Photo: 247 Tickets
Your weekend guide to the best of Beijing
Summer's in session and there's plenty of reason to head out this weekend with a jam-packed line-up of awesome things to do. From city tours to stomping gigs, make the most of the perfect weather and get out there.
As well as these highlights, there are many more things to do in Beijing this weekend: 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.
Jiankou to Mutianyu Great Wall
Beijing Hikers
Beijing Hikers. Sat 17. 7am-6pm. 500RMB/450RMB (for members)
This is a tough and challenging hike, suitable for experienced hikers with a good head for heights. The hike crosses unrestored and restored sections of wall, which makes it a good way to see the Great Wall as it is now, and how it might have looked when first built.
Mindfulness Facilitator Training
Photo: The Mind Body Project/Instagram
Crossboundaries Architects. Fri 16-Sun 25. 7pm-4pm. 5,000RMB/4,000RMB adv
This program will be led by Erin Lee Henshaw, American mindfulness facilitator, who has studied internationally with Mindful Schools, Rishikesh Yog Peeth, LifeForce Yoga for Anxiety and Depression, and Zap Chen with Janet Evergreen. Erin has worked for the Mind and Life Institute, taught mindfulness programs for the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia and received multiple grants to teach and study in the US.
NBA Exhibition: Unstoppable Beijing
Yang Art Museum. Until Sep 13. 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.
Photo: Pop Mart/WeChat
China International Exhibition Centre. Fri 16-Sun 18. 9am-6pm. 120RMB
The Beijing Toy Show returns in August and features the works of more than 300 artists, designers and brands from over ten countries including Singapore, Japan, Korea and Slovenia. With the theme 'Back to Play', turn back time and have fun with a full range of toys only at the Beijing Toy Show.
Photo: Mosto Group/Burger Box
Burger Box. Until Sun 18. 11am-late. FREE
Burger Box is celebrating its grand opening with buy-one-get-one burgers all day, every day until Sunday 18. Stop by the newly opened Burger Box located on Nali Patio's Northside (right next door to the new Moka Bros) to try one of the eight signature burgers. And, with four types of patties, there is sure to be a burger for everyone, choose from 100 percent Aussie beef, pork, fried chicken or the veggie burger.
Gyu Tetsu Weekly Specials
Photo: Gyu Tetsu
Gyu Tetsu. Every Mon-Thu. 5.30pm-late.
Looking to get your meat fix? Gyu Tetsu has got you covered. The beefy izakaya and barbecue restaurant opened by the pros behind Japanese ramen chain Tetsu has launched daily deals for their prime beef cuts. Enjoy 50 percent off premium short rib on Mondays, thick beef tongue on Tuesdays, skirt steak on Wednesdays, and marinated beef rib strip on Thursdays.
The Orchid. Sat 17. 6.30-10pm. 178RMB
On a mission to give Beijing foodies a gastronomic discovery of Madagascar's cuisine, 'Gasy House is bringing yet another evening of Malagasy feast, this time a Vegan one. Discover original and creative twists on some of the best of Malagasy's dishes.
Sunday half-price roasted chicken
Photo: Mosto
Mosto. Every Sunday. 5.30-10.30pm.
Mosto is here to make Sunday night dinners easy. Every Sunday, all night, their roasted chicken is half off (regular price 228RMB) accompanied by your choice of one side and one sauce. Choose from an assortment of sides like the truffle mashed potatoes, roasted pumpkin, broccolini and house sauces like the avocado salsa or South American chimichurri.
13 Club. Sat 17. 8.30-10.30pm. 160RMB/120RMB adv
The first thing to stick in any human being’s mind when we think of a wolf is the teeth; sharp, vicious, unforgiving, jaws that sink in and don’t let go. This image is what has driven Australian metalcore outfit Alpha Wolf to spend the past few years proving to the world that they more than live up to such an image.
Fancy Wall Album Release Show
School Live Bar. Sat 17. 9pm-midnight. 100RMB/70RMB adv
Join School Bar favorites Fancy Wall and their folky pop-punk musings as they release their new album Millennium Eden. Set to open the night are punk rock outfits Red Mustache and Show Hand.
Blue Note. Thu 15-Fri 16. 7.30-9.30pm. 560RMB/460RMB
With 10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a Soul Train Award, and more, Take 6 continues to bring extraordinary vocals to their worldwide audiences. April 2018 marks the release of their sixteenth album, aptly titled ICONIC. The group brings their faith, friendship and love of music to Beijing for an evening to remember.
The Billy Hart Quartet
Photo: 247 Tickets
Blue Note. Sat 17-Sun 18. 7.30-9.30pm, 6.30-8.30pm. 500RMB/400RMB
William 'Billy' Hart is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history. Accompanied by his quartet, pianist Ethan Iverson, saxophonist Mark Turner and bassist Joe Martin, the Billy Hart Quartet will be harking back to days long gone by.
Modernista. Fri 16. 10pm-midnight. FREE
This Friday, the Great Buffalo Blues is back to let loose with their inspiring and electrifying sound of Americana, classic blues and rock. Make way for the weekend.
Dusk Dawn Club. Sun 18. 9pm-late. 60RMB/50RMB adv
BLIP is an electronic band formed in Beijing by lead vocalist and guitarist Joan, and vocalist and producer Chopper. With respective experiences in the music industry, they try to arrange and rehearse songs in different forms while experimenting with traditional instruments. The group is based on electronica, trip-hop and downtempo.
Peace and Love Presents: Moog Conspiracy
Photo: Lantern
Lantern. Fri 16. 10.30pm-late. 80RMB/50RMB adv
Lantern's Peace And Love party series invite you to dip into the darkness of the night and get lost in the dynamics of their special guest from Berlin – French-born DJ Romain Favre, or otherwise known as Moog Conspiracy. With over a hundred releases and three albums, he has been producing and playing techno around the globe since a decade ago. Well-involved in Berlin's infamous techno club Sisyphos, he has become a reference in the scene.
Polarfront
Photo: Lantern
Lantern. Sat 17. 11pm-late. Tba
Seoul based artist, Polarfront is a techno and electronic music artist who also produces music for pop artists and commercials. Since the release of his self-titled album in 2015, all the signs indicated he was a special artist. He promised to make more music and everything was possible for this tireless musical tracker capable of making magic with machines. Look forward to 2018 and it was his breakthrough year: The release of his EP Baikal will stun anyone who listens.
Strictly Vinyl 90』S with Edison and Watermelon
Photo: Migas Mercado
Beijing legends Watermelon and Edison join forces to bring you some banging old school house tunes. In a night of vinyls only, get ready to sway and bounce the night away as these music addicts spin the hottest from the 90's.
Photo: Angry Birds 2/Rovio Animation
Cinemas around Beijing. Opens Fri 16.
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.
Photo: Fighting With My Family/MGM
Cinemas around Beijing.
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.
Photo: Yesterday/Etalon Film
Cinemas around Beijing. Opens Fri 16
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.
JunNK
Rulun Lecture Hall of Renmin University. Sat 17. 7.30-9pm. 196-266RMBUsing various items commonly found in a junkyard as their foundation, these four hilarious performers energetically combine acapella, captivating percussions, innovative musical creations and mesmerising gymnastics. The result is a lively, dynamic and seriously fun show to the delight of audiences of all ages and nationalities.
Notre Dame de Paris
Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. Sun 18-Sun 1 Sept. 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.
Popopolska
NCPA. Fri 16-Sun 18. Various time. 180-300RMB
Four toy music artists to reimagine three short Polish animations by performing the melancholy, lively and illusive animation soundtrack through visual imaginations. These animations centre around three stories, a striped elephant who tries to get along with his friends, who despise him for his stripes, the story of a dreaming Mika who yearns for companionship and Rex, the friendly and polyglot who tries to use his skill to be a multilingual diplomat.
Picasso Birth of a Genius
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. Until Sep 1 (Except Mon). 138-188RMB
Arriving this June, 'Picasso – Birth of a Genius' is the most significant exhibition of work by Pablo Picasso ever to take place in China. Offering a comprehensive overview of the first three decades of Picasso’s career, the exhibition includes 103 works drawn entirely from the collection of the Musée national Picasso-Paris, tracing Picasso’s development from childhood to middle age and promising an in-depth insight into the life of one of the most influential artists in the history of modern art.
Chaoyang Joy City. Until Sep 15. 68-178RMB
Take a look at the history of the legendary British rock group The Beatles. The exhibition features themed spaces, artwork and photographs from the band's history as well as many of their classic hits.
Wavelength: Made in Illusion
Times Art Museum. Sat 6 Jul-Sun 6 Oct (except Mon). 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.