21 smashing things to do in Beijing
Your weekly guide to amazing events in Beijing
Happy Monday Beijing! As we head into the last week before National Day, there's still much to do and enjoy in the city aside from the impending inconvenience. With blue skies and clean air sticking around, as well as parties, music and film galore, we've got something for everyone. Read on for our top picks for the great events happening around town this week.
Chifan for Charity
Photo: Chi Fan for Charity
Various locations. Until Oct 7. 1,000RMB
Sign up to be a table host and enjoy some good food for a good cause for the 11th ChiFan for Charity. The annual dine-for-charity event brings together more than 50 restaurants and 600 diners dining on some of the city's finest restaurants and giving back to the community while they're at it. This year's beneficiary is the Bethel China, an NGO that helps blind children around China through early interventions.
88 After 8
Photo: Burger Box
Burger Box. Until Nov 30. 8pm-late. 88RMB
Late-night eats just got a little tastier. Burger Box is serving up any two burgers for just 88RMB every day of the week after 8pm (offer excludes number 8, Outside the Box). Stop by anytime from 8pm every day for a pre-game, post-bar or just for the late-night munchies.
Migas Mercado Weekday Business Lunch
Photo: Migas Mercado
Migas Mercado. Every Mon-Fri. 11.30am-2.30pm. 118RMB
Here to make lunch in the heart of Beijing special is Migas Mercado's business lunch menu. Fuel your brain with a two-course meal with more than five options of starters and mains to choose from, including soups, salads, homemade sausages, eggs and seafood among other classic Migas lunch options.
Seasonal Hairy Crab at Park Hyatt Beijing
Photo: Park Hyatt Beijing
Park Hyatt. Until Oct 31. Noon-10.30pm. 128RMB
Autumn in China calls for the best time to savour hairy crabs. Crowned as the King of Crabs, they're celebrated for their roe and juicy meat. This season at the peak of the harvest, enjoy these prized crustaceans steamed or in new, creative presentations for a limited time at Park Hyatt Beijing's China Grill and level 63 Dining Room.
Beginner Brush Pen Calligraphy Class
Learn how to write all alphabet letters in calligraphy with confidence at this upcoming workshop. Materials include a workbook, brush pen (Pentel Touch or Tombow Dual), cardstock plus a bonus Muji notebook with your calligraphed name in front.
The Emperor and the Lama
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.
A Crash Course to the Forbidden City
Photo: BJ Postcards
Beijing Postcards. Wed 25. 11am-3.30pm. 350RMB
This tour is a humble attempt to unlock the meaning behind the chambers of the palace in a condensed and hopefully entertaining way. It'll 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.
Architectural Preservation and Heritage Talk at The Bookworm
Photo: The Bookworm
The Bookworm. Tue 24. 7.30-9.30pm. 60RMB
Throughout China, some remains of ancient structures are seen well-preserved with support from government and civil organizations, but others are left in isolation and dilapidation. Delve into a panel discussion with The Bookworm on the architecture, preservation and heritage of these ancient structures today.
Jing Sing A Cappella Choir
Photo: Modernista
Modernista. Thu 26. 9pm-late. FREE
Beijing's only a cappella choir Jing Sing will showcase their eclectic selection of songs ranging from last year's pop hits to timeless doo-wop classics and some extra Hakuna Matatafun. Bring your friends, grab a drink and get the weekend started early at Modernista.
Costantino Carrara
Photo: 247 Tickets
Rulun Lecture Hall of Renmin University. Sat 28. 7.30-9.30pm. 100-660RMB
Costantino Carrara is an Italian pianist and composer. In 2011 he created a YouTube channel for fun and started uploading some of his favourite arrangements: now he has more than 100 million views and 600,000 subscribers. His personal interpretation of 'See You Again' recorded in the woods, won second place in the competition organized by Bewons, a social network for musicians.
Victor Bastidas
Photo: La Plantation
La Plantation. Fri 27. 7.30-9pm. 100-200RMB
Victor Bastidas is a drummer and composer from Colombia, who has studied jazz and composition in Miami, Chicago and New York and currently lives in Beijing teaching at the Contemporary Music Academy. His music comprises a blend of styles and textures based on folk music from his native Colombia, as well as the elements of jazz and contemporary music writing.
The Great Buffalo Blues
Photo: Modernista
Modernista. Sat 28. 10pm-late. FREE
Get your blues on in the last weekend of September at Modernista, as The Great Buffalo Blues brings an electrifying show. This is a high energy stage show that is guaranteed to keep you moving all night.
Kizomba at Migas Mercado
Photo: Modernista
Migas Mercado. Every Tue. 9pm-late. FREE
Grab a partner and dance to the beat of kizomba. Originating from Angola, kizomba is slow and steady and easy to learn. Come as a couple or come on your own and find yourself a dancing partner. The lesson begins at 9pm with King Kizzy and Roxie, followed by open dancing after DJ Joyce and Friends.
Swing Jazz Night
Photo: The Bookworm
The Bookworm. Every Thu. 9.30pm-late. 50RMB
Join Bookworm for its swing jazz night, where you'd be engaged in a series of social dances from Lindy Hop to the Charleston, Balboa, Boogie and Shag. After the trial class, everybody is invited to stay, enjoy and dance it out on the dance floor.
Twelfth Night Screening
Photo: The Bookworm
The Bookworm. 7.30-10.30pm. Fri 27. 120RMB
Here's another chance to see this all-male version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. It features Mark Rylance as Olivia and Stephen Fry as Malvolio. Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters, Twelfth Night combines cruelty with high comedy and the pangs of unrequited love with some of the most subtle poetry and exquisite songs Shakespeare ever wrote. Head to The Bookworm to experience this original drama and unique historic play.
Mia and the White Lion (Mia at le Lion Blanc)
Photo: Film Afrika Worldwide
Cinemas around Beijing.
Mia moves to Africa with her family and dislikes living there until their family adopts a white lion cub. But as time goes by and the cub grows into a grown lion, her parents decide to finally let the lion go by selling him to the highest bidder. Mia refuses and goes on a mission to save the white lion and find a reserve for him to live in. The movie will be in French and in English.
Photo: Warner Bros
Cinemas around Beijing.
Clint Eastwood tells the story about how, in the early 1980s, the active star-director has become 88 years old (impressive in itself) horticulturalist. The plot, based on a news-of-the-weird New York Times Magazine article from 2014, concerns a 90-year-old coke runner, here renamed Earl Stone, who avoided detection by being such an unlikely target in the War on Drugs.
The Three-Body Problem: Part 1
Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. Thu 26- Sat 28. Various times. 180-880RMB
Lotus Lee drama studio is the exclusive drama producer of Liu Cixin’s Hugo awards winning science fiction book series The Three-Body Problem. The company invested a large sum of money into creating a 3D science fiction drama The Three-body problem, that has been performed in June 2016, at SAIC Shanghai Cultural Square, shocking the audience. It became 2016 annual box office absolute champion and finished the first round of the tour in first and second-tier cities nationwide, that was widely praised by all circles of society.
Beijing Design Week at Hotel Jen Beijing
Photo: Hotel Jen Beijing
Hotel Jen Beijing. Until Sun 29. tba. FREE
Hotel Jen Beijing has collaborated with Beijing Design Week to launch a Jen-Why-Art project during Beijing Design Week from September 5 to September 25. Catch the work by numerous local Chinese artists in this unique art project which focuses on the dynamics between human and environment. They also give each exhibit a detailed introduction and voice explanation.
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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