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Film, theatre, art, music and clubs; there's always something going on in the capital

Latest Features

City Reporter: Are Beijingers ready to ditch the cigarettes?
City Reporter: Are Beijingers ready to ditch the cigarettes?
China is not the place to be if you want to avoid smokers. There are over 350 million of them, and one in three cigarettes smoked in the world are smoked in China, according to the World Health Organization.
Guantanamera.com
Guantanamera.com
This new two-floor bar and restaurant on the east side of the Kuntai Hotel is the latest in Beijing to cater to Cuban food and music. Downstairs features a small bar that is primarily used as a coffee shop, while upstairs is the bar/restaurant section.
Barcelona Bar
Barcelona Bar
One of the more peculiar bars to open in Beijing recently, Barcelona Bar is dedicated to the majestic footballing skills of Barcelona FC. Taking up the space previously occupied by Mojito bar at the Kuntai hotel, Barcelona Bar's entry-way features a staircase painted garishly in the team's red and blue colours, with faux gold leaf-framed photos of the team's biggest players, including a charming portrait of [smiling and sweating] footballing genius Ronaldinho. The bar itself is cavernously large, with ample seating and achingly consistent team colours splashed across ceilings, walls, bar stools and sofas.
The Boat
The Boat
Immediately standing out as one of Beijing's more original bar concepts, The Boat is the one you've probably seen driving past on the Liangma river near to Sanlitun Beixiaojie. Forget any ideas about sailing along Beijing's canals, however, as The Boat is weighed down by a thirty tonne block of concrete that keeps it very much stationary.
Maxi midi
Maxi midi
China’s largest music festival is back with a stellar line up of local and international artists writes Ian Sherman
Secret city:Republican Congress Building
Tucked away inside the grounds of the Xinhua News Agency is a building where world leaders once met to discuss China's fate.
Park Life
Park Life
Beijing is not short of parks with elegant pagodas and historical gates, but forget that… Tania McCartney finds some parks based on pure, unadulterated fun
Maker, meet faker
Maker, meet faker
Contemporary artist Sheng Qi heads to a faker's studio with Toby Skinner and Denise Fung to critique a forged copy of his art
It happened here
It happened here
The raid of the red light district
Vegetarian Survival
Vegetarian Survival
Vegetarians have a tough life in Beijing's non-vegetarian restaurants. In Chinese restaurants asking for, and getting, a dish prepared without meat doesn't necessarily mean the dish is meat-free.
Red Ocean Butterflies
Red Ocean Butterflies
For a restaurant that describes itself as a musical restaurant, Red Ocean Butterflies hits all the wrong notes.
Wagas
Wagas
As if on cue for springtime, Wagas bursts into Beijing's dining scene like daffodils and tulips blossoming after a long, cold winter.
Caffé Parma
Caffé Parma
Don't go to Caffé Parma looking for tiramisu. Named after the Northern Italian town of Parma, home to the best prosciutto, the chef (also fromParma) cooks up simple dishes the way his grandmother taught him.
The A-Z of Peking Opera
The A-Z of Peking Opera
Revival of the shrillest
Revival of the shrillest
With a blockbuster film in the making, the opening of a specialist theatre and a slot in the new school curriculum, Tom Pattinson asks whether, after a recent decline in fortunes, Peking Opera can a comeback.
Davidoff Bar
Davidoff Bar
Now the first Davidoff Lounge has arrived in Beijing and it should please cigar fans, if no one else.
Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is one of Beijing's only African themed bars.
Red House
Red House
The Red House definitely feels out of place in the once peaceful alley, but this doesn't get in the way of it being a decent enough watering hole.
Baoyue Chuping
Baoyue Chuping
Asakuma
Asakuma
Not only does Asakuma offer rolls with combinations and flavours more Californian than Japanese, but the perky staff makes one wonder if they've been poached from Hatsune owner Alan Wong's territory.
La Maree
La Maree
True to its name (‘the tide' in French) - its shades-of-blue décor evokes an upmarket seafood restaurant in Brittany and the menu, is nearly all straight from the sea.
Da Gui
Da Gui
The restaurant executes its dishes well enough that it could become a formidable competitor to the popular Three Guizhou Men.
Meli Melo
Meli Melo
This French fusion restaurant tends towards the whimsical in its eclectic décor of peach-coloured sofas, gilded screens and red chandelier covers made of an Issey Miyake inspired fabric.
Stefanel
Stefanel
Garden Books
Garden Books
Garden books aims to be your friendly local bookshop.
Next
Next
Next sells fashionable clothes, shoes and jewellery at mid range prices, gets a high stock turnover and is generally a well thought out and pleasant place to shop.
The Chieff Store
The Chieff Store
The Chieff Store is a not unfamiliar collection of weird and wonderful modern lifestyle and home products thunk up by European designers with funny names.
Uniqlo
Uniqlo
at Uniqlo - where their motto is to ‘provide people everywhere with the pieces they need to create their own style' - it's no surprise she's getting behind it.
Modern art, ancient setting
Modern art, ancient setting
A new contemporary art museum nestled snugly against the walls of the Forbidden City? Sounds too good to be true, especially when coupled with an innovative curatorial vision at odds with the art scene's prevailing commercial ethos, writes Dan Edwards.
Eating Out Awards 2008
Eating Out Awards 2008
Time Out selects Beijing's best restaurants of 2008
Beijing Botanical Gardens
Beijing Botanical Gardens
Puyi's final Pastime
Say Cheese
Say Cheese
China's first home made gouda arrives
The West
The West
Time Out journeys to the capital's West side
Secret City: Matteo Ricci’s Tomb
Secret City: Matteo Ricci’s Tomb
A very old China hand
Anti-Valentine's Day
Anti-Valentine's Day
Bored by the commerciality, offended by the overall crassness, or just sick of the forced romantic sentiment, Time Out air kisses the face of rebellion and offers you a selection of original Valentines day ideas to help you survive the tackiest holiday of the year.
Beijing's best hotels
Beijing's best hotels
Whatever your accommodation requirements, Time Out has a hotel that will suit your needs...
Beijing backpackers
Beijing backpackers
If you haven't flown in to the city on a private jet and can't afford the presidential suite at the Peninsula Palace Hotel, then one of the city's hostels is the place to stay
Pool Bars
Pool Bars
The best places to play pool around town
Best Champagne Bars
Best Champagne Bars
Far more than just 'fizzy wine', Champagne has long represented elegance, class and wealth. Time Out tells you the places to celebrate in style
Beijing markets
Beijing markets
Instead of heading to Beijing's markets on a shopping mission, go to the more quirky ones and just enjoy the atmosphere. It's a guaranteed good day out
The Beijing Hotel
The Beijing Hotel
Chang'an Jie (Long Peace Street) is a fitting address for The Beijing Hotel and its long list of superlatives.
Where to Stay
Where to Stay
The Olympic hotel spirit is all high-rise and high-end – but the city barely gets a bronze for good, affordable rooms
Baijiu and Fake Alcohol
Baijiu and Fake Alcohol
Think before you drink; introducing baijiu and the dangers of fake alcohol.
Bars & Pubs
Bars & Pubs
Whether you're looking for a dive bar, a glamorous cocktail lounge or just a cheap beer with a student crowd, there's a great night out to be had here in Beijing.
Fakes in Beijing
Fakes in Beijing
Don't expect the real deal...
Bargain guide
Bargain guide
There's no getting away from the fact that in Beijing, bargaining is king. Outside of the department stores (and sometimes even inside) anything can be bartered down to a better price
Tailor-made clothes
Tailor-made clothes
Made to measure threads for less than you'd pay off the rack at home
Buying handicrafts
Buying handicrafts
Beyond the mounds of pirated goods lies an incredible array of gifts that actually mean something. Seek and ye shall find
Beijing's Shops & Services
Beijing's Shops & Services
All the pearls, silk, antiques, fakes, clothes – and tea – in China
Beijing specialities
Beijing specialities
Peking duck likely tops the list of what visitors most want to eat when they come to Beijing. But Peking man does not live on duck alone. The following is a list of some of our favourite dishes in Beijing
Eating in Beijing
Eating in Beijing
Forget celebrity chefs and designer décor – Chinese food is about eating... anything and everything
Hutong demolition
Hutong demolition
Beijing's move towards modernity comes at a price...
South Beijing
South Beijing
Temples of heaven, cranes of hell
Becoming a eunuch
Becoming a eunuch
Time Out takes a look at the excruciating process by which the emperor's eunuchs were separated from their 'crown jewels'...
The Centre
The Centre
Welcome to the historic heart of the universe...
Cosmology and garden design
Cosmology and garden design
Decoding the Chinese garden...
The North-west
The North-west
Join the emperors and escape to the hills...
Traditional Beijing Street life
Traditional Beijing Street life
Escape to the back streets...
Houhai & the North
Houhai & the North
From the ramshackle old-world charm of Houhai to the sleek modernity of the Olympic developments, a journey up from central to north Beijing is a journey through time..
Canal boat trips
Canal boat trips
There are worse ways to explore the city than on Beijing's traditional canals, Time Out discovers
Chinese holiday photos
Why is it that Chinese tourists are so snap-happy? Time Out explains...
Financial district
Where flow the old canals and the new money...
Chaoyang district
Chaoyang district
If capitalism is Beijing’s new passion, then Chaoyang is its heart...
Kebab joints
Kebab joints
Since most Beijing restaurants close early, street-side kebabs are a good late night snack that are never too difficult to find. Just look for the smoke...
Art classes for kids
Art classes for kids
Beijing offers plenty of inspiration for budding Picassos. Whether it's painting, drawing, pottery or jewellery-making, Time Out finds out where kids can get creative in the capital
Amusement parks
Amusement parks
If you're stuck for ideas about where to take the kids, try one of Beijing's amusement parks in the outskirts of the city. Time Out spins, loops and rides its way around the best places to scream your head off
Golf lessons for kids
Golf lessons for kids
Golf used to be seen as the ultimate bourgeois activity but now increasing numbers of Chinese parents, whether to prepare them for the world of business or to burn a few calories, are sending to learn how to tee off
Nanxincang area guide
Nanxincang area guide
Time Out takes a look around one of Beijing's restaurant quarters, a converted 600-year-old granary, now home to some of the capital's most interesting restaurants
Beijing Snacks
Beijing Snacks
Beijingers love their snacks and thanks to a courtyard restaurant near Houhai, a dozen of the capital's most famous eats have a new home. Time Out joins the queues of hungry hordes
Ethnic eats
Ethnic eats
Time Out eats its way through some of the different ethnic cuisines on offer in the capital...
Crab restaurants
Crab restaurants
A shell-shocked Time Out goes out in search of the city's best hairy crab dining experience...
Japanese Restaurants
Japanese Restaurants
Time Out finds out what Beijing's Japanese community considers the best places for a taste of home
Exotic eating
Exotic eating
Time Out tucks in to find out why Chinese diners pay thousands of renminbi to chow down penis, bird's nest and other delicacies
Cosy cafes
Cosy cafes
Whether you want a change of scenery from your living room or need somewhere to take a date for a romantic evening, Time Out snuggles up in the city's cosiest cafes
Juice bars and juicing
Juice bars and juicing
It's not just health freaks that are getting stuck into a smoothie or two, but where can you get the real deal in Beijing? Time Out gets fruity...
Chicken wing restaurants
Chicken wing restaurants
There's no need to wing it when it comes to choosing Beijing's best barbecued chicken: Time Out identifies the fast-food joints that serve the best of the bunch
Insect delicacies
Insect delicacies
Where better to start a meal than at the bottom of the food chain? With an open mind and occasionally closed eyes, Time Out samples the best six-legged snacks Beijing has to offer
International dining
International dining
For when you get fed up with fried rice, Time Out explores some of the city's most authentic foreign restaurants, from dining Kosher to gorging on Brazilian meat feasts and everything in between...
Eating alfresco
Eating alfresco
Time Out goes in search of an outdoor eating experience that doesn't involve a tartan blanket...
Secrets of the city
Secrets of the city
From out of the way restaurants and tatty old flea markets to mountain retreats and ancient temples, Time Out goes in search of 50 of Beijing's most exciting hidden spots
Extreme sports
Extreme sports
If your last rush was biting into a chili during a Sichuan meal you might want to consider trying something a bit more adventurous like extreme sports. Here's how to get your heart-rate pumping
Music lessons
Music lessons
Inspired by Beijing's diverse musical scene? If do-ray-me-fa-la-SO, it's time you picked up an instrument and learnt how to play: Time Out shows you how
Musical instruments
Musical instruments
Time Out gets to grips with where to get everything from a guzheng to a guitar
Fortune tellers
Fortune tellers
Ever wondered what's in store for the future? Time Out tracks down the city's fortune tellers (surely they were expecting us?) and finds out more...
Chinese cookery classes
Chinese cookery classes
Don't know one Chinese dish from another? There's no need to duck the issue any longer: Time Out heads back to the classroom and discovers how to cook Chinese style
Second-hand and vintage
Second-hand and vintage
Sick of paying through the nose to look like everybody else? Time Out tells you how to inject a bit of originality into your wardrobe with the definitive guide to vintage, second hand and celebrity cast offs in the capital
Hot spring resorts
Hot spring resorts
When winter in Beijing leaves us cold, Time Out heads to the burbs for an alfresco steam at a hot spring resort. Bring your bathers, a swimming cap and a sense of fun
Ice skating
Ice skating
Beijing winters are legendarily chilly: keep warm by lacing up some rented skates and heading to some of the city's most picturesque frozen lakes for a twirl on the ice
Flea markets
Flea markets
If you find Beijing's shopping malls over-priced, clinical and uninspiring, then it's definitely time to venture out to one the city's flea markets for a bargain hunt
Bike ride routes
Bike ride routes
When in Beijing, do as Beijingers do and pedal to the metal. Time Out suggests where you can hire a bike and enjoy the city's most picturesque and cycle-friendly routes
Wine tasting
Wine tasting
The best way to pick the wine for you is to try before you buy: Time Out tells you where you can sample a selection at an organised wine tasting. Ganbei!
Vineyard visits
Vineyard visits
For a taste of the best wine China's countryside wineries have to offer, escape from the city, wander round the vineyards and sample a glass or two
Ethical shopping
Ethical shopping
Thanks to an army of celebrity fair trade advocates, ethical buying has become cool, so take a tip from Chris Martin et al and think before you buy. Time Out tells you where in Beijing you can shop with a clear conscience
Fishing
Fishing
Leave the city behind and banish Beijing blues with a spot of fishing in the countryside. Time Out wades through the options
Haunted houses
Haunted houses
Headless prisoners, executed soldiers and faceless school girls: Beijing's turbulent history has caused many ghosts and ghouls to remain in the land of the living. Time Out discover some of the most haunted buildings in the city
Best brunch venues
Best brunch venues
From champagne, crabs and clowns to candy floss and chocolate fountains, Beijing's brunch restaurants are all competing for your attention. Time Out tells you the best places to blow your waistline in style
Cheap booze
Cheap booze
If five star dining and drinking 150RMB cocktails is beyond your budget, the city has a whole host of all you can drink nights to send you into oblivion...
Cheap boutiques
Cheap boutiques
There’s nothing better than bagging yourself some cheap threads, but no one wants to take home any old junk. Time Out tells you where to find the best quality bargains in Beijing