with the purchase of any drink, and five RMB off on freshly squeezed juices.

Mid-Autumn Harvest Feast at the Brickyard 

Photo: The Brickyard

The Brickyard. Fri 13-Sat 14. 5-9pm. 198RMB for adults/98RMB

Join The Brickyard as they host the annual Mid-Autumn Harvest Feast in Beigou. Escape the bustle of the city for a weekend getaway and get closer to nature while spending the traditional Chinese holiday with your family and friends. Join for a traditional village celebration accompanied by a feast, live folk music, and moon-viewing by the Great Wall.

Seafood Buffet Dinner at InterContinental Beijing Beichen

Photo: InterContinental

InterContinental Beijing Beichen. Until Sep 30. 5.30-10.30pm. 388RMB

Café O2 at InterContinental Beijing Beichen presents a dinner seafood extravaganza that is broad in variety and flavour. Bursting with the fresh taste of the ocean, indulge in the all-you-can-eat seafood with different types of premium seafood ranging from Alaskan crab claw, scallop, shrimp, fish, octopus, mussel and so much more. Each guest can now enjoy one lobster cooked in four different ways. Come treat yourself and your loved ones with a lavish seafood buffet feast.

Mooncakes from the Fairmont Beijing

Photo: Fairmont Beijing

Lunar 8. Until Sep 13. 6.30am-10pm. FREE

Giving a box of mooncakes is the perfect treat for your family and friends. This year Fairmont Beijing offers a collection of both 6-piece and 8-piece sets of delicate and elegant treats, with a variety of flavours ranging from traditional egg yolk with white lotus paste to the exotic French walnut macchiato, presented in specially-designed boxes inspired by Chinese folk culture.

The Twilight Sad

Photo: 247 Tickets

Omni Space. Wed 11. 8.30-10.30pm. 150RMB/120RMB adv

From their unassuming origins as a group of school friends drawn together by a shared passion for music to the global touring force they have quietly become, The Twilight Sad’s ascent has been forged the old way with grit, graft and four exceptional studio albums, noting the experimental creativity of Graham's sincere lyrics, thick Scottish accent and MacFarlane's dense sonic walls of shoegazing guitar.

Softer Still

Photo: 247 Tickets

Omni Space. Thu 12. 8.30-10.30pm. 150RMB/120RMB adv

After released two stunning singles, Surrey-based indie dream-popout fit Softer Still released their debut album Nuances. Rising stars of the shoegaze scene, this is a concert not to be missed. Nuances is packed with full of imaginative soundscapes, with nods to progressive rock and metal to 80’s and 90’s guitar music throughout.

Vita Bergen

Photo: 247 Tickets

Dusk Dawn Club. Fri 13. 9pm-late. 80RMB/60RMB adv

Vita Bergen, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist William Hellström has emerged as one of Sweden’s most talked-about under-the-radar projects. With award nominations, sold-out tours, US and pan-European project collaborations with brands like Apple, Toyota and Google and with over 100 gigs on the European indie music scene, the melodic, explosive, pop-orientated Vita Bergen has made the journey from the underground scene in its small-sized hometown of Gothenburg to the main stages on festivals across Europe.

Göran Söllscher Guitar Recital

Photo: 247 Tickets

NCPA. Fri 13. 7.30-9.30pm. 160-360RMB

Göran Söllscher is a Swedish award-winning virtuoso classical guitarist known for his broad range of musical interpretations, ranging from Bach to The Beatles. Söllscher's international career began during his years of education at the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen in Denmark. Signed by German record label Deutsche Grammophon, the largest label featuring classical guitarists, Söllscher has released over 19 records, which altogether have sold over a million copies.

Full Moon Party at Beersmith

Beersmith Gastropub. Thu 12. 7pm-late. FREE

Summer might soon be over, but that doesn't mean the fun has to stop. Get some beach party vibes at Beersmith's full moon party. Inspired by Thai island Koh Phangan’s famous beach raves, in-house band Soul Shake will be pumping out summer anthems on the decks, with drinking games to play and refreshing cocktails and beers served on the side.

Afro House-Ish Friday Session

Photo: Migas Mercado

Migas Mercado. Fri 13. 10pm-late. FREE

Once again Maclarry brings his afro tunes to make Friday special. Grab your best printed shirt and head to the dance floor. 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, House and Afro with his own personal touch.

Cad 73

Photo: Migas Mercado

Migas Mercado. Sat 14. 10pm-late. FREE

Cad 73, the music encyclopedia, will get you in the groove this Saturday night on Migas Mercado's terrace. He'll be spinning Funk, Soul and Hip-hop, from 10pm till late. Get ready for a journey with the royalty of underground music.

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.

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.

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.

Les Choristes

Photo: 247 Tickets

Haidian Theatre. Until Sep 22. Various time. 180-880RMB 

Les Choristes is a 2004 European drama film adapted from the 1945 film A Cage of Nightingales. The plot involves the widely successful orchestra conductor Pierre Morhange, who returns to France when his mother dies. He reminisces about his childhood when he's a badly behaved kid sent to the boarding institution for difficult boys. But it all changed when new teacher Claymont Mathieu brightens up the school and assembles a choir, leading to the discovery of Morhange's musical and physical talents and a transformation in the children.

2047 Apologue 3

NCPA. Fri 13- Sun 15. 7.30-9.30pm. 168-1,280RMB

The director extends the traditional forms of stage performances, combining Chinese folk art with modern technology. The show consisted of eight performances, which were prepared by 20 international and local teams. In each of the performances, the emphasis was focused on the fact that technology and humans are merged together, but nothing is eternal and technology can undo humanity.

Russian State Ballet: Swan Lake

Photo: 247 Tickets

Mei Lanfang Grand Theatre. Thu 12-Sat 14 (except Fri). Various time. 180-880RMB

After a successful Ballet tour last year, Russian State Ballet is back for their China tour with mesmerizing, and captivating full touring ballet production. One hundred and thirty-five years ago, audiences heard the Swan Lake music by the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for the very first time. From this moment on, the world of ballet would never be the same again.

Exhibition: Making Practices in China and Southeast Asia in 1990s

Photo: OCAT Institute/WeChat

OCAT Institute. Until Sep 29 (except Mon). FREE  

The Reading Room project is a public study space and an on-going archival project focusing on exhibition practices during the 90s in China and Southeast Asia. Audiences are invited to interact with a growing collection of publications, which have been compiled to help disseminate, draw awareness, and promote accessibility to different book forms and methods of documenting exhibition histories. This is a research initiative in collaboration with Rockbund Art Museum and independent curator Biliana Ciric.

The Beatles: Beat On

Photo: 247 Tickets

Chaoyang Joy City. Until Sep 15. 68-178RMB

Don't miss the last week to catch the exhibition of one of the biggest bands in history. Visitors can explore themed spaces, view artwork and photographs of the legendary British rock group The Beatles, as well as many of their classic hits.

Fairy tale on Earth: Hua Qing Solo exhibition

Photo: Hua Qing Perpetual Motion Machine/Parkview Green WeChat

Parkview Green Fangcaodi. Until Sep 15. FREE

Imagine the world as a giant fairytale, full of exaggeration and humour. And that's exactly what Hua Qing's art exhibit at Parkview Green aims to depict. Included in his exhibition are his most recent paintings, sculptures, installations, and the artist's manuscripts presented to the public for the first time. With more than 30 years as an artist, the Chinese artist has held nearly 30 solo exhibitions in Asia, Europe and North American and has participated in more than 200 group exhibitions worldwide.

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