Sailing party

Tired of being stuck in the city? Want to feel the sand between your toes instead of blowing in your face? We have the perfect solution: a weekend of fun at the seaside. Join us for sail training and a fun regatta, followed by a party with barbecue and music, then choose the next day [...]

China Sommelier Competition: Beijing qualifier set for September 13

The Beijing qualifier for the second China Sommelier Competition is slated for September 13. Qualifiers are also scheduled for Shanghai, Chongqing, and Guangzhou, according to organizer Tommy Lam. Each participant will face 50 multiple choice question and a blind tasting of two wines, with the nine who score highest qualifying for the September 26 finale [...]

Czech It Out: Dinner and drinks at Irresistible Cafe

Dinners featuring Chinese or Japanese, Spanish or French, Italian or Russian cuisine are pretty common in Beijing. But those focused on the culinary fare of the Czech Republic? Not so many. Even so, Cafe Irresistible is holding its second Czech dinner, on September 8 from 7 PM, and at what looks like an irresistible price [...]

Bumpy Months Ahead for U.S. and China

The visit of U.S. National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers and Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon that started Sunday kicks off a historically busy period of U.S.-China exchanges on which a lot is riding in the world’s most important bilateral relationship.
Summers and Donilon will be discussing a range of thorny issues — including U.S. [...]

Sony Ericsson Doesn’t Fear Chinese Knock-Offs

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson doesn’t think knock-off Chinese phones are harming its market share, but Chinese handset makers will be “serious” competitors long-term, the company’s chief executive said in Beijing this week.
China’s knock-off gadget culture has spawned all manner of quirky devices, like mobile phones labeled “Samsang” instead of “Samsung,” fake iPads and iPhones [...]

A Shan by Any Other Name

What’s in a name? If you live in the Shan family village in Shandong province, the answer is a Chinese character so rare that computer systems used to issue official documents can’t render it.
With China having largely switched to computerized from handwritten forms, the surname Shan is a character that can’t be printed by departments [...]

NORDOX Film Showcase

The Nordic Documentary Film Festival teams up with UCCA and the 798 Art Festival to present three masterpieces of Nordic documentary film. The films include Tokyo Noise, Roskilde and Girls. The showcase is also a warm-up for the Fifth Nordic Documentary Film Festival in China, which UCCA will host this autumn. Free. Check the schedule [...]

FunGym Opening

FunGym, a chain of children’s gyms based in Canada, will open its first store in Beijing on Sunday with free roller-skating lessons, free climbing classes and a football friendship game. The gym features programs and facilities to help children develop not just their physical but also their cognitive, emotional and social skills. Regular classes start [...]

Tonight at Fubar: New look, RMB1 Tasmanian Devil Margaritas

Renovations finished at Fubar last night and just in time since this Workers Stadium joint will mark its sixth one-kuai drinks special tonight. Held the first day of each month, the special runs from 6 PM to 8 PM and this month will feature pints of Tasmanian Devil Margaritas for RMB1. And because people always [...]

Drinking inside The Box: A Canadian bar in Beijing

[If I could figure out how to download photos from the camera I have today, this space would contain a shot of a small bar with a sign featuring a moose and Canadian flag. You'll just have to imagine it.]
The Box is the name of: (a) a Canadian band, (b) a Canadian destination for naughty [...]