That's Beijing - July 2017

: ide n e Ins nji Issu a ug Tily /A Ju

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J U LY 2 0 1 7

An asylum seeker’s firsthand account of life in Beijing

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Editor-in-Chief Noelle Mateer Deputy Editor Dominique Wong National Arts Editor Erica Martin Digital Content Editor Justine Lopez Designer Iris Wang Contributors Dominic Ngai, Tristin Zhang, Sky Thomas Gidge, Bailey Hu, Mia Li, Nick Mateer, Zaza Qian, Earl Robertson

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Editor’s Note

JULY 2017

DEALS We're giving away tickets to some of the very best Beijing

With the exception of a very strange internship rewriting the websites of city tourism boards – shout out to changsha.gov – I’d hardly edited anything before starting at That’s Beijing. It matters not. I learned more from working under the talented Steve George and Oscar Holland than I did in semesters of journalism classes.

In fact, I moved to Beijing simply because I was so excited by their vision for the magazine: That’s Beijing would tell human stories with thoughtful original features, as well as report on all the arts, style, events and food that make this city so great.

To say I’m lucky is an understatement – others find themselves here for much darker reasons. As China’s role on the international stage grows, so does its importance to the global refugee crisis, and this month, we’re grateful to have the first-hand account of an asylum seeker in Beijing. Read his fascinating essay, as well as our interview with representatives from the UN Refugee Agency, in this month’s cover story (p. 42).

Elsewhere in the magazine, Tristin Zhang connects today’s Mobike obsession to China’s bicycle-crazed past (p. 10); Erica Martin interviews China’s most buzzed-about rap group, Higher Brothers (p. 32); and Dominique Wong explains the meaning of ‘Klerm,’ a new Thai restaurant (p. 60), and introduces us to Zhang Mama’s surprisingly tuhao new location (p. 58).

Until next month,

parties, openings, shows and talks all month, alongside free meals, drinks, discounts and prizes.

All you have to do is scan the QR code below, follow us on WeChat and keep an eye out for your chance to win. You'll get some other great stuff on your phone too.

Noelle Mateer Editor-in-Chief

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA ThatsBeijing t w i t t er. c om / T ha t s B eijin g facebook .com/ ThatsBeijing

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6 CITY 7 GOING UNDERGROUND A network of illegal dwellings are found under high-end apartments

16 TVCC, NOT CCTV Architects on what makes the TVCC special

17 MAJOR KEYBOARD The Chinese slang term for ‘keyboard warrior’

17

18 LIFE & STYLE

21 GREAT (WALL) DAY Where to stay for a weekend by the Wall

24 A STYLE EVOLUTION On the Tianjin expat who brought American style to Japan

26 DESIGN OF THE TIMES 24

A Beijing townhouse with stunning interiors

28 ARTS 32 TAKE ME HIGHER Chinese rap group Higher Brothers on fame and Migos

34 BIRD’S NEST FOOTY FEST A preview of the upcoming Chelsea vs Arsenal game

36 THE BOOKWORMS

China-based literati pick out summer reads

32

52 EAT & DRINK 55 MIFAN OR MAFAN

We tell you if the rice is worth the hassle at these new openings

56 GO OUTSIDE What and where to drink alfresco

63 BEER AND NOW 63 4 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

Inside the CBD’s first craft brewery

10 CYCLE OF LIFE How the bike-sharing revolution made cycling cool again

42 BUREAUCRACY AND BOREDOM An asylum-seeker’s firsthand account of life in Beijing

P38

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CITY

THE WHEEL DEAL Now and then: China's love affair with cycling, p10

Generation Gap p8

Architecture p16

Chinese Urban Dictionary p17

TALES OF THE CITY

GONGTI’S UNDERGROUND SLUM

by Justine Lopez

Residents of a high-end apartment building in Beijing recently discovered that they were living above a whole colony of people.

During an inspection in June, local authorities found 400 people living in a bomb shelter in the basement of Julong Gardens, near the Workers’ Stadium. The old bunker had been converted into a slum comprised of 40 cramped rooms, unventilated kitchens, designated smoking areas and only one emergency exit. In some cases, up to 36 people inhabited a single room, according to the BBC. Such conditions would be considered unlivable by most. But, as dystopian as it sounds, it is estimated that over 1 million people – mostly poor migrant workers and students from rural areas – live in Beijing’s mysterious and massive system of underground bunkers. The phenomenon has become so prevalent in Beijing that these people are known as shuzu (rat tribe).

Beijing’s subterranean shelters were built between 1969 and 1979 – the height of the Cold War – under the direction of Chairman Mao. Although there is no official record of this underground world, it is believed that 10,000 interconnected bunkers were constructed in anticipation of nuclear war with the Soviet Union and the USA. The network of

bomb shelters is so extensive that it is capable of housing up to 6 million residents.

With all of this unused space, a market has cropped up to exploit the many poor migrants who can’t afford Beijing’s inflated housing costs. They have converted the bunkers into squalid living spaces, charging tenants comparatively modest fees. With the capital’s booming population and rapidly rising rental prices, more and more people are left with no choice but to go underground.

According to one resident of the Julong Gardens bunker, tenants paid RMB1,300 (USD264) per month for a dorm bed. That’s about one-tenth of what the residents of Julong Gardens pay for their much posher apartments.

Julong Gardens – and its underground shelter – is officially owned by the Beijing Government, though it was likely subleased to another party thereafter. It is unclear who exactly was renting out rooms to these 400 tenants.

Although renting underground is a common practice in the capital, authorities started clamping down on it in 2015. Earlier this year, the local government announced plans to tear down roughly 40 million square meters of illegal rooms and structures – many of

which are located underground – by the start of 2018. In March, over 700 underground rooms in Hepingmen, near Tiananmen Square, were removed, and over 350 people were displaced. During the first two months of this year, construction workers demolished at least 13,862 square meters of illegal shelters and 1,157 rooms in Beijing. They reportedly helped the 2,000-or-so residents who inhabited these bunkers find new accommodation.

As unique as the case of Julong Gardens’ underground colony sounds, it is just another example of Beijing’s crackdown on illegal structures, and it is merely one of many similar stories that are currently unfolding across the capital.

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THE BUZZ GENERATION GAP Do you think bridal "hazing" (harrassing or goading the bridal party on the wedding day) has gone too far in China?

CHEN, 41

RAINBOW'S END A young participant at last month’s Color Run – a 5km fun run with paint – gives a shoutout to his fam.

“I think this type of ritual [where bridesmaids are pressured to drink in excess] is inappropriate. Although I don’t think you can say the alcohol poisoning is anyone’s fault – more a consequence of the culture. The case where bridesmaids are sexually harassed is a result of naohun [teasing the bride and the bridegroom on their wedding night]. It’s a social custom, and can take the form of touching the person’s face. Sometimes people naohun the best man or bridesmaid, and also the father-in-law”

HUANG, 17

NOT IN LOVE “Cases [of hazing] usually occur between good friends. It can be very troublesome and unhealthy. The most important thing is to balance having a good time with other considerations, such as your wellbeing.

Maybe if it were my good friend asking me to drink, I would do it, as I have faith that my best friends wouldn’t ask me to drink too much. They’d look after me. Regarding sexual assault, I don’t think it’s a major issue, as most people don’t engage in these acts. If someone from your wedding party does this, they’re not worthy of being your friend” As told to Dominique Wong 8 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

A museum for the brokenhearted recently opened in Songzhuang art colony in Tongzhou district. The Lovelorn Museum is the brainchild of Beijing local Wang Ying and her partner. Since 2015, the couple have been compiling trinkets, photos and memorabilia from their past relationships. The two-level museum is filled with objects, from teddy bears and love letters to photos and household items.

Featuring mementos from over 100 relationships, the space highlights 100 breakup stories. Similar museums for broken relationships can be found in Los Angeles and Zagreb.

E DI T E D B Y D OMINIQ UE W ONG / bj e di t o r @ ur b a n a t o m y.c o m

"I have no idea what the unisex toilet is for. The door was closed” … is the amount, in RMB, that drivers will be fined for failing to give way to pedestrians on marked crosswalks, reports Xinhua. The new rules were announced last month after surveillance footage went viral of a woman being fatally struck by a vehicle at a crosswalk in Henan province. In addition to the fine, violators will also be issued three demerit points. Any driver who loses 12 points will have to retake their driving test. Drivers must yield to pedestrians at all crosswalks, even in the instance of a right turn.

A mother visiting Beijing Zoo comments on the park’s unisex bathrooms to Beijing News. The zoo’s ‘All Gender Toilets’ were installed last year as part of a citywide campaign to promote gender-neutral washrooms and make transgender and non-gender-conforming residents feel more comfortable. However, it seems that the all-gender restrooms are scarcely used, with many visitors unsure about what they are or what facilities they include, reports Beijing News. At Beijing Zoo, the unisex bathrooms are the only toilets that feature changing stations for babies, yet most parents opt to change diapers in other bathrooms or out in public instead.

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CIT Y | F E AT URE

How Bicycles Went From Obsolete to Original in a Matter of Months

by Tristin Zhang

ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 22, 2016, hundreds of orange and silver frames appeared on Shanghai’s streets for the first time. Each was armed with a GPS-assisted lock that allowed users to park at any time, any place. All that one had to do was download an app and scan a QR code to unlock the bike. Enter the ‘Uber for bikes.’

You know what happened next: Mobike’s easy-to-use app and affordability appealed to hundreds of thousands of people looking for a quicker way to commute. Copycat start-up firms cropped up, jumping onto the bike-sharing bandwagon. In a matter of months, the sea of orange spilling onto sidewalks expanded to include nearly every color in the rainbow. Less than one year after Mobike’s Shanghai debut, there are 174 bike-share schemes in 30 of China’s 34 provincelevel divisions, according to ExpatFinder.

And whereas a year ago it may have been difficult to locate a shared bike within half a kilometer of your home or office, today, you’re likely to see dozens – maybe even hundreds – parked beside the nearest intersection, metro station or mall.

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F E AT URE | CIT Y

CYCLES OF THE PAST

“Early bike rims were crafted with old gasoline drums left by the US Army, while frames were welded using water pipes”

The past is never far away in China. Today, investment is pouring into the same Tianjin bike factories that just 30 years ago were churning out Flying Pigeons, Phoenixes and Yongjius. Now they produce Mobikes, Ofos and Bluegogos, as biking – only recently considered a thing of the past – races to play a more permanent role in China’s future.

In 1868, the first foreign bicycle arrived in Shanghai, and by 1937, the first bike factory was established in Tianjin. Thirteen years later, that factory would turn out the Flying Pigeon – the first bike ever made in the PRC. Early production was relatively crude. Rims were crafted with old gasoline drums left by the US Army, while frames were welded using water pipes. The bikes were absurdly heavy as a result, and riders would often perspire so much that they would ‘sweat out’ the common cold, leading some to nickname the vehicles ‘Aspirin bikes.’

But the bulky models were no deterrent for Chinese riders. In the 1950s, households strove to possess ‘three rounds and a sound’: a bicycle, sewing machine, wristwatch and radio. By the 80s, those same families could actually afford them, and hordes of bikes flooded Chang’an Jie every dawn and dusk.

But China’s penchant for pedaling goes back even further. Puyi, the last emperor, was a bike enthusiast and collector. It was upon his request that all of the thresholds within the Forbidden City were leveled to make the grounds more bike-friendly.

In the 70s, the three most popular Chinese bicycle brands – Phoenix, Flying Pigeon and Yongjiu – were in high demand and low supply.

China’s planned economy meant one needed a ticket to purchase a bike, and no amount of power or money could guarantee you a coveted coupon.

As China’s economic vision transformed in the 80s, so too did its bike production. Spare-parts factories and more efficient assembly lines sprang up as the State Council poured money into developing mechanical products. According to a report by Phoenix TV, China churned out more than 33 million bicycles in 11 months in 1986, meaning more than one bike was produced every second. By the end of the decade, Beijing’s 10 million people possessed no fewer than 8 million bikes.

From the 70s to the 90s, biking reflected the country’s relatively basic standard of living. To a large extent, demand for cycles was driven by their competitive cost and efficiency: they were used to transport straw and rice in the countryside, and to carry commuters to work in the cities. A bicycle was where romance happened – it was an intimate part of one’s childhood memories and an icon of Chinese lifestyle.

By the early 90s, two-wheelers were ubiquitous in China’s capital, earning it a reputation as the ‘city of bicycles.’ But the phenomenon didn’t last long. The country was rapidly modernizing and bicycles were destined to become a thing of the past.

“The growth of bikes in cities is not [the right] direction of urban transportation development,” declared the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in 1995. Bikes were ‘inferior’ vehicles, and gradually lost their place on China’s roads.

At the turn of the 21st century, bike commuters were forced to ride alongside buses. Automobiles had become the new ‘round’ – or status symbol – and most young people wanted nothing to do with outmoded two-wheeled contraptions.

For the few who still found bicycles romantic, China’s increasingly smoggy, congested roads were no longer suitable for a pleasant ride.

And so, in time, biking largely fell out of favor.

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CIT Y | F E AT URE

BIKE SHARING: A NEW BEGINNING The logistics of bike-sharing has evolved considerably since the idea was first conceived in Amsterdam 52 years ago.

When Copenhagen’s ByCyklen program was launched in 1991, the scheme used heavy-duty bikes chained to bicycle racks with coinoperated locks. Users did not need to register, however, and were not held accountable for vandalized or stolen bikes.

Two years later the French city of La Rochelle introduced a system known as the ‘bicycle library’ – the first of its kind to ask users for ID and a deposit to combat theft. By 2001, the Vélo’v program in Lyon, France – considered the ‘third generation of bike-sharing’ – solved prior problems by improving bikes’ security, accountability, monitoring capacity and billing system.

Hangzhou is now home to the world’s largest public bike-sharing program, with 84,100 bikes at present. Modeled on the French system, it's similar to private bike-sharing models in that users can download an app and scan a QR code to unlock a bike. But, the vehicles must be returned to a docking station after use.

Today’s dock-less bicycles can be thought of as the fourth generation of bike-sharing. They’re convenient, with users free to park the wheels almost anywhere. Physical improvements, whether for comfort or durability, are constantly being made. (Mobike has already released its third model since last year, and Ofo its ‘3.0 generation.’)

So far, rider response has been overwhelmingly positive. A recent survey by the Ministry of Commerce showed the number of dock-less bike-sharing users in China hit 19 million at the end of 2016. The same 12 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

source estimates a whopping 50 million total users by the end of this year – an increase of 163 percent.

In short, cycling has become cool again. Users are young, environmentally aware and progressive. Sharing your bike route on WeChat will garner you plenty of likes, as will a selfie taken from a yellow Ofo. So positive are young people’s attitudes towards bike-sharing that many are posing the question: How did Mobike turn bicycles from obsolete to original in a matter of months? And will the bike-sharing movement fade as quickly as it rose?

“A bike is simply the fastest and cheapest way to get from A to B,” explains Karl Ulrich, vice dean of entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Pennsylvania. “It is three times less expensive than the subway, and may cut travel time by five times or more for distances of three to five kilometers.”

According to Ulrich, several factors have contributed to bike-sharing’s explosive popularity in China: the density of Chinese cities, cheap staff costs to distribute and maintain the bikes, and a comparably low crime rate. Still, there’s one more crucial factor: The country controls a complete supply chain for bicycles that enables low-cost, efficient production.

Tianjin, the same city that turned out China’s first Flying Pigeon, is now home to 1,000 bike manufacturers and more than 700 spare-parts manufacturers, according to a report by China’s Ministry of Commerce. Some factories there average nearly two bikes per minute.

F E AT URE | CIT Y

AN UNSTEADY FUTURE As shared bicycles are distributed daily on the streets of China’s first- and second-tier cities, the very thing that once made them so convenient is the same thing that could spell their death.

Dock-less bike-sharing companies began operating in cities ‘Uberstyle’ (read: without permission), and the ‘park anywhere’ strategy has become both a blessing and a curse.

The sheer number of wheels on the streets is posing a problem, as Shenzhen discovered during this year’s Qingming Festival. At Shenzhen Bay Park, around 10,000 shared bikes were brought inside the park in just one day, making some paths completely impenetrable.

Shenzhen authorities were so fed up with the mass of Mobikes, Ofos and Xiaomings that they enforced a park-wide ban on shared bikes the following day, pledging to do the same on all future holidays and weekends.

Other cities, most notably Shanghai, have tried to maintain order in public spaces by demarcating specific sidewalk parking spaces for shared bikes.

But abandoned bikes are still a common sight on highways, in underground parking garages and even hanging from tree branches.

They are constantly abused – rendered useless by having their locks broken, tires flattened, seats stolen or QR codes scratched off. Others are simply tossed into lakes or rivers.

“They’ve become a real burden, these bikes, especially at night,” says a Guangzhou taxi driver surnamed Wang, who is originally from Shandong. “These young people ride in the middle of the street with their earphones in, and sometimes we can’t see them.”

Accidents have been reported. In March of this year, an 11-year-old boy died at an intersection in Shanghai after he was hit by a tour bus while riding an Ofo bike.

The bike-share boom is also calling fresh attention to the dearth of proper bike lanes in many Chinese cities, according to Liu Shaokun, greenway and parking program manager at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in Guangzhou.

“In the road-construction blueprint for Guangzhou [a few years ago], the transportation committee wanted to weed out bike lanes,” Liu explains. “But I hope bike-sharing will push the municipal government to consider planning more.”

Sustainable transport consultant Bram van Ooijen, who founded Cycle Canton tours in Guangzhou, also hopes to see city governments implement more bike-related infrastructure. He believes dock-less bike-sharing is here to stay, but some of the current schemes may fold in the near future.

“It will be a matter of who can provide the most convenience to users in terms of the availability of bikes and the quality of bikes over time, including the maintenance and replacement of older bikes,” says Ooijen.

But the road ahead will likely be rough. In Amsterdam, which now boasts more than 35,000 kilometers of bike lanes and traffic laws that favor cyclists, citizens spent the better part of 30 years negotiating changes to their city’s streets. In China, the recent popularization of bike-sharing is merely a seedling of hope that the country may one day achieve something similar to the Dutch model.

When the novelty of bike-sharing fades, it’s unclear whether bicycles will still hold the same appeal in China. And if they do, cities will need to foster the trend by introducing more constructive regulation, broader bike lanes and incentives to choose greener strides for bluer skies.

Only then will China’s historic affinity for bicycles find a definite place in its future.

“In Guangzhou, the transportation committee wanted to weed out bike lanes”

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CIT Y | F E AT URE

Ofo, nicknamed xiao huang che (little yellow bike), started as a bike-sharing scheme at Peking University in 2014 and was not operated outside university campuses until last winter. Ofo targets students and teachers, who can ride for half the price of others.

Deposit: RMB299 Cost: RMB1 per 30 min Saddle comfort Build quality Style Overall

Mobike’s latest incarnation builds on its tough-as-nails philosophy with metal spokes and a heavy bike frame, while addressing the complaints the first generation saw. Now with an adjustable seat and front basket, the torque [rotation force] has been toned down, meaning those hoping for a high-velocity ride have to pedal twice as fast. Changes to the frame make it a decidedly sit-down experience.

MOBIKE (NEW)

CLASSIC MOBIKE 14 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

Deposit: RMB99 Cost: RMB1 per 30 min (RMB0.5 per 30 min for students, teachers) Saddle comfort Build quality Style Overall

OFO In the beginning, there was Mobike – Mobike Classic, to be exact. Mobike targets those with enough spare cash for the deposit, but those without a car – billing itself as a solution to that last kilometer of travel.

Deposit: RMB299 Cost: RMB1 per 30 min Saddle comfort Build quality Style Overall

F E A T U R E | F F F S DF ESASTFUFRF ED S| C I T Y

China’s Leading Bike-Share Models Go Head to Head

by Sky Thomas Gidge, Bailey Hu, Bridget O’Donnell and Tristin Zhang

BLUEGOGO Bluegogo entered the fray well after Mobike and Ofo had already staked out significant claims. But, having raised hundreds of millions of yuan in funding, Bluegogo is putting up a good fight. While the bicycles aren’t top-of-the-line, they do have a cool gimmick: a solar panel inside the basket powers both the lock and taillight.

Deposit: RMB99 Cost: RMB0.5 per 30 min Saddle comfort Build quality Style Overall

COOLQI Deposit: RMB298 Cost: RMB1.5 per 30 min Saddle comfort Build quality Style Overall

Also known as the ‘Tuhao Gold’ bikes, Coolqi bicycles come in a garish shade of metallic gold.

Featuring a wireless phone charger and selfadjustable seats (once you key in your height), the golden bicycles are kinda, well, cool. With a name that sounds suspiciously similar to ‘Gucci,’ it makes sense that Coolqi is the most expensive bike-sharing option. But hey – if you’re tuhao, this shouldn’t be a problem.

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CITY | ON THE BLOCK

BEIJING TELEVISION CULTURAL CENTER, JINTAIXIZHAO

Urban planning guidelines forbid the construction of “bizarre” and “odd-shaped” buildings that are devoid of character or cultural heritage. Here, we gather opinions on some of the unusual architecture that remains, from both a designer’s and layman’s viewpoint.

The Building Located in the heart of the CBD, the Television Cultural Center (TVCC) is notable for its striking design and irregular lines. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren of The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), TVCC has multiple functions including a hotel, 1,500-seat theater and recording studio. Construction of the 34-story building was meant to finish in 2009, but a fire caused by Lantern Festival fireworks damaged the structure, delaying its completion. Although overshadowed – quite literally – by its more photographed sibling and neighbor, the CCTV Headquarters, TVCC stands on its own as a resilient and recognizable landmark.

The Residents’ View It’s difficult to find any fans of TVCC in the vicinity. We meet Li at a bus stop near Jintaixizhao subway station. “It looks kind of funny,” she says. “I don’t like it that much.” A woman outside the station, who asks not to be named, bluntly agrees: “It doesn’t look good.”

The Architect’s View According to project architect at JOssIN Design Silvio Azorin: “It’s impossible to talk about the TVCC building without talking about the CCTV [Headquarters].

OMA created a series of contrasts between both buildings that give them a unique identity, as well as certain similarities that, when observed, produce an amazing combination. Beside the robustness and hardness of the geometry of the CCTV building, TVCC presents more delicate and attractive lines. TVCC starts with a metallic structure born in the floor. Without losing its continuity, it is folded, and ends up forming this irregular and aggressive profile. The south facade is [bent inwards] at different levels, which creates a beautiful texture.

“From certain vantage points, TVCC is visible through the undercroft or ‘window’ made by CCTV. Although both buildings are different in form and architectural detailing, there remains a strong sense of identity in the ensemble.” DW

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CHINESE URBAN DICTIONARY | CITY

Jianpanxia / jìanpánxiá / 键盘侠 n. those who think they are getting justice served by commenting on social media That school of migrant workers’ children is closing down due to lack to funding.

But my timeline is flooded with hundreds of people calling it a grave injustice.

Yeah but they are all jianpanxia and will never do anything in real life to help the school.

All that indignation for nothing.

The world is an unequal place filled with injustices. Kids get bullied in schools and abused at home; workers get exploited in factories and office buildings. We all want to help, but the cost of helping is high, especially in China. The bullies might turn on you when you try to stop them; corporations might fire you or sue you if you speak out.

Or maybe there are no consequences, but you simply don’t want to exert any effort. Is there an option where even the laziest, most selfish, timid and cowardly people can feel like they are getting justice served?

Yes, there is. It’s called being a jianpanxia, or a ‘keyboard hero,’ someone who types furiously on a laptop and posts comments on social media like: “Shame on fast fashion brands that exploit underage workers!” and “More must be done to make education more affordable!” and “Sharing is caring!”

They do so till their fingers hurt from all the noble and righteous typing and clicking. They go to bed knowing that justice was served for another day, only to realize the next day that little has changed, thus prompting more furious commenting and sharing the following night. Such is the perpetual cycle of a jianpanxia’s life.

Their fingers get such a workout online that they can’t even lift one of them to help the neighbor’s kids with their homework, or dial the phone to call the local police to fix a traffic light. Yet they consider themselves heroes for their heightened sense of justice.

The most remarkable thing about jianpanxia is that they seem to have two personalities, depending on whether they are with or without a keyboard. With a keyboard, they are capable of crusading with strong language and an impressive amount of bravado. Take their keyboard away, and they immediately become quiet and obedient.

This leads to only one logical conclusion: that the source of their superpowers must be the keyboard, hence the name.

They work tirelessly to fill your Facebook and WeChat feeds. They are quick to point out others’ mistakes in comments, although they don’t support any causes in real life.

They can bully someone online mercilessly while hiding behind their anonymity. They may never be the center of attention in real life, but once behind a keyboard, they can become all-powerful, almighty jianpanxia.

Mia Li

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 17

LIFE &

STYLE

HITTING THE TOWNHOUSE

Photo by Magic Penny

The design behind an ultra-modern Beijing residence, p26

Great Wall Stays p21

The History of Menswear p22

Summer Shorts p25

SPOTLIGHT

KATY KOYICHPOURRAT AND GEORGINA YU Co-Founders of TruLiving interview and photo by Dominique Wong

Katy Koyich-Pourrat (right) and Georgina Yu are the co-founders of TruLiving, a new online lifestyle platform offering health tips, experiences and products for people living in China. From working in the corporate world to becoming yoga instructors, the selfdescribed “soul sisters” have shared quite the journey together.

what makes you feel good. Make the space to do that in the morning. Lastly, stay hydrated!

Drink at least two liters of water a day.

KKP: TruLiving is an online lifestyle destination dedicated to healthy, conscious living. It’s made up of a weekly minimagazine [on WeChat], which includes fresh perspectives about all things health, wellbeing and lifestyle; community events that offer enriching experiences for mind and body; and an online shop full of safe and honest home, health and beauty products.

What trends have you noticed in the beauty industry?

So, what is TruLiving exactly?

GY: We’re talking to some beautiful brands, a lot of them based in Australia. We’re really excited to bring these products to a China audience soon. Right now they’re hard to get here.

Sounds great. Do you have any simple wellness tips?

KPP: Disconnect – put your phone on airplane mode two hours before bed and leave it that way until after you’ve done your morning routine. And create a morning routine that works for you. Think about what you enjoy, what brings you pleasure and

GY: Another thing I recommend is journaling.

A lot of us have a lot on our minds, and sometimes it builds up, especially when you’re really busy or have a lot of stress. Sometimes that needs an outlet. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. No one has to see it.

GY: Now is a really exciting time as more and more natural skincare brands are coming onto the market. People are waking up and demanding more from their products. Brands are responding to that by operating more consciously and trying to create really highquality products that are good for the planet and customers.

What should people be looking out for when choosing a natural skincare brand?

GY: There are key things to [avoid]. They are fragrance, alcohol, phthalates, parabens and sodium Iauryl sulphate (SLS). Cosmetics companies use the word ‘fragrance’ and it can mean anything. Often they’re highly chemical substances. Alcohol burns your skin, but unfortunately it’s in so many products.

Phthalates are a group of chemicals you find in many products. They’re hormone disrupters: once they’ve been absorbed through the

skin, they mimic your body’s hormones and upset their balance. Parabens are a chemical derived from the oil-refining process. They’re a preservative, giving products a longer shelf life. SLS is a foaming agent, but also a known irritant. My mother had an eye allergy [but] when she stopped using products with SLS in them, her allergies cleared up.

Tell us a bit about your journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship.

KPP: Taking the path of entrepreneurship makes you look at things in a very different way. It’s very inspirational and a lot of hard work. The responsibility is on you to make your business happen. It’s an adjustment, but it's worth it.

GY: The toughest part is believing in yourself.

Having a plan and people around to support you is absolutely critical. There’s also a big learning curve once you make the jump. If you think you’re going to work less or that it’s going to be easier, you’re absolutely wrong.

But once [you get into the] groove, it’s awesome.

Subscribe to TruLiving via their WeChat ID: TruLiving 臻活 [search TruLivingzhenhuo]; www.truliving.asia

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 19

STYLE RADAR TAP THAT APP

UNDER THE LENS

Vogue Film

Makeup Plus

After going public last December, makeup app Meitu shot to popularity in the US, filling Twitter feeds with images of doe-eyed Donald Trumps and effeminate Putins. While the exaggerated face alterations made for excellent memes, few would consider using Meitu to touch up a ‘serious’ selfie. For the rest of us, Makeup Plus is where it’s at.

Created by the same tech company as Meitu, Makeup Plus is an ideal tool for those seeking subtle adjustments to their complexion, face contour and even eye color. Just upload the photo and use the ‘editor’ function to carry out some post-production tweaks.

Realistic eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, lipstick, blush and hair dye are only a click away.

The coolest function here is ‘lab,’ which lets you try out different brands and shades of lipstick from YSL, Clinique, Lancome, Bobbi Brown, Dior and more.

Makeup Plus is available for both iOS and Android devices.

How often do you see superstars like Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun and Liu Wen all in one place? Well, it happened last month at the Vogue Film launch party.

The new magazine, by the Chinese edition of Vogue, will be released twice a year. It aims to bring together film and high fashion, according to Editor-in-Chief Angelica Cheung. Zhang Ziyi and Tom Ford appear on the publication’s inaugural cover, while a batch of fashion films, including In a Lovely Place (starring Fan Bingbing and Gavin Gao) and While There’s Still Time (starring William Chan and Bai Baihe), were simultaneously released on Vogue’s online channels. www.vogue.com.cn

OVERHEARD

“He lost his Chongqing accent after one trip to Milan” ...commented one Weibo user on TFBoys singer Wang Junkai’s Sina interview after his appearance at Milan Fashion Week. Wang, 17, was invited to open the Dolce & Gabbana show, while hundreds of his millennial fans were waiting outside the venue hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop idol. Striding down the runway in a maroon-colored three-piece suit, white shirt, black bowtie and white sneakers – part of the Italian label’s new collection ‘King of Hearts’ – Wang impressed his 23 million Weibo followers, with photos from the show garnering more than 455,000 shares and 345,000 likes. www.dolcegabbana.com

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E DI T E D B Y D OMINIC NG A I / bj e di t o r @ ur b a n a t o m y.c o m

COVET

RAINS x DOE It hardly ever rains in Beijing. But when it does, it rains so hard that all the hutongs flood (remember last month?). Thankfully, Shanghai streetwear brand DOE has partnered with Danish rainwear label RAINS just in time. Consisting of a parka (RMB799), boonie hat (RMB249) and gymsack (RMB299), this dark gray three-piece collection is made from ultra-light waterproof material. Perfect for defying humidity and rainy days ahead. www.doeshanghai.com

SCENE&HEARD

A GREAT (WALL) HOMESTAY

Want to get away this summer (but not too far away)? Try a Great Wall homestay. Airbnb has loads of accommodation options – check out our pick of the best. DW

Hatchery by the Great Wall

Half-Mountain Resort

Not content with throwing pop-ups and incubating food concepts, Hatchery is now offering homestays at its Great Wall holiday home (pictured).

The property features a courtyard, five bedrooms (beds for 12 people), BBQ, wifi, kitchen and vegetable patch. All you have to do is sit back and relax in the beautiful surrounds.

Transportation to and from the house can be provided.

An Airbnb favorite (5 stars!), Half-Mountain Resort, located near the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, houses six people in three bedrooms.

Expect basic amenities such as heating, wifi, washer and breakfast, as well as bonuses like a hot tub and on-site parking. Aside from hiking, visitors can also take part in a dyeing and weaving workshop (book in advance).

RMB1001+ per night; www.airbnb. com/rooms/17685506

RMB388+ per night; www.airbnb. com/rooms/13006111

Great Wall Fresh

The Barracks

Located in Chenjiapu village in Hebei, Great Wall Fresh is a restaurant, guesthouse and “the Chen family’s country home.”

The property also includes a farm with plenty of pesticidefree produce. Healthy homecooked meals, check. Plus, as it’s a pretty remote destination, expect undisturbed trails covering ramshackle areas of the Wall – and with members of the Chen family on hand to guide.

The Barracks is the home of William Lindesay, scholar and explorer of The Great Wall (he coined the term the ‘Wild Wall’), and includes nine guest rooms.

Visitors can enjoy a range of trips to unrestored sections of the Wall, described as ‘back to basics luxury,’ which include guided walks and home-cooked meals. Located in Huairou district, the house is right on the steps of the Wall.

RMB40 per night (incl. breakfast); www.greatwallfresh.com (contact via chxiyuan@sina.com or 138 1028 4682)

WildWall weekends (Fri evening-Sun lunchtime) are USD550 per person; www.wildwall.com (contact via william@wildwall.com)

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 21

SAVING

AN AMERICAN TRADITION

How a Japanese Expat in Tianjin Made American Style Great Again

by Dominic Ngai

アメトラ

ラ

F E AT URE | LIFE & ST YLE

A

ll along Tokyo’s affluent Omotesando Avenue, flagships of world-renowned Japanese fashion labels like Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto proudly brush shoulders with the likes of Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Jacobs. People on the streets are effortlessly chic, with an understated style that seems part of the Japanese DNA. But the country only became a major global player in fashion a few decades ago.

Originally from Florida, writer W. David Marx has been living in Tokyo and writing about Japanese fashion since 2001.

On his first trip to the city in the late 90s, the Harvard graduate was struck by the Japanese sense of style. “People were just wearing the right t-shirts, jeans and sneakers,” he recalls.

Marx’s 2015 book, Ametora: How Japan Saved American Fashion, is a historical account of how the Japanese adapted and perfected American fashion, before turning its understanding of style into huge global success stories like Uniqlo, Evisu and Kamakura Shirts. As well as discussing the traditional ‘Ivy League’ look, Marx's book also delves into denim, military wear, streetwear and more.

“When people talk about [postwar] American culture and fashion in Japan, they just assume that it all started at the end of World War II during the Allied occupation – the army showed up, and the Japanese people idolized and adopted everything American.

But there was actually a lot of conflict along the way,” Marx explains.

While literary discourse has taken a ‘micro’ approach to the subject, dissecting the intricacies of clothing patterns and designs, in Ametora (the book's title comes from an Anglicized Japanese word for ‘American style’) Marx examines the topic through a sociocultural lens. He investigates how and why businesspeople and trendsetters brought Western styles to Japan, ultimately revealing what effect the “absorption of American style had on the Japanese identity.” “[Prior to] 1965, few Japanese men dressed like Americans,” Marx says. “Someone with commercial motives had to come in to create an industry around American fashion.”

That someone was Kensuke Ishizu (1911-

2005). The man responsible for introducing Ivy League style to the country's youth in the 1960s, Ishizu kick-started Japan’s decadeslong obsession with American fashion.

Ishizu’s life and work is the focus of the opening chapters of Ametora. Born into a wealthy family in Okayama, the early part of his fashion career took place in China during World War II. With the war disrupting his family paper-making business, the 28-yearold moved to Tianjin in 1939 to work as the sales director for a major Japanese department store, Okawa Yoko, where he ran the menswear department.

Tianjin was not, for the most part, affected by the Japanese invasion of China.

“While most of the folks back home were wearing cotton khaki uniforms, Ishizu wore Western suits and stayed in a British-style mansion in Tianjin; he was basically living the playboy life,” Marx says.

Ishizu spent his days learning from British tailors, immersing himself in the city’s international community of Italians, Jews and Russians. However, things took a turn for the worse after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, leading Okawa Yoko's management to sell off its assets in 1943.

Left with a modern-day equivalent of USD27 million in severance pay, Ishizu chose to remain in Tianjin. But after Japan’s defeat in August 1945, the former menswear expert was imprisoned until the US 1st Marine Division arrived, and a young Lieutenant named O’Brien released him to perform translation duties. The two men became good friends, and the Princeton alumnus regaled Ishizu with stories about life in America’s Ivy League. Ishizu’s seven-year tenure as an expat in Tianjin came to an end in March 1946 when the Americans sent him and his family back to Japan – without his massive fortune.

With his hometown bombed into rubble by the Americans, the only way for Ishizu to earn a living was in his old trade: menswear.

“Ishizu’s exposure to Western fashion culture in Tianjin, while a somewhat questionable interest during the war, gave him a massive advantage over his fellow countrymen,” Marx says. “He had both knowledge and experience of making Western clothes, and knew the right way to wear them.”

While most folks back home were wearing cotton khaki uniforms, Ishizu wore Western suits and stayed in a British-style mansion in Tianjin. He was living the playboy life

Kensuke Ishizu (top left) in Tianjin with Russian friends

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 23

LIFE & ST YLE | F E AT URE

With the market for luxury goods recovering alongside the Japanese economy, Ishizu established VAN Jacket in 1950. It was a clothing brand offering middle-class consumers ready-to-wear products that were cheaper than tailored suits (a luxury only the elite could afford).

Met with lukewarm reception for his early products, and desperate for inspiration, Ishizu visited Lieutenant O’Brien’s alma mater, Princeton, in 1959. It was here that Ishizu found what he needed: Ivy League fashion. Blazers, neckties, Oxford buttondown shirts and flannel pants, all made from durable materials like cotton and wool. Ishizu sensed that these were things that would suit the tastes (and budgets) of a younger audience back home.

Upon his return, Ishizu enlisted the help of his son Shosuke, who was working as an editor at menswear fashion magazine Men’s Club, and his colleague Toshiyuki Kurosu to head up VAN’s planning department. By 1962, its first ‘Ivy line’ was born.

To market the concept to a Japanese audience, the team turned to Men’s Club for some free PR. Kurosu started an ‘Ivy Leaguers on the Street’ column in 1963, and teens in Ivy League clothing flocked to Tokyo’s hipster conclave with the hopes of being photographed. By the summer of 1964, just before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, an estimated 2,000 Ivy fans dressed up and congregated in the Ginza district each weekend.

Dubbed the ‘Miyuki Tribe’ by conservative media, who saw the style as a symbol of juvenile delinquency, the police, Marx writes, “stopped anyone in a button-down shirt and John F Kennedy haircut” and arrested 200 youngsters with misdemeanor charges.

Though the Miyuki Tribe disappeared from Ginza after the incident, the national attention on the raids created a ‘cool’ factor around the Ivy League aesthetic. Perversely, the quintessential style of WASP-y elitism in America had become an emblem of youthful rebellion in Japan.

Sensing a need to clear the stigma associated with the Ginza raid, Ishizu sent a team of VAN and Men’s Club employees to the US to create a photo book and documentary film, based on they saw at Ivy League campuses.

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The cover of Take Ivy

American college students in 1965

A Japanese Ivy fan at the Take Ivy premiere party

A VAN Jacket ad campaign

Popeye's Feb 2016 issue pays tribute to Take Ivy

“The word ‘save’ has two meanings,” says Marx, referring the subtitle of his book (How Japan Saved American Style). “The first is to ‘preserve,’ and a good example of this is Take Ivy [Ishizu’s book documenting American Ivy League students in the 60s].”

Though response to Take Ivy was initially lackluster, it would eventually gain a cult following when fashion writer Michael Williams posted scans of the book on his website in 2008. Two years later, Take Ivy was translated into English and rereleased. Brands like J Crew, Gap and Ralph Lauren flocked to it, using it as shelf displays in stores and even drawing design inspiration from it.

“Another meaning of ‘save’ is the idea that the Japanese somehow ‘rescued’ the American traditional style,” Marx explains.

“When the style was back in vogue during the late 2000s, it was the version with a Japanese twist that had gone global, not the classic American form from decades ago.

“The main thing to understand from the rise of Ivy style in Japan during the 60s is that young Japanese people weren’t just blindly copying the Americans; they were reading about these styles from Japanese magazines edited by Japanese people, and buying clothes from Japanese brands.” This relationship between brands and media defined how the Japanese would consume fashion for the next five decades.

With the rise of style publications like Popeye (a magazine that Marx contributes a monthly column to) in the mid-70s, ‘catalogue magazines’ became authorities on what to wear and where to shop in Japan.

“Social media and blogs have become more prominent in recent years, but in terms of legitimacy, magazines in Japan still have this aura. People just believe in their editorial eye and trust their aesthetic.”

When asked about his take on the relationship between Chinese and Japanese fashion scenes, Marx notes: “I think China is still quite brand status-oriented while Japan is no longer a logo-driven market. People [in Japan] read more into the texture of the fabric and other details. People from greater China are one of the biggest consumers of Japanese fashion, and that has injected a lot of money back into the industry [in Japan] – that’s great for the economy.”

Ametora is available on Amazon; see more of W. David Marx’s writing on neomarxisme.com

FASHION | LIFE & STYLE

HEY, SHORTY Time to Show Off Dem Legs compiled by Dominic Ngai

Shorts are an essential part of any summer look. Whether it’s a fancy Sunday brunch, workout class or day-drinking with friends in the hutongs, there’s a pair for every occasion. Here are our picks.

45rpm, RMB2,300 45rpm.jp

For Her

H&M, RMB199 hm.com Under Armour, RMB749 underarmour.cn Beams, RMB1,000 beams.co.jp

H&M, RMB249 hm.com

For Him

45rpm, RMB2,500 45rpm.jp

Beams, RMB520 beams.co.jp

Nike, RMB499 nike.com

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 25

LIFE & STYLE | INTERIORS

AN IDEAL FOR LIVING Neutral Tones and Gentle Lines Soften a Beijing Townhouse words by Dominique Wong, images by Magic Penny

Project name Haitang Villa

Location Chaoyang district, Beijing Building area 510sqm

Design company Archstudio

Architects Han Wen-Qiang, Li Yun-Tao The use of gray cement paint provides stark contrast with the tearoom’s natural wood background.

26 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

The brief Archstudio was appointed to design a modern three-story townhouse in the eastern suburbs of Beijing. It was important to create an open environment with a focus on minimalism, thus the use of space helping to blur the line between indoor and outdoor.

INTERIORS | LIFE & STYLE

A curved dome in the living and dining area (second floor) softens the relationship between roof and wall.

Indoors and outdoors converge with the addition of greenery and a stone garden in one of the guest rooms.

Seating six, the small dining room is partially divided from the larger dining area by a grating made from natural materials.

Used for book collecting and display, the study room’s oak framework and shelves create a sense of semi-transparency.

Neutral earthy colors soften up one of the guest rooms.

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 27

ARTS

THE ART OF THE MATTER

Our guide to this month’s best exhibitions, p38

Higher Brothers p32

Arsenal vs. Chelsea p34

New Music p35

DRUMROLL

THE ASIAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA

Conductor Richard Pontzious on the Their Upcoming World Tour

by Erica Martin

Widely considered one of the world’s finest youth orchestras, the Asian Youth Orchestra selects the best musicians from across the continent to embark on a three-week world tour. We catch up with AYO’s founder and conductor Richard Pontzious to find out what to expect.

You founded the Asian Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong in the late 80s. Why did you choose to start a youth orchestra there?

I had the good fortune in 1983 and 1984 to be invited to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where I was conductor-in-residence.

Soon after my arrival in Shanghai, I realized that while the students had great technique, they knew almost nothing about how to play in an orchestra, or how to develop the skills that would be necessary to find work as professional musicians. Most of the students I met presumed – even assumed – that they would become soloists and follow in the footsteps of Yo-Yo Ma. It was pretty obvious, therefore, that the students would benefit greatly from participating in a youth orchestra, especially if I could find highly experienced orchestra players to teach them.

How did you connect with violinist Yehudi Menuhin, and what was it like working with him?

It was very easy to connect with the legendary violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin.

He loves China, and saw at once what I had seen: that the conservatory kids needed orchestral training.

No one could have been easier or more humble to work with. He listened to my ideas and responded in passionate ways that made the founding of the Asian Youth Orchestra important to those who would eventually fund it – and to the master teachers who would come to Hong Kong to work with the musicians.

What have been some highlights of your many tours with the orchestra?

Highlights, highlights, highlights… They never stop coming. This year, we will embark on a world tour to mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Hong Kong SAR. Who can imagine a youth orchestra, or even the finest professional orchestras, undertaking a world tour? This is something only the Asian Youth

Orchestra would dare to propose. I also look back on our work with Yehudi Menuhin and our tour with Yo-Yo Ma in 1997 as highlights.

We have worked with so many superstar soloists, and we have toured more cities in Mainland China than any other orchestra based outside of the Mainland.

What sort of qualities do you look for in a musician?

Smart. Skilled. Technically adept. Willing to work with others. We are not interested in meeting students who think they are stars.

What can we expect from the AYO performance in Beijing this July?

Expect excellence. Expect confidence. Expect to hear a passion for music.

Tue July 25, 7.30pm; RMB80-500; National Centre for the Performing Arts (see Listings for details); for more information or tickets, visit en.damai.cn

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 29

COLLAGE Transformers Parks to Open Across China

COMING SOON

JULY

Manchester by the Sea The acclaimed drama that won Casey Affleck his first Oscar (for Best Actor) is rumored to be coming to China this summer, though a release date has yet to be announced. Set in a town outside Boston, Manchester by the Sea tells the story of taciturn janitor Lee Chandler, who returns to his hometown after his brother’s death to take care of his nephew. As the plot unfolds through a series of flashbacks, the movie becomes a devastating and poignant study in grief.

Despicable Me 3

JULY 7

Steve Carrell’s Felonious Gru returns for the third installment of the Despicable Me franchise. Now a member of the Anti-Villain League, Gru must stop Balthazar Bratt – a former child star who can’t let go of the character he played in the 80s – from stealing a diamond and taking over the world. Bratt is voiced by South Park co-creator Trey Parker, and his moonwalking, goofy 80s-style villainy is the movie’s highlight (in addition to all the cloyingly cute minions, of course).

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Timed to coincide with the release date of the fifth Transformers movie, DMG Entertainment and Hasbro are opening several Transformers-themed virtual reality amusement parks across China. Shanghai’s will be the first to open, while parks in other cities will debut over the next five years. The parks’ “digital simulation experience” will offer VR battle walk-throughs and rides that simulate flying and driving.

Reps have said that the park’s aesthetic will resemble the original comics more than Michael Bay’s blockbuster movies. Guess that means no explosions, then.

Hao

Fans of Stephen Chow’s epic film The Mermaid will be pleased to discover that the rights to a TV remake of the film have been sold to major streaming site iQiyi for a record-breaking RMB420 million.

Chow has confirmed that he will script and produce the TV adaptation himself, so no need to worry about a new producer meddling with the fantastical world he created.

Bu Hao

Dozens of entertainment news outlets on Weibo, WeChat, NetEase and Baidu were shut down in early June in keeping with Beijing’s new law on cyber security, which states that online content cannot invade anyone’s privacy. Previously, millions of users would stay up-to-date on celebrity gossip, like actor Wang Baoqiang’s highprofile divorce, through social media accounts. Some netizens applauded the move, while others complained about the loss of some of their guiltiest pleasures.

E DI T E D B Y E R IC A M A R T IN / bj e di t o r @ ur b a n a t o m y.c o m

GIG POSTER OF THE MONTH English folk singer and guitarist David Thomas Broughton brings his melodious sound to Mogu Space. The artist has released four solo albums – most to critical acclaim – filled with wackily improvised sounds from devices such as radios and televisions. Another memorable instrument Broughton uses is his voice: warbly, Devendra Banhart-esque and perfectly suited to his serious lyrics.

Mon Jul 3, 9pm; Mogu Space, 66 Jiaodong Donglu, Haidian 海淀区交大东路66号钻河中心2号楼102 (6224 9830; Broughton also appears at Beijing’s Yue Space a day later)

Our favorite tracks from artists featured in the magazine this month. For full nightlife and gig listings, visit www.thatsmags.com

‘Extravío’ (2016)

‘Tardy’ (2017) The White Tulips

Tzusing

A hypnotic track that begins with eerie vocals before the drum beats kick in. Killer synths complete the banger.

The Xiamen shoegazers doing what they do best: creating blissful music that fluctuates between a dreamy wander and urgent run.

Like the sound of a machine revolting against humanity, clamorous electronics and synth lines ensure the track starts off heavy… and stays heavy.

‘Silence Speaks’ (2017)

‘Murder’ (2017)

‘WeChat’ (2017)

Screaming vocals plus great guitar riffs. The title is a grave misnomer – but what did you expect a metalcore band to sound like?

Emmavie’s gorgeous vocals and ROMderful’s slick production make for one delicious slice of soul.

A tribute to the app we all hate to love but can’t live without, ‘WeChat’ shows why Higher Brothers are all the (rap-)rage right now.

IMAABS ft. Felicia Morales & Lia Nadja

While She Sleeps

ROMderful ft. Jarreau Vandal & Emmavie

‘Nonlinear War’ (2016)

Higher Brothers ft. Keith Ape

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 31

ARTS | MUSIC

HIGHER BROTHERS The Chengdu Foursome On Rapping about WeChat and Getting Noticed by Migos

by Erica Martin

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MUSIC | ARTS

It’s been a hallmark year for Higher Brothers. After dropping several music videos that culminated in the release of their recent debut album, Black Cab, the Chengdu-based foursome have gone from relative obscurity to one of China’s most buzzed-about acts. Articles by major Western outlets like NPR and Paper have popped up almost daily since their album’s debut – all of them expressing incredulousness that these artists soaked up hip-hop’s influence from overseas and still developed their own style.

But their clever, often hilarious lyrics are the group’s real genius. Take their breakout track ‘WeChat,’ featuring South Korean rapper Keith Ape, which has an irreverent DIY music video made to look like a WeChat video call. “There’s no Skype, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram / We use WeChat, yeah,” rap two of the Brothers at video’s start.

The appeal of Black Cab lies in its focus on everyday subjects. “This album is about what’s been happening in our recent daily life,” says Higher Brothers member Psy.P, referring to songs like ‘Franklin,’ a chilled-out, 90s-inflected track about Grand Theft Auto, and ‘7/11,’ an ode to the convenience store. “We’ll come up with an idea, or one of us will

have an idea, and then each of us completes our own verse,” says Psy.P of their songwriting process. “Then we’ll modify each other’s parts.”

One of their standout tracks is ‘Made in China,’ a bawdy satire mocking foreigners’ perceptions of China, which opens with a Valley Girl voice reading YouTube comments the group has gotten on their videos. The track has a catchy beat and a hilarious, high-energy video.

In June, music platform 88rising released a ‘reaction’ video for the song, in which several major rappers, including Higher Brothers’ heroes Migos, respond positively to the video – and to Dzknow’s ferocious delivery in particular (they dub him “Chinese Biggie”). It garnered over a million views on YouTube in less than a week.

That the irony of a bunch of Westerners commenting on a Higher Brothers song that mocks Westerners’ comments on Higher Brothers’ songs may have been lost on those million viewers.

In our favorite moment of the video, one rapper says earnestly, “they bring their culture into it, that’s what makes it stick,” as one of the Higher Brothers waves a fan around and joke-raps about how toothpaste is made in China.

The four MCs all grew up loving hiphop, though each cites a different defining moment that turned them onto it: Psy.P’s friend played American rap trio Migos for him in his car; Melo heard someone’s Jay-Z ringtone in junior high; Dzknow heard a snippet of hip-hop in a car commercial. They found their style and wrote their first songs while performing locally in Chengdu.

“It’s developing well. There’s a higher acceptance than in other cities,” says Psy.P of Chengdu’s hip-hop community.

While much of their media buzz has been overseas, and their music videos have higher views on YouTube than on Youku, Higher Brothers have never performed outside China. Not that they're humble about it – of their China tour for Black Cab, Psy.P says: “Every stop will create history.”

Higher Brothers’ strategy has been to enjoy the exposure that comes with being a novelty in the West, while retaining their playfulness and authenticity by writing verses relevant to those in China.

This may well prove a lasting recipe for mainstream fame – both at home and abroad.

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 33

ARTS | SPORT

CHELSEA VS ARSENAL Battle of Britain (In the Bird’s Nest)

by Nick Mateer

Arsenal and Chelsea have never played each other outside of England – until now. This month, the teams play a pre-season friendly at Beijing’s very own Bird’s Nest. Don’t follow two of the biggest teams in England? More of a Chinese Super League fan? Don’t worry – here’s your cheat sheet.

Diego Costa might well be the most effective player in all of England. (A controversial statement, we know.) While his inflammatory antics lend him a negative reputation, he bagged more than 20 goals last season, even while missing some games.

Ugly is the way Chelsea won the Premier League title – the team won eleven games by a single goal. It counts all the same, but this isn’t exactly a high-firing team. This, coupled with their potential loss of Diego Costa (see below), could mean a long drought for the boys in blue.

THE GOOD

THE BAD

For the 2017-18 season, Arsenal haven't made the Champions League – which is a good thing, many believe, because, for the past few years anyway, it's only resulted in humiliation on the international stage. The only problem is…

Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham have eclipsed them in the standings for the first time in almost two decades. And not only that, but next season Tottenham will have a brand-new, 60,000-seat London stadium to bring in the pounds and, potentially, hot new signings. Dark days for Arsenal fans.

The mid-season Arsenal collapse has become an annual Bad news Beijing: The aforementioned Diego Costa might comedic tradition. Once again, the New Year brought a topbe leaving. Late last year he answered a reporter’s question performing Arsenal squad to its knees for no apparent regarding a potential transfer by hinting at a potential future THE reason. Maybe it’s their holiday hangovers, or maybe it’s at Atletico Madrid. Losing Costa would not only strip Chelsea of their primary source of goals, but also their go-to offensive EMBARASSING seasonal affective disorder. Whatever it is, Arsenal can’t seem to play decently when the calendar resets. coordinator.

Sat Jul 22, National Stadium (Bird’s Nest); visit damai.cn for tickets

34 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

MUSIC | ARTS

FOR THE RECORD

Three New Homegrown Albums on Our Radar This Month

by Erica Martin

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY SEVEN

by PLAY REC LABEL The first compilation from a new label of “cutting-edge sound art and electronic music from China” offers tracks from 10 experimental electronic musicians. ‘Experimental’ electronic music can be cool in theory but beatless and unpalatable in actuality; This collection, thankfully, does a decent job of being enjoyable for a casual listener. Rather than music for the club or the dance floor, the ambient tracks on One Hundred and Twenty Seven seem better suited for a mid-afternoon in your office, wondering whether we’re all living in a simulation (Zafka’s ‘Who’s Calling’ is especially good for this).

Highlights include Flower’s spare and evil ‘Flower Crash,’ GOOOOOSE’s hypnotic and aptly named ‘Sea Changes’ and Xiong Zhenkai’s brooding ‘Drown.’ The album is named for the fact that all the songs have the same tempo – 127 beats per minute. The record’s cover, with its cracked highway and crashed cars (plus all the musicians’ photos crammed together into the rearview mirror), sets the concept up nicely: that we are all setting off toward a post-apocalyptic future, and Play Rec is making music to match.

Listen at https://playreclabel.bandcamp.com

HOMELESS

by HOWIE LEE One of Beijing’s preeminent electronic musicians, Howie Lee released Homeless as the first followup to his December 2015 full-length LP, Mù Chè Shān Chū. What immediately stands out is the focus on vocals, including what sound like screaming pixies, spiritual chanting and Lee’s own voice.

Beginning with a long, lonely, ambient intro and that launches into the frenetic beats that make up the rest of the album, these vocals help keep the energy high throughout, adding urgency to the tracks. The album explores the idea of being unable to feel at home anywhere in the world, due to the amorphousness of the Internet. Lee explains in a statement that the record is meant to capture “the sound of traditional China, dragged kicking and screaming into the electric age.” The album’s last two songs, ‘Muztagata’ and ‘Homeless,’ are highlights, moving from uptempo, Asian-inspired melodies and otherworldly vocal cries into the haunting, spare finale, which evokes the emptiness of the album’s name.

Listen at https://dohits.bandcamp.com

PHASES (PHASE 2)

by I LOVE YOU This record has an appealing aura of mystery surrounding it. Created by a Lanzhou-based band that offer almost no information about themselves online and have a name so generic that it seems to purposely defy Internet searches (我爱你 or I Love You), Phases (Phase 2) is a 10-track collection of earnest and emotional lo-fi dream pop. The LP was dropped unceremoniously on Bandcamp as a follow-up to the band’s January 2017 album Phases, which is endearingly humble given that so many indie musicians release a single or a three-track EP with much more fanfare. The album’s centerpiece is two versions of the track ‘I Can Get,’ a plaintive song with vulnerable vocals offering up plenty of emo nostalgia with lyrics like: “I don’t know who I want to be / I’m just glad we still talk.” The last three songs are eclectic covers of folk artist Elliott Smith, indie rockers The Paper Kites and rapper Lil Uzi Vert. Surprises abound.

Listen at https://iloveyouso.bandcamp.com

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 35

ARTS | BOOKS

Tell Us i t a r e t i L s ed g L is t n i d a e R China-Ba r e eir Summ h T n O 's W ha t

co

ong inique W

in & Dom

art y Erica M mplied b

Iron Moon: An Anthology of Chinese Worker Poetry Edited by Qin Xiaoyu and translated

by Eleanor Goodman, April 2017

“Iron Moon, an anthology of poems written by factory workers, focuses on a side of Chinese literature often overlooked by foreigners. Our very own 2016 M Literary Resident, Eleanor Goodman, masterfully translates the works into English, cracking open the incredibly beautiful and heartwrenching poems of lives toiled away under harsh lights and alongside the constant whirring of machines. Each of the poems provides evidence that their authors are aware of their own exploitation and powerlessness, which has colored their work with an inimitable strength and honesty.”

– Shanghai Lit Fest founder Michelle Garnaut 36 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

Look Forward Spring Wind

by Ge Fei, June 2017

“Winter seems to be suitable for reading famous novels by Tolstoy, The Divine Comedy and the like, whereas summer is more suited to [Jorge Luis] Borges novels, essays, [Constantine P.] Cavafy’s poems and detective novels.

In terms of recently published books, I recommend Look Forward Spring Wind by Ge Fei. I like it for its language and narrative speed.”

- A Yi, author of the novel A Perfect Crime [Note: Look Forward Spring Wind is currently only available in Chinese.

Non-Chinese readers can check out The Invisibility Cloak, also by Ge Fei. The novel – Ge’s first to be available in English – is a comic tale set in contemporary Beijing.]

October: The Story of the Russian Revolution

by China Mieville, May 2017

“In May, both China Mieville and I were on BBC Radio 4's flagship program ‘Start the Week.’ I was given a signed copy of his recently published book, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution.

It is a terrific read. With his novelist flare, he vividly recounts a historical event that shaped our modern history.

Right now, I am extremely keen to read literary non-fiction books – the way to go for me.”

– Zhang Lijia, journalist and author of the novel Lotus

BOOKS | ARTS

Eating Smoke: One Man’s Descent into Drug Psychosis in Hong Kong’s Triad Heartland

by Chris Thrall, September 2011

"Thrall’s true crime memoir of his time as a Triad-connected nightclub doorman – not to mention a troubled methamphetamine addict – is surely the most engaging page-turner in the entire ‘China’ section of the bookstore.

The book captures the unruly spirit of 90s Hong Kong like no other, a world now lost and gentrified. Thank goodness someone captured the madness of the era in book form.”

The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao

by Ian Johnson, April 2017

“In years of field reporting on religion through China, Ian Johnson has gathered first-hand information. His rich knowledge of China and empathy for Chinese people make the book an informative and touching read. The book opens a window for Western readers into Chinese traditional religions: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.”

Hong Kong 20/20: Reflections on a Borrowed Place

anthology by PEN Hong Kong, June 2017

“It’s a collection of essays and stories on Hong Kong, a place which is a weather vane for Chinese politics.”

– Alec Ash, journalist and author of Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China

– Karoline Kan, journalist

– Ray Hecht, author of the novel South China Morning Blues

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 37

ARTS | PICK OF SIX

Kalinka Giesseler, ‘Not Eccintric Keynote Samtricity’ I: project space; through Jul 15

Kang Haitao, ‘Kang Haitao’

PIFO Gallery; through Jul 17

Yang Xinguan, 'The Unknown Depth of the Woods' Beijing Commune; through Jul 8

For gallery information visit www.thatsmags.com/beijing

Song Hongquan, ‘Clouds’

Chambers Fine Art; through Aug 20

38 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

Inga Svala Thorsdottir & Wu Shanzhuan, ‘Cause and Examples Projected from It’ (installation view, photography by Thomas Fuesser) Long March Space; through Aug 13

Jiang Zhi, ‘To Make with Changes’

Hadrien de Montferrand; through Aug 26

FAMILY FUN FOR ICE HOCKEY Just because it’s hot out doesn’t mean you can’t play hockey. Last month, That's Beijing was delighted to sponsor Family Fun for Ice Hockey at Ice Star International Sports Centre. Kids suited up and learned the basics of ice hockey before their parents joined in for some friendly competition. And after all that exercise? Ever yone chowed down on delicious snacks as they talked about how much fun they’d just had.

CITY SCENES

Party bro at NIGL’s EP release at Lantern misreads photographer’s intentions and goes in for the kiss.

Man realizes futility of human ambition in light of our inevitable extinction, rest of date goes poorly, at Jing-A Taproom’s Arepera event.

Woman gazes longingly into mirror after being told she can’t take the earrings home from a Tiffany & Co. show styled by Laurent Falcon.

Women find themselves frozen into permanent state of chill at the opening of Westin Beijing Financial Street’s Zen Garden.

Little-known fact: Kids can only smile when wearing a hat (at Element Fresh and Beijing Kerry Residence’s Father’s Day kids cooking class).

40 | JUNE 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

TOP STORIES BEIJING • Heavy Rainfall Expected to Soak

Beijing Until Saturday

The news caused mass panic, with questions like: Will the subway be closed?

THE MONTH

INSTAGRAM HIGHLIGHT Thanks to @alingress for tagging #thatsbeijing. Tag your pictures for a chance to be featured on our Instagram

ON

• Beijing's Janes + Hooch Named in

Asia's 50 Best Bars 2017

The Courtyard Four favorite placed 33rd.

• Rainbow-Colored Shared Bikes

COMMENTS OF THE MONTH

are Now Available in Beijing

We are still waiting for‘millennial pink.’

• Woman Deploys Emergency Exit

Slide on Plane at Beijing Int'l Airport The woman said that she was just curious to see what would happen.

• Great Wall Ranked 7th Best Landmark in the World

“I’m not surprised. I’ve seen this first-hand in Wudaokou” - user Jackson on ‘400 People Discovered Living in Subterranean Slum Below Posh Beijing Apartment’

But just the Mutianyu section, according to Trip Advisor’s awards (we all know Badaling is hell).

Braces for Torrential Rains

It wasn’t just the capital that got hit.

• 17 Cases of Dengue Fever in

Shenzhen This Year

Luckily dengue is usually non-fatal.

• Female-Priority Metro Cars Might

Soon Be a Thing in Guangzhou

WATCH: Speedy Shanghai Cabbie Overtakes 50 Cars in 2 Minutes A Taxi Driver with a Need for Speed gets 2 Fast

NATIONAL • Storm Alert Issued as China

VIDEO OF THE MONTH

2 Furious. (Sorry.)

“In the Chinese Super League it helps it keep a knuckle duster in your back pocket” - user Jim on ‘WATCH: Oscar sparked a brawl at Chinese football game this weekend’

Authorities behind the proposal hope it will lower incidences of sexual harassment.

• Oscar Receives 8 Match Ban for

Sparking Mass Brawl

The ban was questionable, considering the star player didn't even take part in the CSL brawl.

• 11 Foreign Pot Dealers Arrested

in Guangzhou

The arrests stem from an incident involving an expat who injured someone while 'running naked' outside (he was high).

“It's about time! Good luck crossing even when you have the right to. Spoken by an Beijing expat driver of 10 years” - user Deborah on ‘Beijing Enforces New Traffic Law After Woman is Fatally Struck by Car in Henan’

Sc an the QR c ode to v isit that s ma g s.com

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JUNE 2017 | 41

China’s Growing Role in the Global Refugee Crisis 42

words by Noelle Mateer, graphics by Iris Wang additional reporting by Dominique Wong

rancis Teoh introduces Chinese movie star Yao Chen, the “queen of Weibo,” with a factual error.

“She has 80 million followers,” he says into his microphone. “Which I think is the population of... Norway? Sweden?”

Neither of those countries has even close to that many people. You would have to multiply Norway’s population by 16 to get the same number as Yao Chen’s Weibo following.

The population of her Weibo account outnumbers the populations of most countries, not just the European ones.

Yao is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR (the United Nations Refugee Agency), meaning she uses her colossal platform to advocate for the UN’s work with refugees around the world. (Many in the West have called her “China’s answer to Angelina Jolie” as a result.)

“It’s so good to see so many people here this year!” she says to her audience at MOMA in Beijing. “Last year the crowd was much smaller.”

Yao and Teoh (UNHCR’s official representative in China) are hosting a film screening for World Refugee Day. Beijing is an interesting place to raise awareness toward refugees: As China’s role on the global stage grows, so does its importance to international refugee crises. Yet the country still does not officially grant asylum.

“A refugee in China would be in a similar situation to a refugee in Hong Kong,” says Patrick Poon, a China researcher for Amnesty International. “They’re basically just waiting for a third country to come in and take them.”

China has no domestic legislation recognizing the rights of asylum seekers, and so, for the time being, UNHCR processes asylum requests on China’s behalf. (As of 1982, the country is a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol – see overleaf for more information.) Asylum seekers are only allowed temporary stays in China, as of the 2012 Exit-Entry Administration Law: “Foreigners applying for refugee status may, during the screening process, stay in China on the strength of temporary identity certificates issued by public security organs.” For those who are granted asylum in China, it’s only fleeting.

Still, China has become increasingly involved in other countries’ refugee crises.

“Of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, China contributes the largest number of military and civilian personnel to the UN Peacekeeping missions,” Teoh tells That’s Beijing, before going on to list a bevy of financial commitments that will benefit refugees: USD100 million pledged under the China-UN Peace and Development Fund; USD300 million under the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund; USD2 million for Syrian refugees in Iraq, USD1 million in Afghanistan. Just last month, the government announced a USD5 million donation to World Food Programme efforts in Kenya.

Those millions are a drop in the bucket for the world’s second-largest economy. But in light of the Belt and Road Initiative, many at UNHCR expect to see China’s involvement in this arena

grow. In May, China and the UNHCR signed an “Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation” worth USD8 million, before China pledged a further USD290 million in aid to developing countries along the Belt and Road.

The UNHCR’s High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi, made his first official visit to China shortly after this year’s Belt and Road Forum. In his speech – also attended by Yao Chen – he expressed high hopes for future cooperation.

“The Belt and Road Initiative is about international cooperation for peace, prosperity and inclusion,” he said. “We hope that China can invest some of those resources directly in countries hosting large numbers of refugees and displaced people. In doing so, it can empower refugees and their host communities in a win-win situation for all.”

But what does this mean for refugees within China? According to Patrick Poon, it’s hard to say. “We don’t know where they are, what they’re like. There

[asylum seekers] go to China knowing the improving economic situation there.

Maybe they see news about China’s booming growth and make a decision.”

The question, then, is what refugees can do once they’re here. Given that they’re not recognized under national law, refugees do not receive assistance from the Chinese Government.

“In China, asylum seekers are not allowed to work, hence they depend on their own funds or that of their friends or families to survive,” says Teoh. “With the global refugee crisis and budgetary constraints, UNHCR does not have the funds to provide for asylum seekers, with the exception of very vulnerable individuals on an emergency basis.”

Until asylum seekers become officially recognized, however, their life in China will remain how it is: one of anxious waiting.

Read an asylum seeker’s firsthand account of life in Beijing on page 48.

45

is [almost] no information on them.”

While Poon says it’s impossible to know the exact number of people seeking refuge in China, he does point out that current violence in Myanmar has led thousands of Burmese to flee over the Chinese border. In fact, the vast majority of refugees in China are from Indochinese countries like Vietnam and Myanmar (the thousands of Vietnamese who escaped to China in the 80s first prompted the UNHCR to establish a Beijing office).

Asylum seekers from outside Indochina are rare. As of 2015, most refugees from non-Asian countries were from Somalia, Nigeria, Iraq and Liberia.

Teoh believes that China should expect more to come in the future.

“Given China’s prominence as the second-biggest economy, it is inevitable more and more people come to China, some of whom may end up seeking asylum,” he says.

Poon agrees: “I’m sure many

GLOSSARY Refugee

Someone fleeing armed conflict or persecution across an international border because it is too dangerous to stay home.

Definitions, Facts and Figures compiled by Dominique Wong

65.6 million

people around the world were displaced at the end of 2016 – around 300,000 more than a year earlier Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18

10 million

There are stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights (education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement) Nearly 20 people are forcibly displaced every minute as a result of conflict or persecution Source: UNHCR Global Trends report, published June 2017

Migrant

Someone who chooses to move, not because of a direct threat of persecution or death; unlike refugees, if migrants choose to return home, they will continue to receive the protection of their government.

Asylum-Seeker

Someone who has left his or her country of origin and formally applied for asylum in another country.

Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country’s borders.

Stateless Person

Someone who is not a national of any country.

WHERE HAVE CHINA’S REFUGEES COME FROM? Indochina (Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand Laos, Cambodia) 300,895

1 2 3

Somalia 182 Nigeria 86

4

Iraq 52

5

Liberia 45

Altogether, there are

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, otherwise known as the UN Refugee Agency; a UN program mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself; assists in refugees’ voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country.

The 1951 Refugee Convention A UN treaty that defines who is a refugee and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum

The 1967 Protocol 301,622 refugees in China.

Source: Data provided by UNHCR Beijing office, as of 31 December 2015

46

UNHCR

An enactment that broadens the 1951 Convention by removing its geographical and time limits.

CHINA AND REFUGEES

元元元

1978

$2.8 million

$12.5 million

1980

UNHCR establishes Beijing office in response to Vietnamese refugee crisis China’s contribution to refugee programs increased from USD2.8 million, in 2016, to USD12.5 million, as of June 2017.

WHAT ARE CHINESE PEOPLE’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS REFUGEES?

Sep 1982 China becomes party to the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol

260,000 Indochinese refugees settle in China, the last time that the Chinese government accepted such a large number of refugees

1981~1982

China provides resettlement opportunities for 2,500 Lao and Cambodian refugees from camps in Thailand

2009

Jul 2012

said they’d welcome refugees into the country

46%

said they would personally accept a refugee into their home

86%

agreed that the government should do more to help refugees fleeing war and prosecution (ranking first among countries surveyed)

70%

agreed that people should be able to take refuge in other countries to escape war or persecution Source: Amnesty International and GlobeScan survey, 2016

Jul 2013 Oct 2013 Letter of Intent signed with the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs regarding disaster reduction, preparedness and emergency response aims to guard against internal displacement

China’s new Exit-Entry Law comes into force, allowing refugees to stay in China after obtaining an ID card from public security authorities; asylum seekers are also allowed to use a temporary card to stay while their refugee status is under examination

Feb 2015

The Chinese Government offers food and medical supplies to an estimated 50,000 Kokang civilians pouring into Southwest China after fighting erupts between the Myanmese Army and Kokang rebels

47

94%

China enacts its 2012 ExitEntry Administration Law. It replaces two former exitand-entry laws and includes provisions that the country may grant asylum to foreigners who request it for political reasons

Tens of thousands of refugees flee from Myanmar over the Chinese border due to conflict between ethnic-minority militias and government troops

BUREAUCRACY AND BOREDOM 48

An Asylum Seeker’s Firsthand Account of Life in Beijing

“Some people make up stories to get asylum, and others spice up the truth to make it more compelling – or gruesome” The following is a first-hand account of seeking asylum in Beijing. The writer asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of his situation.

49

t’s a cold and windy day in Beijing as I navigate my way to Liangmaqiao. That’s where the China office for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is located.

I make my way out of the subway and continue down the road of government embassies. By the gate I produce my passport to a serious-looking but friendly guard. He allows me in, and l walk to a very small building within the UN compound where the asylum-seeker office is found.

Inside this small office, a row of chairs are lined against the wall, while a small reception area sits directly opposite the door, making it almost impossible to fully open. On the wall, printed A4 papers display basic information about the UNHCR and the type of people it serves. One page in particular catches my attention: It talks about how this is a safe place for all kinds of people. It goes on to show images of different modern family dynamics – images depicting straight, gay and lesbian couples and families.

“I would like to apply for asylum,” I say to the man behind the reception desk. The desk is so high that l have to look down to see him. He hands me a paper to read through and offers me a seat. There’s already a handful of people waiting. They look bored and agitated. I go through the document, which provides information about the asylum system in China – provisions, requirements and regulations. There’s a small section about how we are not permitted to study or work.

After a while of awkward silences and stares among strangers, they call me in. There’s a tall glass window dividing the consultant and me.

“Good morning,” I greet her, smiling. She responds with a smile and asks for my passport and the one-page document l received at reception.

She also asks for my temporary residence permit, which I don’t have.

“The temporary residence permit is very important. Make sure you have one when you come for your interview.” I nod in agreement and smile once again, attempting to ask questions about the UNHCR process in China. “Will I be allowed to travel, work or study? And how will I sustain myself if I’m not allowed to work?” She doesn’t have the answers, and advises me to speak to another consultant at another time.

Getting my temporary residence permit is a struggle. The first time I go to my local police station, I’m turned away because I don’t have a landlord or agent with me. The second time, my agent makes me wait for hours and I’m still denied. I have to communicate all this to the UNHCR, but my correspondence with them is slow. I send emails and then followup with a phone call. Then I’m told to wait until I get a response to my email. It takes days for that response to come. On the day of my interview, I go without the permit, a considerable amount of fear and uncertainty building in my chest.

“You have to come back after a month,” I’m told. “But when you do, you must have your temporary residence permit.”

50

To get the permit I need to have a lease contract in my name, but my lease isn’t. The agency insisted that only my Chinese flatmate sign the contract.

My flatmate contacts the agency several times over the course of weeks, but they don’t seem interested in helping. We decide to get in touch with the landlord. We both send him messages on different occasions but he doesn’t respond. After numerous attempts to reach our landlord we finally give up. That’s until my friend suggests that I add my signature to the lease agreement without the agency’s knowledge. It’s a crazy idea, but it’s also my only option at this point. Without thinking much about it, I add my signature next to his.

A few days later, I decide to try my luck once again at the police station. The security guard, who probably knows me by now, directs me to the queue. I don’t have to say much, really – a foreigner at a police station usually means: temporary residence permit. I hand over my documents: passport, asylum certificate and lease. And without any real interaction the officer starts processing the permit for me. It's a simple procedure and within minutes I’m done. I laugh silently in disbelief.

Four weeks pass and l make my way back to the UNHCR offices. It’s early morning, and the office is still closed. A few feet away from me, two men chat while smoking. I can barely make sense of anything they’re saying, despite their considerably loud voices and laughter. My mind is elsewhere.

Once in the office, I recognize some faces from last time. I settle on one of the seats and pretend to be busy on my phone. I’m nervous and agitated, but I wear a brave face. It’s mostly men here today, a mixture of different ethnicities. From their accents they might be from West and North Africa and Central Asia.

China is an unlikely place to seek refuge. Europe and America are certainly more common destinations. First, the refugee system here is still under development. I’ve heard stories about how asylum seekers are granted permission to temporarily reside in China while their case is being investigated, but eventually sent to third countries as the long-term solution.

Yet the process itself is not as complex as many would think. It’s a series of interviews and investigations into the interviewee’s claims. Some people make up stories to get asylum, and others spice up the truth to make their stories more compelling – or gruesome – in an attempt to garner sympathy.

After a short while queuing, I’m called in for my interview. This time it’s a young male officer on the other side of the glass wall. He looks a little inexperienced. Another male, an older-looking chubby man, stands beside him, darting in and out throughout the interview. The younger man checks my credentials and hands me a form – a booklet with all sorts of questions about my past and a timeline of my life, education and work. It’s brief, but detailed. Every year from primary school to my professional life has to be accounted for: dates, qualifications and certificates, as well as bits about my family, their ages, what they do and where they are currently based. He emphasizes the importance of including every single detail.

The booklet requires story-like answers. Question 1 reads: “Why did

“As we’re waiting for our results, the anxiety in the room is palpable”

51

you leave your home country?” I take my time, carefully reading and answering the questions. Whatever I write will be filed and put on record. I’m called back into the interview room, but I’m granted more time because I haven’t finished answering the questions. It’s just before noon and I’m told to come back after lunch.

Later, back inside, one of the men in the office warns me to keep my dates and timeline simple. “They follow-up on every single little detail later,” he continues. I respond with a faint smile and nod. In my head I’m thinking, Well, I have nothing to hide, and there’s nothing I’d forget because I’m being truthful.

“Why are you seeking asylum?” He looks me straight in the eye, his face unmoving except when he has to sneeze or cough.

Throughout the interview he maintains a stern expression. He asks me repeated questions, such as my reasons for coming to China and seeking asylum. After going through this – and countless other queries – he writes five more questions on a separate piece of paper.

“Answer these and come back inside here when you finish,” he says politely. It takes me a few minutes to answer the additional questions and I finally submit my form.

Now I’m back in the waiting area with the same group of people that have been here since the morning. Two of them I had met earlier, during the lunch break. They talked and laughed – all while looking nervous and shaky. We are all set to be issued with a six-month asylum certificate today – if they grant it to us, that is. Now we are all waiting for our results, and the anxiety in the room is palpable. Two of the people go in and out of the interview room before it’s my turn. I stand up and head towards the door.

The interviewer is sitting on the other side of the glass window just like the first time, and without saying anything, he glances at me before perusing a pile of documents. He stops at the sight of one large paper and separates it from the pile. He explains how every six months I should renew the document.

I’m bursting with joy, but I try to maintain my excitement. Out of happiness, I offer the officer some medicine for his cold. “I’ll have to bring it some other time, though, because I don’t have it here,” I tell him. He smiles and apologizes for interviewing me while sick. I smile back. “It’s OK,” I say, as I stand up to leave.

EAT &

DRINK

HOT MAMA

Cult-favorite Sichuan joint Zhang Mama opens in Sanlitun, p58

Alfresco Drinking p56

Craft Beer p59

Ramen p61

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

GETTING MODERATELY DEEP WITH...

The Owner of a Noodle Restaurant

by Dominique Wong and Zaza Qian

This month we meet restaurant owner Zhang Bin, a former IT worker turned noodle seller.

An all-around nice guy – he shouts us a cold drink to cool down in the heat wave – Zhang likes living in the present and is happiest in bed.

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed.

This is our magazine.

[Zhang points to our interview with a kaoya slicer] Hey, I know that guy!

Huh, small world.

Yeah, we’re all friends.

How are you feeling today?

Very good – I’m really hot and tired but still happy.

What was the first thing you thought when you woke up this morning?

I’ve got to get to work!

Who are your best customers?

Strangers, because they can offer suggestions on how to improve. They don’t know me so they can be honest about the food – plus they can also turn into friends.

Who are your worst customers?

My most familiar customers. When they visit sometimes there’s a big line but because they’re my friends, they skip the line. This isn’t a good look.

Which living person do you most admire?

Can I say nobody? I admire myself.

When and where are you happiest?

What always makes you laugh?

In my bed at home because I don’t have to think about anything there.

My friends.

Which talent would you most like to have?

What’s the most surprising thing that’s happened to you?

I want to have a good sense of taste because it’s important for my job.

Friends who I hadn’t seen in a long time and who live far away came to visit me.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

That my restaurant hasn’t closed [laughs]. I’m kidding. But my answer would have to be starting this business and seeing it grow and grow.

If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?

I’d try and get up earlier because then I’d be able to do more with my day.

What is your most treasured possession?

My family and loved ones. Money can’t buy these things – they are real.

What trait do you most value in a person?

Honesty.

What do you dislike the most?

That’s a pretty broad question! Hmm. I don’t like getting hung up on the past. Some people like to talk about how they achieved or did something before – but what about now?

Who is your hero?

Mao Zedong.

Which era of China’s history would you most like to have lived in?

It’s got to be today in Beijing. Life now is very comfortable – we can eat as much food as we want, and so many new things have been introduced to China.

What is your idea of the perfect day?

Wake up next to my girlfriend, go to the restaurant and see it full of customers who are eating a lot, pass the day with zero problems, and then go home and have a good sleep.

Simple, but if every day could be like this, then [life] would be perfect.

You can try Zhang’s noodles at Mian’r Noodle Bar, on the corner of Chunxiu Lu and Shizipo Jie (opposite The Crib)

What is your motto?

I think that if you have decided on something, you need to persevere – don’t listen to others and change your goal. Don’t have any regrets, just do it.

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GRAPE VINE SNACKS IN THE CITY

Cellar Door is now Cellar Window, because their door is gone. Brace youself, readers – I’m about to list a ton of places whose doors are now missing. The Great Bricking of 2017 rages on, but the good news is that many of our beloved restaurants and bars have found ways to live on. For now, at least.

MoxiMoxi has moved – fortunately just a block over to Beixinqiao Santiao.

And Antlers, which we reviewed just last month, is now accessible via a side door. Pour one out for their dope outdoor booth, which has been bricked over. In Sanlitun, everyone’s favorite nautical-and-sports-themed bar, Anchor, has found a new home in the nearby Yongli Plaza. Long-running cocktail bar Revolution has also been born again, this time in Xingfu Ercun (near Home Grounds).

Xiang’er Hutong is a funny sight. Walk past White Tiger Village, and you might not even recognize it – except for the occasional group of friends eating chuan’r on lemon-yellow chairs beside a concrete wall. The neighboring BigSmall Coffee is also blocked off – enter via a siheyuan to the side to access it. Weirdly the famous Chongqing noodle joint on the same street, Pang Mei, is unaffected.

Maybe there is a god.

In the midst of all this destruction, we must take joy in our victories. Two victories, namely – Bottega, and another Bottega. We previewed Bottega’s new Xinyuan Li location during its soft launch last month, and can confirm that it’s bigger, badder and more fun than ever. The team has seriously ramped up its drink menu, and with all the new space for outdoor seating, we’re looking forward to this becoming not just a restaurant, but a nightlife spot. We’ll let you know as soon as its Nali Patio branch opens (seriously, like, the minute it opens). NM

Letting Things Slide Beijing’s recent citywide renovations have led business owners to get crafty. But the craftiest move of all has come from a Beijing shop owner who built a slide – yes, a slide – from her kitchen window to the street. Since her front door was replaced by a wall of cement, she now sends her congee and liangpi down the slide to her customers – along with a QR code, which they can scan to pay. Nearly two meters long, the metal ramp garnered fame on social media, with netizens calling it “amazing” and “the country's fastest delivery service.”

But this isn’t the first time people have come up with unconventional ways of delivering food to customers in China. A student at Henan University of Technology once tied together bedsheets to get food up to her sixth floor dorm, and a student in Nanjing used a similar pulley system to pick up food delivery. JL

OFF THE BEATEN PLATE

Large, spherical ice cubes have been knocking about the Beijing bar scene for a while now. If you order a Scotch on the rocks in Sanlitun, chances are your Laphroaig will come with a side of ridiculously-big-frozen-water-ball.

But with your coffee, at a restaurant?

Or more specifically, The Rug? What is going on here?

Well, when The Rug unveiled a new brunch menu last month, we went for the cute gua bao trays and ended up staying for the iced coffee – emphasis on the ‘ice.’ For their Cinnamoncano White, we’re presented with a frozen globe of coffee and a glass of piping-hot milk.

What follows is a DIY coffee-making sesh that feels almost like a science experiment – pour the milk in and watch as it melts the (coffee) ice. NM RMB48, The Rug (see Listings for details)

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E D I T E D B Y NOE L L E M AT E E R / bj e di t o r @ ur b a n a t o m y.c o m

MIFAN/MAFAN

Big Bear & Rukis

We Tell You if the Rice is Worth the Hassle

You probably know either Big Bear or RuKis, if not both. The expat bakers have been selling their popular cookies (Big Bear) and Estonian rye bread (RuKis) in Beijing for some time now.

Now the two have taken over the space left behind by The Meatball Company and are operating a bakery-plus-cafe-plusbodega-for-expat-food-products (think Naked Nut Butters, Mantra Bars). Are you a Gulou-based kid or self-described ‘hutong hipster’? Then visiting this place is mandatory.

Daily, 11am-5pm; 27 Dashibei Hutong, Xicheng 西城区大石碑胡同27号

Singapore Seafood Don’t judge a restaurant by its name: There’s more to Singapore Seafood than, well, seafood from Singapore. Think fragrant Hainan chicken rice and mi goreng. Or lush yam and coconut desserts. Seafood is the star, though – we like the big fat chili crabs doused in spicy tomato and nut sauce (disposable gloves and aprons are standard here). Bonus: The restaurant’s newest location in the CBD is more relaxed than the Parkview Green spot, so it’s OK to get a little messy.

Daily, 11am-10pm; NL4010, China World Mall North Building, 1 Jianguomen Waidajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大街1号国贸商城北区NL4010 (8595 0251)

Lotus Not to be confused with its upstairs neighbor Lotus Thai, Lotus is yet another welcome addition to China World Mall’s new collection of places to eat and drink. This tranquil little restaurant serves some of Beijing’s best Chinese vegetarian fare – think fine-dining presentation, but with generous portions and surprisingly reasonable prices. Dishes range from fancy mushroom-based concoctions (RMB80-165) to more wallet-friendly options like thick, spicy noodles (RMB32) and delicious ‘spare ribs’ (RMB56).

Daily, 10am-midnight; NL4006, China World Mall North Building, 1 Jianguomen Waidajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大街1号国贸商城北区NL4006

Bad Farmers And Our Bakery Bad Farmers and Our Bakery claims it will “save your life.” Health experts we are not, but the cafe’s salads (RMB62-79) and juices seem pretty nutritious. They’re also damn tasty and very ’grammable, and that’s the most important thing – right guys?

Speciality coffee (RMB24-26) and freshly made pastries round up the bakery. Originally from South Korea, the spot is an attractive and unpretentious addition to Beijing’s healthy food scene.

Daily, 10am-10pm; N8, Taikoo Li North, Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯太古 里北区N8楼一层 (8447 2821)

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E AT & DR INK | T HE L I S T

WHERE TO DRINK OUTSIDE In the Year of Our Lord 2017, Beijing authorities wrought destruction of Biblical proportions upon our favorite bars and cafes. Yet even in this fraught, grieving season, Beijingers have found ways to soldier on. The noble party people of Beijing shall continue to drink on rooftops and terraces this summer, as per tradition, the only question is where.

Noelle Mateer goes on a journey to find the answer, while also asking: What are the best and worst terraces in Beijing? Is the CBD the new hutongs? And what’s the Champagniest place to drink Champagne?

The Roof

Pak Pak This longtime Thai restaurant has recently upped its cocktail game, and we couldn’t be happier. Sure, maybe you’ve only dropped by for lunch, or ordered spring rolls online, but – and this is a hot tip right here – Pak Pak has a wonderful terrace, perfect for grabbing drinks or dinner after work. This is just one of many updates to the now-bustling Guomao. The CBD is the new hutongs (...yay?)!

What to Drink

The Mandarin Fizz (RMB50), featuring gin, brandy, lemongrass and Jing-A Mandarin Wheat beer.

Good For

Getting drunk at dinner.

Put on your Sanlitun finest to go sit on this Sanlitun roof that overlooks the rest of Sanlitun. If you’re feeling especially Sanlitun – and of course you are, you’re at The Roof – order a bottle of champers or whisky. If you’re not, there are cocktails and beers too. Final tip: Dress nice. This is Shanghai kind of place in a Beijing kind of city.

What to Drink

Bottle service, obviously.

Good For

Posting photos of your glamorous life on Instagram; #Views.

Great Leap Brewing Original #6 The one, the only, the original – Great Leap Brewing shall not be bricked (we hope). The place that singlehandedly kicked off Beijing’s craft beer obsession is still, in this age of hutong destruction, well, a damn good bar. And just when you think you’ve tried ’em all, they crank out a sick collab beer or throw a seasonal brew on the menu.

What to Drink

Honey Ma White, a lighter take on Great Leap’s classic Honey Ma Gold for summer (RMB55).

Good For

O’Bar If one were to rank boozy Beijing terraces according to classiness, Kokomo would be at the bottom and O’Bar the top. Read: It is classy AF. But this year, the bar at NUO Hotel is shaking things up, both figuratively and literally, with the addition of new bar manager Attila Balint. If you can tear yourself away from O’Bar’s Champagne selection, then give his cocktails a try.

What to Drink

Seasonal cocktails (RMB varies); Deutz Champagne on ice.

Good For

Feeling significantly more glamorous than you actually are.

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‘Stopping by for a pint’ and leaving nine hours later.

North Capital

We didn’t get the buzz over North Capital at first. It is essentially a backpacker bar like the kind you’d find at a hostel in Thailand. But then we realized, duh, that’s the appeal, and also there’s actually a decent selection of craft beers and ciders. Plus, the fact that all our other hutong bars seem to be getting bricked up these days means it just might be the summer of North Capital.

What to Drink

Diplomatico on the rocks (only RMB15, you're welcome).

Good For

Meeting English teachers... who are very single.

T HE L IS T | E AT & DR INK

TiensTiens The Craft Container Don’t be confused by the name: ‘Craft Container’ is not a line of high-end tupperware boxes for DIYscrapbooking fiends; it is an outdoor bar run by Xian at East Hotel, featuring beers of the craft variety. Pick from Jing-A, Slow Boat and N Beer brews – the gang’s all here. Then plop down in one of Xian’s sunken booth things. We really recommend the sunken booth things.

If you were to ask us, right now, where the best place in Beijing to propose to a loved one is, we’d say TiensTiens.

(Then we’d be like… why are you getting engaged here?

Propose somewhere with clean air.) The cafe’s new roof is replete with string lights and multiple terrace levels like a goddamn fairytale castle. Also: Croissants.

What to Drink

Rosé. Or coffee, we suppose.

Good For

Having the ‘what are we?’ conversation.

What to Drink

Whatever you want, it’s up to you! (Flying Fist IPA, RMB55.)

Good For

When your friends can’t decide if they want craft beer or cocktails.

Multiple Migae I mean, how would you pluralize ‘Migas’?

If it were Mig-us it’d be Mig-i – duh! – but Latin declension charts contain no stipulations for -as endings. Wow, sorry, anyway, point is: Y’all already know Migas has one of the city’s dopest rooftops, and now there’s a second one, freshly opened in the CBD, that’s set to be even doper.

What to Drink

Aperol Spritz (two for RMB70 on Sunday nights).

Good For

Catching the sunset on a clean-air day.

On A Boat

Blue Frog “Wait – the place that does the buy-one-get-one burgers?” you ask. “Shut up,” we reply. “Shut up and drink.” Blue Frog somehow nabbed the sickest, most massive-est terrace in the whole China World Mall, and the view is so beautiful you might actually cry (after six or seven buy-one-get-one pina coladas you might). Go during Happy (four) Hour(s). Or burger Mondays. There is no reason to pay full price for anything here.

What to Drink

Anything during Happy Hour, buy-one-get-one (48pm).

Good For

Bitching about work over beers with your Guomao coworkers.

Live in Gulou and bummed about all your favorite Fangjia Hutong joints shutting? Well you know something they can’t wall up: lakes!

Try to brick this, local authorities! Wield your sense of rebellion and newfound power by paying too much for a boat rental on either Houhai or Beihai (Beihai smells less like sh*t, but has weird hours).

What to Drink

RMB60 bottles of ‘champagne’ from nearby outlets of Russian Supermarket Magazine Yuri, smuggled in via your backpack.

Good For

Groups of friends with the ability to organize themselves and arrive at a certain place at the same time.

Our friends at Stella Artois also have a boozy outdoor bar they’d like to recommend. See p. 64 for details.

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E AT & DR INK | R E S TAUR A N T S

ZHANG MAMA

A Hutong Classic... in Sanlitun? words and images by Dominique Wong

Nothing says success – or, perhaps, excess – like Sanlitun. And so, taking its cue from other hutong establishments before it – ahem, Mr. Shi’s Dumplings – everybody’s favorite Sichuan restaurant, Zhang Mama, has opened a new branch on the north stretch of Sanlitun Lu. And it’s unbelievable.

First, let us explain: The original Zhang Mama, on Fensiting Hutong, and its second location, on Jiaodaokou Dongjie, are known for home-style Sichuan food and the lines of people that are willing to wait for it. It’s humble in both name and decor (Zhang Mama is a real, well, mama) – and that’s why we love it.

But when we visit the new Sanlitun branch, our excitement quickly turns to confusion. It looks… different. It’s big and empty, for one.

Granted, it’s mid-afternoon. But there’s also a menu with English translations, plush private rooms and wine bottles. Decked out with Picassoinspired murals and floor-to-ceiling mirrors, even the bathrooms are extra.

Maybe this is insulting, but we ask the waitperson if this is in fact the Zhang Mama (we’ve had our fair share of copycat experiences, see the fake Jing-A in Tongzhou, or the fake Nando’s, also on Sanlitun Lu). The waitperson assures us it is the same.

One bite of brilliant, numbing boboji confirms this. Our plate of fried pork and chili peppers is also deliciously familiar. The food itself looks and tastes the same, and the prices seem pretty similar too.

Yet we still can’t shake the feeling that everything has changed. Change can be a good thing – ordering off the menu is a lot easier now, for example – but it also threatens the standing order of things. Don’t get us wrong, the new location is very attractive in a generic sense, but maybe we like eating in a too-crowded space sans trendy lighting fixtures.

This is Sanlitun, yes, but it all seems rather incongruous given Zhang Mama’s whole ethos and cuisine. The real Zhang Mama would never do this, we think. But maybe we never really knew Zhang Mama after all.

Daily, 11.30am-10.30pm; 7 Sanlitun Lu Jia, Chaoyang (opposite the Belgium Embassy) 朝阳区三里屯路甲7号 (比利时大使馆对面, 5624 1717)

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R E S TAUR A N T S | E AT & DR INK

ROSÉS CLOUDS Craft Beer In... Wangfujing?

by Noelle Mateer

How do you know when a trend has made it? Like, really, really made it? We often say that a place has made it when it moves to Sanlitun (see opposite page for reference). But upon further consideration, we amend our previous statements. You know how a trend is huge? It’s in Wangfujing.

Ah, Wangfujing – that gargantuan alleyway of malls and office towers, a paean to capitalism just east of Tiananmen Square. We longterm expats don’t go there too often – we prefer to leave it to the tourists. If you haven’t been in a while, we can confirm: Yeah, it’s pretty much the same today as it was when you visited in 2013. There is, however, a notable addition: Rosés Clouds.

Yes, that’s rosés like the wine, not roses like the flower. Rosés Clouds, sadly, is not populated by clouds of rosé. Rather, it’s filled with pleasing minimalist furniture, 10-plus taps of craft beer and wellheeled patrons from across the city. We suppose this is better anyway.

Rosés Clouds, with its taps-upon-taps of beer, announces the (capital-a) Arrival of craft beer in grandiose fashion. Beijing-made, microbrewed suds are now available in between APM Mall and next

to several competing branches of Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts. And yet, the feel here isn’t corporate. In fact, our favorite thing about Rosés Clouds is the atmosphere – beautiful black-and-white clouds wallpapering the interior, pleasant terraces on the exterior. A long bar inside serves coffee and coldpressed juices (also a trend that’s made it big).

But Rosés Clouds appears to be most popular as a lunch spot. The menu is extensive, featuring cold cuts, salads, burgers, steaks and the obligatory German-sausage plate. We find the pastas most gratifying – in particular a creamy alfredo fettuccine with salmon and dill. A sweet potato and beef salad is also a hit, especially suitable for those looking for light bites. But with coffee, meals and beers, Roses Clouds works anytime of day. And it’s definitely cooler than a Wangfujing mall.

Daily, 8.30am-11pm; 11-15 PW3 Building, Beijing Oriental Plaza, 1 Dong Chang’an Jie, Dongcheng 东城区东长安街1号北京东方广场东方新天 地商场平台层PW3号店铺11-15 (5607 5290)

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E AT & DR INK | R E S TAUR A N T S

KLERM

TFW You Taste Really Great Thai Food

by Dominique Wong

We’re suckers for Thai food. It doesn’t have to be extraordinary – see last month’s review ‘Amazing Thai (FYI That’s Its Name, Not Our Verdict)’ – but it should still pack a punch. And new Thai-koo Li North (heh) restaurant Klerm does just that.

Located in the space once occupied by Chiang Mai-style restaurant Cacha Cacha, Klerm has a lot in common with its predecessor – which makes sense considering half of the management team is the same.

Like Cacha Cacha, Klerm eschews the traditional Thai aesthetic for a more ostentatiously hip look. Colors are bright and splashed throughout the restaurant’s otherwise industrial interior. Keen observers may even notice a familiar-looking elephant artwork decorating one the walls, a hangover from the Cacha Cacha days.

However, unlike its former tenant, Klerm serves Thai food in general, rather than strictly Northern Thai cuisine. This serves the restaurant well, with a host of classics and more obscure dishes ensuring the spot remains accessible to all.

The green curry with chicken (RMB78) is a rich and vibrant take on a dish that, in the wrong hands, can often slide into mediocre territory.

Klerm’s version is a stellar rendition, our only complaint being: More please. For its riotous combination of textures and flavors, we love the papaya salad (RMB57). A mountain of crispy pigskin, fresh apple and beansprouts with shredded papaya and liberal amounts of chili – it’s pretty spicy. Which is where the Thai tea (RMB34) comes in handy, or, a cocktail (Klerm also has a spiffy island bar). But, as our visit falls during lunchtime and we are very professional, we skip the alcohol.

Still, we leave quite satisfied, which is exactly what Klerm wants.

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But what does it mean? Despite sounding like the name of a cleaning product, we’re told on good authority (i.e. the restaurant owner and another Thai friend) that the word ‘klerm’ actually describes the happy feeling one has after ‘getting high.’ Indeed.

Daily, 9am-10pm; NLG45, Taikoo Li North, Sanlitun, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯太古 里北区NLG45 (8440 2101)

R E S TAUR A N T S | E AT & DR INK

HAKATA ITIKA Shut Up and Eat (Ramen)

by Nick Mateer

The Wangfujing Metro station has an ungodly number of exits. Finding the right one, and then navigating oneself to the Oriental Plaza mall, can be tough. Navigating within the mall can be even harder. For while there are plenty of food options inside, there’s only one hightech ramen joint.

That’s right – in authentic Japanese fashion, Hakata Itika features both touch screens and soupy noodles. Customers order off the high-tech menus up front and then sit in what is essentially a cubicle for noodle-eaters.

Seats are divided from one another by movable flaps (speaking is overrated anyway), and each little cubby has a button at the top that allows you to call for service (again – why speak?). Waiters simply pop up from behind a curtain to serve you the goods.

Hakata Itika’s ramen is not to be ignored, and these intimate little boxes make sure of this. For parties of two or more, the sides are retractable so you don’t need to feel isolated if you don’t want to (but please, do). The setup is equally viable for a quick solo lunch during work or a more social get-together at dinner.

As for the noods, they are authentic and delicious. And plenty of flavorful add-ons are offered as well. The touchscreen menu allows diners to customize the texture of the noodles to their liking, from soft to hard to whatever in between. The ramen (RMB42-56) is presented as it should be: swimming in bonesoaked broth, with bok choy and egg included. The noodles themselves are serviceable, but they mainly serve as a starchy vehicle for the multitude of other flavors in the bowl.

If you aren’t a ramen person but you get dragged into Hakata Itika anyways, there are great alternatives. A seaweed salad (RMB32) impresses even the health-averse among us with its cool, crisp finish, and the fried chicken (RMB22) definitely caters to the health-averse among us. Speaking of healthaverse, a standout dish is the almond pudding (RMB19), a cool and creamy finale to the more savory fare beforehand. Meanwhile, matcha fans will enjoy the green tea pudding

(RMB18). Layers of descending sweetness and bitterness intertwine, turning the of-themoment flavor into something special.

Daily, 10am-11pm; 11-15 PW3 Building, Beijing Oriental Plaza, 1 Dong Chang’an Jie, Dongcheng 东 城区东长安街1号北京东方广场东方新天地商场平台层 PW3号店铺11-15 (5607 5290)

SPROUTWORKS Affordable Health Care

by Justine Lopez

From our first Lululemon store to what seems like our millionth high-tech gym, China’s health craze has officially arrived in Beijing.

It’s fitting, then, that the popular Shanghaibased food chain Sproutworks has finally made its way to the capital.

With all these health-conscious brands and restaurants around us, we can’t help but feel like Beijing is trying to tell us something. And so our quest to eat a healthy meal begins.

Sproutworks’ first Beijing location is tucked away in a corner of the new China World Mall, and it quite literally stands out as a beacon of health. With its brightly lit interior, decorative green plants and healthy

motto – ‘To Provide Fast, Healthy, Wholesome & Delicious Food to the Nation’ – posted on the wall, we feel healthier just looking at it.

The restaurant, much like its motto, is simple. There’s no trendy dishware or blacktied waiters. Instead, the food is served buffet style on black plastic trays. We choose from a revolving menu of Chinese- and Westerninspired dishes, including soups (RMB25), salads (RMB30-50) and panini sandwiches (RMB45), as well as an extensive selection of hot and cold sides.

During our visit we opt for the “mediumsized” meal (four sides for RMB50). We choose white cannellini beans with mush-

rooms and vinaigrette, kale salad topped with quinoa, tofu braised in ginger chili paste, and cabbage slaw sprinkled with ramen and almonds. The ingredients are fresh, the flavor combinations intriguing and the portions so generous we can’t even finish what’s on our plate.

We walk away feeling not only satiated, but also good about ourselves. Perhaps there’s something to this whole healthy living thing after all – especially at this price.

Daily, 11am-9pm; NL4022 4/F, North Building, China World Mall, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区 建国门外大街1号国贸商城北区4楼NL4022 (8595 0278)

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E AT & DR INK | R E S TAUR A N T S & B A R S

CRAFT BEER HITS THE ROAD

Legend Beer’s New Location Is On the Side of a Highway

by Earl Robertson

MAI FRESH

The Hutongs Rise Again

by Noelle Mateer

‘Peace and quiet’ is an overrated concept. At least that’s what Legend Beer might have you believe.

The brewery, whose first location is a sprawling behemoth in the midst of Gongti club land, has opened another location along Dongzhimen Wai Dajie, one of Beijing’s most bustling roads. An eight-lane street meets a six-lane highway at the site of this new outdoor bar, which is kinda like an Italian streetside espresso bar, but for beer. Stand outside or pull up a wooden stool on the sidewalk – then order a pint.

It’s an unusual location, to be sure. The overwhelming, brutalist architecture of Dongzhimen Wai is just about as naturally scenic as, well – the overwhelming, brutalist architecture of Gongti. But hey, why not? Put your beer into high gear and embrace it.

This new Legend is insanely easy to get to; it’s within walking distance of numerous malls and restaurants. (It takes us two minutes to walk there from our office.) And perhaps this convenience is why it’s consistently packed despite its bizarre location. After all, we dare you to find a craft brewery closer to the Airport Express.

Daily, 10am-midnight; 1 Xinzhong Jie Jia, Dongzhimen Wai Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区东直门外 新中街甲1号

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It is a time-honored Beijing tradition to get hammered at Temple Bar on Saturday and then booze the pain away at brunch the next day. At least in Gulou, it is. If you live in, say, the CBD or Sanlitun or Shunyi, and are less familiar with the concept of ‘hutong hipster,’ allow us to explain: That is literally all it takes to be one – getting wasted on that insane 10-kuai-shots-aftermidnight-deal at Modernista, then following up the next day with a hutong brunch that you 100-percent do not deserve. That is the laowai dream. That, and opening up a tiny beer shack on Fangjia Hutong. (Don’t act like you haven’t thought about it.)

Traditionally, The Orchid has ruled the hutong brunch game. The Orchid is perfect because, while it is nice and the food is high quality, the prices are a bargain. It’s no NUO, of course (we will plug this Champagne-dripping bastion of hedonism and free-flow crab legs until the stars fall from the goddamn sky) – but NUO wouldn’t work in the hutongs anyway. The hutongs are for casual folk.

Now, a new group of casual hutong folk are trying their hand at casual hutong brunches. Mai Fresh is the newborn baby of hutong cocktail institution Mai Bar, and is just a quick drunken stumble away from its ancestral homeland along Beiluoguxiang. Mai Fresh has a beautiful terrace overlooking sloping hutong roofs and the bulldozers currently knocking them over. Maybe it’ll overlook a big parking lot in a couple months – we don’t really know. (Sorry That’s Beijing has turned into Hutong Closings Monthly of late. We hope to get back to your regularly scheduled programming soon.)

While the ultra-pleasant refurbished-hutong setting is the draw here, we’re also pleasantly surprised by the food. Dishes lean towards the trendy – poke bowls are everywhere lately, including here – and some are better than others. But dishes are perfect for sharing, and reasonably-priced egg plates make for budget-friendly brunching. A filet (RMB138) is available if you’re in the mood for a splurge – but we think the best way to splurge, ultimately, is oysters (RMB30 each) and bubbles.

After all, booze is in Mai’s blood. Mai Fresh’s drink game is strong – heady cocktails lightened up with day-drinking in mind. Get a spritz (RMB60) or seven – if you’re a hutong hipster, you were going to anyway.

Daily, 10am-10pm; 44 Beiluoguxiang, Dongcheng 北锣鼓巷44号门外大街1号国贸商城北区NL7005 (8595 9597)

R E S TAUR A N T S & B A R S | E AT & DR INK

BEERSMITH GASTROPUB When CBD Stands For ‘Central Beer District’

by Noelle Mateer

A brewery in the CBD is just like a brewery anywhere else, but more CBD-esque. There are tasting flights and vats of beer. Ales are Indian and pale – but unlike at other Beijing breweries, the patrons in this District look like they just finished some very Central Business. We see a woman who works at a luxury boutique hotel speaking to another woman who works at a luxury boutique hotel. People are in shirts, in slacks, in moderately pricey shift dresses – which, to be clear, are not outrageous items of clothing. They are simply outrageous within the context of a microbrewery.

Beersmith Gastropub attracts a very different crowd from, say, Slow Boat’s late hutong Taproom (God bless its eternal memory). And even in Great Leap’s yuppier moments, when expats flood into the bar’s Sanlitun outlet after their jobs in fancy-country embassies like Germany’s or Canada’s, it’s hard to imagine the management there ever hiring a fivepiece reggae band – let alone one that performs keytar solos.

There’s a reason we’re mentioning this place in the same breath as Great Leap and Slow Boat, though – the beer is that good. Beersmith is a laudable, if more buttoned-up, addition to Beijing’s ever-expanding craft brew scene, with its excellent beers all made

by Great Leap alum Tom Ashton. The IPA (RMB58) is worth traveling across town for. The Pilsner (RMB48) goes down like a silky, sexy keytar solo.

And the crisp dry-hopped cider (RMB60) uses Shandong apples. Don’t care about Shandong apples? Your loss, they’re the greatest!

Food has its highlights. A Wagyu beef burger (RMB88) is all kinds of mouth-melty and the beerbattered French fries (RMB48) are heavenly little crunch-bullets. The rest of the dishes don’t quite rise to this standard of godlike pub-grub goodness, but that’s OK – they are more than adequate for accompanying beer. And with beers this good, the booze is definitely the focus at Beersmith.

Daily, 11am-2am; 1/F Hotel Jen Beijing, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大街1号 (6505 2277)

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The Great Wall Summer Wonderland / Festival

Bohan Phoenix Gig

HEAR

Imaabs Gig Imaabs is a central figure of Mexican crew NAAFI, whose other members Fausto Bahia and Mexican Jihad performed at Migas this spring. The Chilean producer makes electrifying dance music that’s partially inspired by the soundscapes of Latin American cities.

Fri Jul 21; tickets TBD; Dada (see Listings for details)

This event has been held in years past, and if all the photos of partygoers raging atop the Great Wall didn’t sell you already, we don’t know what will. The venue is the Wall, not next to the Wall, not within view of the Wall - on top of the Wall. It’s like dancing on top of a newly bricked hutong, or dancing on the set of The Great Wall, except way better than both of those things. There’ll also be a set by a pool, and a place for amateur musicians to submit their mixtapes and get some crowd feedback. Music will range from house, to dnb, to techno, to dub and whatever else floats your electronic boat. The lineup is part international talent, part local celebs (the obligatory Juliana Lima and Pancake Lee). But honestly, the lineup is sort of beside the point here. Go rage on that Wall if you haven’t already.

Sat Jul 1; RMB80-160 presale, RMB300 at the door; buses depart from Wudaokou and Chaoyang Park; visit yoopay.cn for more details

Daniel Power and Just Bee / Gig

Jimpster Gig

The Beijing Express Gig

The Beijing Express is a series that showcases rising indie-rock talent in China. Check out the Express this month for a triple-threat show featuring shoegaze insurgents Soft, noise-poppy The White Tulips and indie rockers Schoolgirl Byebye, from Shanghai, Xiamen and Nanjing respectively. Soft bring dense walls of sound, Byebye a kitschier rock style and TWT well, the noise. Wear earplugs or brave Tinnitus.

Sun Jul 2, 8.30pm; RMB80 at the door; Yugong Yishan (see Listings for details)

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In the brutally competitive scene that is hip-hop, credentials and authenticity are everything. Bohan Phoenix sidesteps this meta almost entirely. He grew up in rural China and moved to the US at the age of 11, and learned English by rapping. This gives him an interesting command of the language, and an intriguing perspective that most American rappers simply cannot emulate. Bohan Phoenix has performed on stage with heavyweights 21 Savage, Migos and Metro Boomin as recently as last September. Turn up for his new JALA EP at Dada.

Fri Jul 28; tickets TBD; Dada (see Listings for details)

For the latest installment of Syndicate Sessions, Beijing’s bass bumpers are bringing in South China’s Daniel Power and Just Bee. Power, born in the UK, is a prolific promoter in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, while Just Bee is one of Hong Kong’s most exciting young talents. Expect things to be heavy and sweaty until dawn.

Sat Jul 15; tickets TBD; Dada (see Listings for details)

Jimpster is the mastermind behind labels Freerange and Delusions of Grandeur, which include the acclaimed Tornado Wallace, Detroit Swindle and Session Victim. Sound familiar? Cool, he’s coming to Migas – if not, listen to him anyway. You were probably going to be drinking at Migas either way.

Sat Jul 15; free; The Bar at Migas (see Listings for details)

Sip and Scribble / Class

Pool Season Outdoor

DO

Salsa Palma Dance You’re tired of making a fool of yourself trying to dance at Migas. Don’t worry: Every Monday the folks at Migas offer an hour-long salsa lesson. Taught by a professional salsa teacher, the idea is to go to enough of these that you can actually salsa (or just drink until you feel like you can, instead). Both options are available to aspirant dancers and Latin culturelovers in Beijing.

Mondays, 8.30pm; free; Migas (see Listings for Details)

Since beginning last year, Pop-Up Beijing’s Sunday Sip and Scribble class has proved a massive hit. Lazy Sunday afternoons spent creating still-life artworks in warm and welcoming surrounds. Plus, wine. What’s not to love? For complete newbies here’s, how it goes down: Every Sunday afternoon, the boutique holds a casual drawing class for anyone, regardless of level. An instructor is on hand to guide participants and offer expert advice. Past teachers include Liuba, of the whimsical Liuba Draws, and Mr. Glenn (Schuitman, co-proprietor of Pop-Up) himself. The theme and drawing subject changes weekly, so expect to learn something new every class. You’ll become a drawing master in no time – and even if you’re not “into art,” we daresay the shop’s stellar wine selection is more than enough reason to pop in.

Sundays, 3-5pm; RMB95 (includes a drink and drawing materials); Pop-Up Beijing, No. 22, Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北路4号院22号 楼 (6502 5725, hello@popupbeijing.com)

It’s pool season, so what are you waiting for? Go and get wet already.

Here are some pools in Beijing we recommend: Qingnianhu Park Pool in Andingmen is cool. The Emperor Beijing Qianmen Hotel has a nice rooftop that functions as a pool. The Liulang Natatorium is a pool that calls itself a natatorium. Crab Island is a pool with some sand near it. Tuanjiehu Water Park is a pool near Sanlitun.

Enjoy.

Through September, hours vary; from RMB30; various locations

Tai Chi Fitness

Trivia Night Quiz

What Beijing establishment has more intellectual credentials than Ron Mexico? The bar is named after a controversial football star. Wow. The bar isn’t owned by anyone of Mexican origin – even more impressive. So naturally, the bar is now holding weekly trivia nights. Go for the drinks and food specials, stay for the prizes (“for winners and spectacular losers”).

Mondays, 8.30pm; free; Ron Mexico, 113-02 Jiaodaokou Dongjie, Dongcheng 东城区交道口东街113-02

Tai Chi consists of three components: Health, defense and mindfulness.

Experience this in four two-hour sessions at Ms. Uptown Gym (located inside Beijing’s resident alien megastructure Galaxy Soho). Although the course does not include any fighting, they warn of ‘contact.’ Learn how to defend yourself from extraterrestrial threats (strangers) and also how to keep your mind focused on the defense of Earth (you). Suitable for both men and women of all skill levels. Only 10 places available.

Sat Jul 8-Sat Jul 29, 10.30am-12.30pm; RMB788; Ms. Uptown Gym, B/1 151, Bldg A, Galaxy Soho, Dongcheng 东 城区南竹杆胡同2号银河SOHO A座 B1-151房 (for more info email info@ ckmartialhearts.com or add WeChat ID AJDonnelly)

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The Perfect Balance Dining

Stella Artois Recommends / Sunset Lounge at Tiago

TA S T E

The Craft Container Beer Has the Beijing craft beer scene formed a united front against Big Beer? If a new craft beer bar, and games that involve shooting cans of Snow with Nerf guns at its opening party, are any indication, then yes, yes it has. The already dope outdoor terrace at Xian now features a ‘Craft Container’ – a gutted and renovated shipping container serving Jing-A, Slow Boat and NBeer brews on draft. The kegs rotate in and out of the container, and the coalition hopes customers will as well, experiencing the precision of Beijing brews that large companies can’t match. War, war never changes.

Daily, all summer; Xian (see Listings for details)

Instagram lets you use the ‘Forbidden City’ location tag as far away as Sanlitun, which is pretty unfair. Maybe that’s why it seems like such a refreshing slice of honestly that TRB Forbidden City quite literally sits over the greenish moat waters of the City herself. That’s why we’re always stoked for a TRB Forbidden City event, and this month, Guest Chef Koen Verjans is bringing his award-winning Belgianinspired cuisine for a special fiveday residency dubbed ‘The Perfect Balance.’ This is truly the best of both worlds: Europe meets Asia in the shadow of the palace walls.

RMB588-868; Wed Jul 5-Sun Jul 9; TRB Forbidden City (see Listings for details)

When Beijing Meets Bali Dining

Fourth of July Dinner Holidays

Home Plate BBQ is an unofficial American Embassy, and they’re throwing a special dinner party for American Independence Day, July 4. Stevie Mac and the Mac Daddies will be playing music while the buffet serves mountains of American freedom (we mean grilled meats).

There will be beer, cole slaw, ‘Texas Ranch Beans’ and a whole hog.

Don’t tread.

RMB138 per person; Tue Jul 4; Home Plate BBQ (see Listings for details)

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The Conrad is in Chaoyang, sure, but it also operates in Bali, which is the inspiration behind their latest series of guest chefs. Visiting the Beijing location are Indonesian chefs Agus Feritude and Agus Surya, who will be putting on an authentic spread in the halls of Chapter, while notable Indonesian pastry chef Made Semawan handles the dessert table. The trio are teaming up with Conrad Beijing’s own Simon Liang to create Indonesian-Cantonese crossover dishes specially for the event.

Thu July 6-Sun Jul 16; RMB888 + 15% per person, minimum four people; Conrad Beijing (see Listings for details)

To the east of Beijing lies East hotel, and just to the east of East’s terrace lies another terrace. This one is an outdoor bar operated by Tiago, the Sunset Lounge. As the sun sets at its latest possible times this summer, the Lounge holds its happy hour, which entitles you to buy-one-get-one-free drinks.

And Stella Artois. Tiago has committed itself to having the best on offer, and Stella Artois is, of course, on draft. This one is easy to recommend – crisp, freshly poured Stella to cool you down in the summer haze, or maybe warm you up as that sun finally sets. If you fancy something stronger, Tiago also serves excellent mixed drinks – try a golden Summer Dream as the shadows lengthen, a bronze Purple Nightfall as the sun sets and a Blue Moon (which is purple, interestingly enough) at twilight. Drink the kaleidoscope as the sky splits the summer sunlight like a prism. Or just do what we do and drink Stella Artois.

Tiago Home Kitchen, Indigo Mall location (see Listings for details)

Falling Into Place / Art

The Bodyguard Musical

SEE

The Nine-Coloured Deer Dance Produced and performed by Chinese dancer Zhang Yashu, The Nine-Coloured Deer is a dance drama set in the world of Dunhuang on the Silk Road. The legend – the tale was made into a cartoon in the 80s – is brought to life by colorful costumes and beautiful performances by a team of young Chinese dancers.

Fri Jul 21-Sat Jul 22, 7.30pm; RMB180-240; Multi-functional theater of NCPA, 2 Xi Chang’an Jie, Xicheng 西城区西长安街2号 (tickets via sales@theatrebeijing.com)

Hacking Immortality Talk

FYI, the official name of this event is “Hacking Immortality: The Science and Science Fiction of Extreme Human Life Extension.” But don’t let that scare you away. It’s really just a talk by sci-fi author Jamie Metzl, who’s in town to discuss his new novel Eternal Sonata. Hailed by critics as “a brilliant exploration,” the book explores themes concering science and human life extension.

Thu Jul 20, 7.30pm; RMB50 (includes a drink); The Bookworm, 4 Nan Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区南三 里屯路4号 (6503 2050, tickets via https://yoopay.cn/event/93551012 or order@beijingbookworm.com)

A solo exhibition by artist Song Jiayin, ‘Falling Into Place’ is a collection of artworks presenting memories from the artist’s life. Song’s presentation is purportedly inspired by the short stories of Raymond Carver – simple at face value, yet murky and sentimental once one scratches beneath the surface.

The artist examines everyday objects – both natural and man-made – that have shaped and informed her life. Looking at the works, viewers are in turn reminded of formative experiences of their own lives.

Through Mon Jul 31, Hunsand Space, A8, 211 Caochangdi Art District, Chaoyang 朝阳 区草场地国际艺术区211号院A8 (185 1599 2737)

Whether or not you’re a fan of 90s film The Bodyguard, you definitely remember its most famous line, sung by the late Whitney Houston: “I-I-I will always love you-u-u-u”.

The dramatic tale – a bodyguard is tasked with protecting a movie star from a murderous stalker – has since been adapted into a hit musical adaptation. Check out what all the fuss is about during the show’s weeklong Beijing stint.

Sat Jul 22-Sun Jul 30, 7.30pm; RMB180-1080; Poly Theater, 14 Dongzhimen Nan Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区 东直门南大街14号 (tickets via douban.com/event/28661821/)

The Visit Theater

Monster Jam / Motorsport

For the first time ever, Monster Jam brings its big-ass trucks and crazy stunts to China. The Bird’s Nest, specifically. Confused? Monster Jam is a live motorsport event that originates from the US. It showcases racing and freestyle competitions between monster trucks, while smaller shows involve wheelie competitions and donut contests. Expect to see professional drivers perform outrageous moves – in the air and over trucks – by hitting ramps and spinning their wheels. It’s raw and in your face, sure, but if there’s one thing people love, it’s a spectacle.

Sat Jul 29, 7pm; RMB180-680; National Stadium (Bird’s Nest), Olympic Green, Beichen Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区北辰路奥林匹克公园 (tickets via en.damai.cn/ event/tickets_118992)

A tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Durrenmat, The Visit is brought to Beijing by the acclaimed Deutsches Theater. The plot follows a ridiculously rich older woman who returns to her hometown with a dark bargain: in exchange for the townsfolk killing the man who got her pregnant (then left her), the woman will provide enough money to revitalize the town. Do the town’s residents agree? You’ll have to watch and see.

Wed Jul 5-Sat Jul 8, 7.30pm; RMB200-580; Drama Theatre of NCPA, 2 Xi Chang’an Jie, Xicheng 西城区西长安街2号 (tickets via sales@theatrebeijing.com)

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Mesh 魔时 1/F The Opposite House, 11 Sanlitun Lu 三里屯路11号楼1号院瑜舍酒店一层

Loft Opposite the West Gate of 3.3 Mall, Sanlitun 三里屯街道3-3西门对面

Lugas 7 Sanlitun Beili (near 3.3) 三里屯北里7号（3.3大厦）

The Tree 43 North Sanlitun, near Youyi Youth Hostel 三里屯北三里屯南43号友谊青年酒店院内

3rock Room 3, Unit 3, 42 Sanlitun Nanlu 三里屯南42号楼3单元103室

Cheers Bar 干杯酒吧 2 Sanlitun Houjie 三里屯后街同里2楼

XL Bar and restaurant 1-022, Building 4, 12 Xindong Lu, Sanlitun 三里屯 新东路12号院4号楼1层1-022室

Nanjie Bar 南街酒吧 Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu 工体北路4号

The Corner 43 Sanlitun Beijie Nanlu 三里屯北街南路43号

VA Cafe & Bar 13 Wudaoying Hutong 五道营胡同13号

The V 42 Wudaoying Hutong 五道营胡同42号

School Bar 53 Wudaoying Hutong 五道营胡同53号院内（近雍和宫大街）

Yaer Dukou 鸦儿渡口 6 Houhai Beiyan 后海北沿6号

Houhai No. 5 后海五号 5 Houhai Beiyan 后海北沿5号（银淀桥西北角）

Yinhaixuan 银海轩 2 Yindianqiao Hutong, Houhai Nanyan 后海南沿5号银淀桥胡同2号

Red Bar 29 Houhai Nanan 后海南岸29号

Yue Bar 悦界 10 Houhai Nanyan 后海南沿街10号

Liehuo Fenghuang 烈火凤凰 6 Houhai Nanyan 后海南沿6号

Liehuo Qilin 烈火麒麟 1 Yindingqiao Hutong, Houhai 后海银淀桥胡同1号

Zijing Qiu 紫晶球 7 Qianhai Beiyan 前海北沿7号（近后海）

Zhen Guo 坚果 No 11 Qianhai Beiyan 前海北沿11号（银淀桥南）

Mazha Bar 马扎酒屋 8 Hesheng Qilinshe, Fuan Xilu, Wangjing Qinlinshe 望京麒麟社阜安西路合生麒麟社8号楼

Wewana 8 Qilin Xintiandi, Fuan Xilu, Wangjing 望京麒麟社阜安西路合生麒麟社8号楼

Mstar BF106, 11Qilin Xintiandi, Fuan Xilu, Wangjing 望京麒麟社阜安西路麒麟新天地11号楼BF106室

Cat Planet 喵星球 10 Qinlin Xintiandi, Futong Xidajie, Wangjing 望京麒麟社阜通西大街麒麟新天地10号

Yunjing 园景 Lidu Fandian 丽都饭店

Ba Sha Ku 巴沙酷 2/F Korean Food Hall, 423 Wangjing West 望京西园四区423号韩国美食城 2层（广顺北大街）

mlounge 106, Building 1, 3 Shuanghuanyuan Nanli, Shuangjing 双井双花园南里三区1号楼1层106室

Sutiwa 萨缇瓦 2-5 Hesheng Guoji Huayuan, Guanghua Beiyijie, Shuangjing 双井 光华北一街合生国际花园底商2-5萨缇瓦（1919酒 类直供斜对面）

The Brick Unit 2-11, Bldg 2, Tianzhi Jiaozi, 31 Guangqu Lu, Shuangjing 双井桥东北角广渠路31号院天之骄子2号楼底商 2-11

TNT Room 06, 4 Shidai Gouji Jiayuan Dongbojie, Shuangjing 双井东柏街时代国际嘉园4号楼06底商

Yi Si Te En 伊斯特恩 Room 20-2, Bldg 20, 3 Shuanghuayuan Nanli, Shuangjing 双井双花园南里三区20号楼20-2室

From the 6th ofJune, Buy 3, 6 or 12 bottles of Corona and you’ll get a nice gift.

Corona从6月6日开始，买3，买6或 买12瓶礼品可得精美礼品。

LISTINGS OPEN DOOR

Expensive...................................¥ Expense Account ....................¥¥ Highly Recommended ..............* Top Ten ....................................**

RESTAURANTS The Hot One Hundred

About This guide represents our editors’ top 100 picks, and includes some That’s Beijing advertisers. Restaurants rated(*) have been personally reviewed by our experts, and scored according to the cuisine, experience and affordability.

CHINESE Contemporary & Mixed Cuisine 8 Qi Nian 祈年8号 (Cantonese/Sichuan) The New World Hotel’s flagship restaurant has classic Chinese cuisine in abundance, as well as some vitality-restoring medicinal soups. (Their decent wine list is just as effective.) > Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:15pm, 5:30-9:30pm, Sat/Sun 12-2:45pm, 5:30-9:30pm; 2/F, New World Hotel, 8 Qinian Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区祈年大街8号新世界 酒店2层 (5960 8822)

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰 ¥ (Taiwanese) This Taipei-based franchise impressed Ken Hom enough to call it one of the best 10 eateries in the world, back in 1993. Famous for its dependably delicious xiaolongbao or little steam buns. Book ahead, there’s always a long wait. > Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 5-10pm, weekends 11.30am-10pm; 24 Middle Street, Xinyuanxili, Chaoyang 朝阳区新源西里中街24号 (近渔阳饭店) (6462 4502) > Additional branches in Shin Kong Place; Parkview Green; Grand Pacific Mall Xidan; Modern Plaza Zhongguancun; see www.dintaifung. com.cn for details

Jing Yaa Tang 京雅堂 (Chinese, Peking Duck) Resembling something between a nightclub and a theater, the Opposite House’s basement restaurant proves to be more than just style over substance with their range of expertly prepared classic dishes.

> Daily 12-10:30pm, B1/F, The Opposite House, Sanlitun Bei Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路11号院1号 楼瑜舍酒B1楼 (6410 5230)

Peking Duck The Horizon 海天阁 (Cantonese Beijing Duck) ** Kerry Hotel’s Chinese restaurant has widened its predominantly Cantonese and Sichuan horizons to include dim sum, double-boiled soups and Peking duck – and the roast bird here really is fabulous. > Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 5:30pm-10pm 1/F, Beijing Kerry Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华路 1号嘉里中心1层 (8565 2188)

Honglu 红炉

UNICO See and Be Seen Unico is Spanish for ‘unique.’ And unique it is – this concept by Argentinian Marcello Joulia already has sister UNICOs in Paris, Buenos Aires and Shanghai.

The ultra-modern Beijing UNICO, meanwhile, bills itself as multiple venues in one, including its glamorous Gastro Lounge and The Roof by UNICO (which is, you guessed it, a rooftop).

With a chic address atop Sanlitun’s Topwin Center, Unico aims to be a nightlife hub for the city’s beautiful people. The interior is beautiful as well – elegant shades of gray meld with asymmetrical design features to give the rooms an airy, modern feel. The Gastro Lounge also offers stratified seating options, which allow customers to maximize their privacy – or position themselves in the middle of the party.

Outside, the rooftop is impressive. It offers one of the most scenic views in Beijing, overlooking Sanlitun glitz in three different directions. With all this glamour – and, most importantly, good food – Unico just might become the place to be this summer. > Daily, 2pm-2am; 5/F, Topwin Center, 1 Sanlitun Nan Jie, Chaoyang 三里屯南街1 号通盈中心5-7层 (5718 1999) 70 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

>Daily 11am-9.30pm, 5/F Beijing Raffles City, 1 Dongzhimen Nan Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区东直门 南大街1号北京来福士购物中心05层01号(8409 8199 / 84094310); Daily 11am-10pm, 6 Sanlitun Nanlu, Chaoyang朝阳区三里屯南6号楼南侧60米(6595 9872 / 6593 8970)

Country Kitchen The name ‘Country Kitchen’ may sound like a diner, but a diner this is not. Rosewood Beijing’s resplendent Northern Chinese restaurant serves elegant Hebei fare unlike you’ve ever had. Excellent peking duck is on offer as well. > Daily 11.30am-2.30pm and 5.30-10:30pm; 3F Rosewood Beijing, Jing Guang Centre, Hujialou, Chaoyang 朝阳区呼家楼一号京广中心北京瑰丽酒店 3层 (6597 8888)

Da Dong 大董 Among the city’s most famous haunts, Da Dong guarantees slick cuts of Beijing-style roast duck and delectable wrap fillings. The venue’s a class act and the plum sauce is hard to follow.

> Daily 11am-10pm; 22 Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng 东城区东四十条甲22号 (5169 0328); see www.dadongdadong.com for more locations

Duck de Chine 全鸭季 ¥ * Good duck is meant to show your guests how wonderful you are, as much as the food. Duck De Chine does that in spades, with fantastic presentation of its crispy, succulent duck (RMB188).

> Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm; Courtyard 4, 1949 The Hidden City, Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang 朝 阳区工体北路4号院 (6501 8881) ; 98 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng 东城区金宝街98号 (6521 2221)

Xihe Village Restaurant and Bar > Mon-Fri Lunch: 11am-2.30pm; Dinner: 5-9pm; Sun: 11am-9pm, S9-33, 3/F, South Area of Sanlitun Taikooli, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路19 号三里屯太古里南区三层S9-33(6417 6082)

Shanghai Shanghai Min 小南国 Many swear this chain has the best Shanghai-style hongshaorou north of the Yangtze. The jury’s out, but its popularity remains. > 0505, 5/F Raffles City Mall, 1 Dongzhimen Nan Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区东直门南大街1号来福士 购物中心5楼0505号铺 (400 820 9777)> Additional branches in Financial Street; Jinbao Jie; Oriental Plaza; Sanlitun Soho; Xinyuan Nan Lu (see www. online.thatsmags.com for details)

Wang Jia Sha 王家沙 Modern Shanghai cuisine – popular with Hong Kong celebrities – famed for its crabmeat dumplings. Try the spiced-salt ribs (RMB62) for a bit of Adam action. > Daily, S1-30a Taikoo Li Sanlitun (on the third floor of i.t shop) 朝阳区三里屯路19号院太古里1号楼3层 S1-30a号商铺 (6416 3469)

Sichuan/Hunan Chuan Ban 川办 * This bright, modestly decorated dining hall is frequently cited as Beijing’s best Sichuan restaurant. > Mon-Fri 7-9am, 10.50am-2pm, 4.50-9.30pm; SatSun 7am-10pm; 5 Gongyuan Toutiao, Jianguomennei Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区建国门内贡院头条5号 (6512 2277, ext. 6101)

Karaiya Spice House 辣屋 * Bold and fiery Hunan cuisine in the most serene of restaurant interiors. Don’t miss the dry roasted duck with a dozen spices and stir fried bullfrog with shiso leaves and ginger. Peanut milk is there to soothe the palate: you’ll need it. > Daily 11:30am-2pm, 5:30-10pm; 3/F, Sanlitun Taikoo Li South, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯太古里19号 院南区三层S9-30 (6415 3535)

South Memory 望湘园 This restaurant chain is the Hunan staple in the capital. The trademark shilixiang niurou (fragrant beef), duojiao shuangse yutou (dual-colour spiced fish head) and meltingly tender frog dishes are among the favorites with locals. > Daily 11am-10pm; 2/F, 230-232, Fenglian Plaza, 18 Chaoyangmen Wai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区朝外大街 18号丰联广场2楼230-232号 (6588 1797); see www. southmemory.com for more locations

Yu Xin 渝信川菜 Open since 1993, Yu Xin’s authentic Sichuan dishes have earned a loyal fanbase. Their liangfen – a jelly-like substance cut into chunky strips and dressed in an addictive spicy sauce – hits the spot. The rustic, intimate setting of bamboo cubicles and swift, friendly service complete the experience. > Daily 11am-10pm; 5A Xingfu Yicun Xili, Chaoyang 朝阳区幸福一村西里甲5号 see www.yuxin1997.com for other locations.

Transit 渡金湖 ¥¥ ** Sichuan is known for its blazing spices and hot climate. While the latter isn’t able to be replicated, the creative minds at Transit have made some fiery additions to the classical, chili-thumping canon, and they will charge you for that knowledge. But unlike many equally expensive joints, this is highend Chinese dining at its best. > Daily 12-2.30pm, 6 -10pm; N4-36, Sanlitun Taikoo Li North, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路11 号三里屯太古里北区N4-36号 (6417 9090)

Yunnan Dali Courtyard 大里院子 * If you like authentic Yunnanese food, you’ll have to trust the staff: there’s no menu, it all just arrives in an intimate courtyard setting. The price (RMB120/person) matches the rustic ingredients. > Daily 12-2pm, 6-10.30pm; Gulou Dong Dajie, 67

LISTINGS Xiaojingchang Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区鼓楼东大 街小经厂胡同67号 (8404 1430)

Lost Heaven 花马天堂 (Yunnan, SE Asian) An emphasis on Yunnan characterizes this menu’s fresh journey through the SE Asia passage, with a grandiose yet dark teak interior.

> Daily noon-2pm, 5pm-10.30 (bar open till 1am).

Ch’ien Men 23, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongcheng 东城区前门东大街23号(8516 2698)

Middle 8 Restaurant 中8楼 *

Da Gui (Guizhou) Guizhou’s famed hot-and-sour cuisine nestled into a charming traditional alleyway.

Munch happily into pickled greens and don’t miss the salty-sweet deep-fried black sesame balls. They’re sensational.

OPEN DOOR

> Daily 10am-2pm, 5-10pm; 69 Daxing Hutong, Jiaodaokou, Dongcheng 东城区交道口大兴胡同69 号 (6407 1800)

Makye Ame (Tibetan) Determined to prove that Tibetan cuisine consists of more than just yak-butter tea, the Beijing branch of this nationwide chain serves up nomadic classics such as curried potatoes and roast lamb.

> Daily 10-midnight; 11A Xiushui Nanjie, Jianguomenwai, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外秀水南街 甲11号 (6506 9616)

Xinjiang Red Rose (Xinjiang) * One of Beijing’s most famous Xinjiang restaurant, Red Rose serves some of the tenderest lamb skewers around, matched by enormous servings of classics like dapanji (a chicken, potato and pepper stew), latiaozi (noodles with a spicy tomato sauce) and nang (baked flatbrea). > Daily 10.30am-11pm; Inside 7 Xingfuyicun, opposite Workers’ Stadium North Gate, Chaoyang 朝阳区 工人体育场北门对面幸福一村7巷内 (6415 5741)

An oasis at the top of Taikoo Li, Middle 8 is the go-to destination for fresh authentic Yunnan cuisine. The restaurant, stylish yet understated, has plenty of flavorsome wellpriced dishes and a killer view to boot.

> Sanlitun: Daily 11am-10pm, Taikoo Li Sanlitun South South Area F4, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯太古 里南区4层(6415 8858); Indigo: Daily 11am-10pm, Jiuxianqiao Road No.20 Indigo F2 , Chaoyang 朝阳区 酒仙桥路20号颐堤港2层(8420 0883); Zhongguancun: Daily 11am-10pm, Zhongguancun Plaza Pedestrian Street, No.R17, Haidian海淀区中关村广场步行街R17 号(5172 1728); Fenglan: Daily 11am-10pm, Xizhimen North Street No.32 Maples International Center Blok B, 1 Floor, Haidian海淀区西直门大街32号枫蓝国际中 心B座1层(6223 5583)

Youyun

> Daily, 10am-11pm, 63 Babaokeng Hutong, Beixinqiao, Dongcheng 东城区北新桥八宝坑胡同63 号 6407 2050 / 185 1092 0709

Yun’er Small Town 云洱小镇 Folksy and affordable Yunnanese fare on Beiluoguxiang. Fragrant dishes including the jasmine bulbs with scrambled eggs, lemongrass shrimp and banana leaf wrapped bolete mushrooms will keep us crawling back. > Daily 10am-11pm, 84 Beiluoguxiang, Dongcheng 东城区北锣鼓巷84号 (8404 2407)

Dumplings Baoyuan Jiaoziwu 宝源饺子屋 Famous for their rainbow of dyed dumplings, Baoyuan have their jiaozi (six, under RMB10) wrapped in a larger yuanbao silver-ingot shape, with creative vegetarian options and authentic Sichuan food. > Daily 11am-10pm; north of 6 Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang 朝阳区麦子店街6号楼北侧 (6586 4967)

Mr Shi’s Dumplings 老石饺子馆 Since recieving a Lonely Planet recommendation the prices have risen and the walls are covered in backpackers’ scribbles, but the fantastic dumplings – boiled and fried – are still fantastic. > 74 Baochao Hutong, Gulou Dong Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区鼓楼东大街宝钞胡同74号 (8405 0399, 131 6100 3826)

Regional Crescent Moon (Xinjiang) * Roast mutton enthusiasts go over the moon at this reputable Xinjiang Muslim restaurant. Eastern European and Central Asian influences are evident throughout, with peppery and cumin-spiced dishes livening up traditional Chinese favorites. > Daily 10am-11:30pm; 16 Dongsi Liutiao, Dongcheng 东四六条16号 (6400 5281)

Jia Chinese Restaurant禾家中餐厅 (Cantonese) Featuring modern Ming elements with inspired paintings from Xu Wei, a painter, calligrapher and food and wine connoisseur, the quintessentially authentic house of agriculture produces, Jia Chinese restaurant serves exquisite traditional Cantonese specialties in their purest form with chefs hailing from Hong Kong. Using the freshest ingredients from NUO’s very own green farms, NUO Hotel Beijing provides an alternative green gourmet option in town. >Mon-Fri: 11.30am-2pm, 5.30-10pm; Sat-Sun: 11am2.30pm, 5.30-10pm; 1/F, NUO Hotel Beijing, 2A Jiangtai Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区将台路甲2号北京诺金酒 店一层（5926 8281）

WESTERN Fine Dining Barolo ¥¥ (Italian) * Average Italian abounds in Beijing: not here, though. Quite the opposite, in fact, meaning Barolo is as well-regarded as the Piedmont wine it is named after.

> Mon-Sun 11.30am-2pm, 6pm-10pm. Ritz Carlton Hotel, China Central Place, 83A Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国路甲83号华贸中心丽思卡尔顿 酒店内 (5908 8151)

Maison Flo ¥¥ (French) * Marble slabs, mosaic floors and brass fittings establish the Parisian bona fides; dishes like snails (RMB78), oysters (RMB48 each) and steak tartare (RMB158) confirm.

The grandeur is matched only by the service, and the prices reflect the authenticity of the experience.

> Daily 11am-midnight; 18 Xiaoyun Lu, Chaoyang 朝 阳区霄云路18号 (6595 5135)

The Georg ** This hutong mansion has an elegant restaurant, leather-couched lounge area, sleek bar and sick location near Houhai. But most importantly, it has some of the most thoughtful, innovative cuisine in town. Go for a dinner you won’t forget. >10.30am-midnight (dinner 6-10.30pm), closed Mondays; 45 Dongbuyaqiao Hutong, Dongcheng 东 城区东不压桥胡同45号 (8408 5300)

Capital M ¥ (Contemporary Western) ** The Art Deco interior, swish staff and breathtaking views over the archery towers from Qianmen ensures the pinnacle of al-fresco dining, with world-class modern European stylings and deliciously posh afternoon tea. > Daily 11.30am-10.30pm. Floor 3, 2 Qianmen Buxingjie, Dongcheng 东城区前门步行街2号3层 (6702 2727)

Héritage ¥¥ A French country-style chateau in the heart of Beijing. A chef de cuisine with Michelin star restaurant experience and an extensive wine cellar make this Sofitel Hotel restaurant one of the best French dining experiences in town. > 6F Sofitel Wanda Beijing, Tower C, Wanda Plaza, 93 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国路93号万达广场 C座索菲特酒店6层 (8599 6666)

Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB) ¥¥ ** Setting is everything here, especially if it’s fashioned inside a restored Buddhist temple. The bold contemporary European cuisine is fitting in majesty and the service alone is worthy of worship.

> Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 6-10pm; 23 Songzhusi Temple, Shatan Beijie, Dongcheng 东城区沙滩北街嵩 祝寺23号 (8400 2232)

Mio ¥¥ Glitzy Italian fare at the Four Seasons, with a mobile Bellini cart, wheeled straight to your table.The Chef crafts a superb squash tortellini by hand, and pampers diners with desserts like the deconstructed tiramisu. >Daily lunch 11.30am - 2.30pm, dinner 5.30pm -10.30pm, Four Seasons Hotel, 48 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang, 朝阳区亮马桥路48号北京四季酒店 (5695 8888)

Grange Grill ** Located in the Westin Beijing Chaoyang, Grange Grill serves up some of the city’s best steak, seafood and grill offerings. The

TIGER PANCAKE HOUSE Fresh off the Griddle Tiger Pancake House easily satisfies thanks to its big portions and hearty grub.

The biggest challenge is simply choosing what to order from the mouth-watering menu. What’s more, the Shuangjing restaurant recently unveiled a bounty of new dishes just in time for summer. A highlight from the new menu includes the beefsteak, a gorgeously tender cut of Wagyu rib eye steak with a side of sweet potato fries and vegetables. We also love the salmon-and-avocado salad and army brunch. Wash it all down with Tiger Pancakes’ thirst-quenching sodas and teas – we recommend the peach and orange oolong tea. But don’t worry; all your favorites remain (think: pancakes, pasta, burgers). With crowd-pleasing dishes and an airy space – including an alfresco dining area – there’s a lot to like about Tiger Pancake House. > Tiger Pancake House; Daily, 9.30am-11.30pm; 24 Guanghua Beiyi Jie, 105 Shuanghuayuan Nanli San Qu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华北一街双花园南里三区24号 楼105 (6770 5882) WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 71

LISTINGS

OPEN DOOR

北京市朝阳区国贸商城区域3 地下二层B215(8535 1625)

Miss K Cafe (Xing Fu Cafe) Whether it’s a rainy morning or a sunny afternoon, relax with your favorite novel and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Experience a quiet moment of serenity amid the hustle and bustle of Beijing. >Daily, 8am-8.30pm; 1/F, Tower A, East Gate Plaza, Dongzhimen, Dongcheng 东城区东直门东环广场A座 一层幸福咖啡馆 (6418 1096)

Mosto (European, South American) ¥ * A perpetually busy lunch and evening spot, thanks to chef Daniel Urdaneta’s skill for modernising South American-style dishes like ceviche and risotto in his open kitchen.

downside is it’s always packed.

> Daily 9.30am-midnight，42 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng 东城区鼓楼东大街42号 (8403 9807)

Domain 域 A blend of café, business center and lounge, it has a gentle buzz all of its own.

For privacy, Domain also provides workstations equipped with computers and ipads. >Daily 7am-8pm, 2/F, EAST Beijing, 22 Jiuxianqiao Lu,Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路22号东隅酒店2层 (8414 9830)

Café Flatwhite

> Sun-Thu noon-2.30pm, 6-10pm; Fri-Sat noon2.30pm, 6-10.30pm. 3/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路81号那里花园3层 (5208 6030)

LABURNUM THAI RESTAURANT All Thai’d Up There are two distinct spaces that make up Laburnum Thai Restaurant: Inside the second story of its expansive Gongti complex sits the bar and its accompanying tables, lit under streams of blue lights. But then, if you follow the rays of natural light, you find the terrace, which is equal parts intimate and scenic. The outside seating overlooks Gongti Xilu, and is perfect for dining in nice weather.

Throughout the inside and the outside are plenty of flourishes to remind you that you are, in fact, eating a nice restaurant. But enough about looks.

Laburnum serves bomb Thai food, ranging from the obligatory (and delicious) curries to traditional minced meats and fresh seafood. The restaurants’ dishcography maintains remarkable quality for how varied it is.

Speaking of variety, a similarly large range of drinks are on standby.

Laburnum pulls its beer selection from Legend Beer right next door, and wine and spirit offerings aren’t any worse for it. Gongti may not be where you think to go for Thai, but Laburnum is looking to change that. > Tue-Sun 7pm-11pm, West Gate of Workers’ Stadium, Gongti Xilu, Chaoyang 朝 阳区工体西路工人体育场西门 (6652 9999)

restaurant’s welcoming decor provides a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy a cocktail or a glass of fine vintage from the extensive wine collection. Be sure to try the ‘luxurious oyster feast,’ where you can enjoy the delicacy raw, grilled or with cheese. > Lunch: Mon-Fri 11.30am-2.30pm, Sat and Sun 11.30am-3.pm; Dinner: Daily 5.30-10.30pm; The Westin Beijing Chaoyang 7 North East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang 东三环北路7号 (5922 8888)

Contemporary Western Chi (Organic, Fusion) Hutong set-menu dining par-excellence, with organic ingredients all locally sourced.

From the owners of neighboring Saffron. > Daily, opens 10:30am, last order 9:30pm, 67 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区五道营胡同 67号 (6445 7076)

Lin’s Dinning

源街顺源里14号楼14-2号 (5724 5886)

Feast (Food by East) Bustling café with a philosophy of ‘Simple things, done well’. International favorites, using freshest ingredients , cooked on the spot.

>Daily 6am-10.30pm, 2/F, EAST Beijing, 22 Jiuxianqiao Lu,Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路22号东隅酒 店2层 8414 9820

Alfie’s ¥ (British) What’s all this about, then? British gastropub classics, (like pukker fish and chips, RMB188), a swanky gentleman’s club interior, and located in a chic modern art gallery-cum-mall. That’s what, mate. > Daily, 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30-10pm, brunch served on weekends; Parkview Green, 9 Dongdaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东大桥路9号芳草地L1-22 (5662 8777)

Bistrot B Rosewood Beijing’s exquisite French restaurant is the sort of place chefs like to eat.

Expect lavish luxury. > Daily, 11.30am-2.30pm and 5.30-10:30pm; 1F Rosewood Beijing, Jing Guang Centre, Hujialou, Chaoyang 朝阳区呼家楼一号京广中心北京瑰丽酒店 3层 (6536 0066)

Caribeño (Latin) Heavy Cuban influence, but there are dishes from all over the Latin continent here. The Ropa Vieja (shredded beef on potato) is excellent – as are the Mojitos.

> Daily 11:30am-9:30pm, 1/F, China Overseas Plaza, 8 Guanghua Dongli, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华东里8号中 海广场北楼1层 (5977 2789)

> Daily 11am-10pm, 2/F, New Grand Dynasty Hotel, 58 Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang 朝阳区麦子店街58号新 大宗饭店二层(6500 6766)

C Pearl (Oysters, Seafood) ¥ * This slick oyster restaurant imports fresh shells from Canada, South Africa, France, USA and more – and they are well worth the price. The fries are the best we’ve had in Beijing, beer and wine selection also excellent. > Tue-Sun 5.30pm-2am; 14-2, Bldg 14, Shunyuanli, Xinyuan Jie, Yansha Qiao, Chaoyang 朝阳区燕莎桥新

72 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

Grill 79 (Steak) With views this good, Grill 79 would probably make it onto the list even if the food was terrible. It’s something of a bonus then that the kitchen is superb, and supported by one of the most extensive wine lists in town. > Daily 6.30-10.30am, noon-2pm, 6-10pm.

79/F, China World Trade Center Phase 3, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大 街1号国贸大酒店79楼 (6505 2299 ext 6424)

JF Royal Teahouse

>Daily 10am-9:30pm;B215 China World Trade Center Tower 3, Jintong East Road,Chaoyang Beijing

Sizzler Sizzler invented ‘casual dining’ in Australia when it introduced the first soup, salad, pasta and fresh fruit concept. Since those pioneering days, it has expanded its ‘classic grill’ to include, not only steak and seafood, but also delicious chicken dishes, BBQ ribs, combination meals and burgers.

‘Variety’ and ‘freedom to choose’ set Sizzler apart from other dining experiences. At Sizzler customers are free to control the volume, nutritional balance and variety of each meal by ordering from the grill and helping themselves to our famous soup, salad, pasta and fruits. >All stores open daily, 10am-10pm ;Wangfujing Oriental Plaza Store 王府井东方广场店 (8518 6315); Chongwenmen Glory Mall Store 崇文门国瑞购物中 心店 (6714 0399); Wangjing Capital Mall 望京凯德购 物中心店 (6471 3876); Wanliu BHG 万柳华联商场店 (8258 9405) Wan Shoulu Crystal Capital Mall 万寿路 凯德晶品店 (6826 086); Xizhimen Capital Mall 西直 门凯德购物中心店Mall (5830 2199); Sanlitun Shimao Gongsan 三里屯世茂工三店 (8400 4014); Changying Paradise Walk 常营龙湖天街店 (8539 0438); Tianjin Joy City 天津大悦城店 (8728 1620)

The English Tearoom英国茶房

>Daily 10am-9.30pm; 101, Bldg 10, North area of Xiangyun Town, 9 Antai Dajie, Shunyi 顺义区安泰 大街9号院中粮祥云小镇北区10号楼101(8047 9661 / 8047 9661); Daliy 10am-7pm Creativity Garden,1 Shunhuang Lu，Sunhe xiang,Chaoyang 朝阳区孙河 乡顺黄路甲1号创意园内(8459 4407)

Hailing from New Zealand, Café Flatwhite uses fresh and healthy ingredients in its tasty selection of sandwiches, pizzas, salads and brunch options, all served alongside some of the best coffee in Beijing. > Open Daily, Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat-Sun 9am-9pm; 798 Dashanzi Art District Store: D09-1, No.4, 798 Dashanzi Art District, Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路4号 798艺术区D09-1 (5978 9067 / 13051771436); Jianguomenwai Media Center Store: No.13 Bldg, Jianguomenwai DRC, 1 Xiushui Street, Chaoyang 朝阳区秀水街1号建国门外外交公寓13 号楼1层东北角 8532 2633 ；Jianguomenwai DRC Store: Building 7-1-11, 1 Silk Street, Chaoyang 朝阳 区秀水街1号建国门外外交公寓7-1-11 (8532 2633 / 18701092189); FFCStore:-107,B1/F,Fortune Financial Center,5 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu,Chaoyang District 朝阳区东三环中路5号楼财富金融中心1层107 (6596 9108); China Central Mall Store:L315,China Central Mall,Chaoyang District朝阳区华贸中心写字楼三层 L315单元 (8588 7978)www.cafeflatwhite.com, cafeflatwhite@hotmail.com, WeChat username: CafeFlatwhite

Awfully Chocolate

Tomacado Tomacado is indeed a mash-up of ‘tomato’ and ‘avocado’ – and while you’ll certainly find these ingredients on the menu, you can also expect pleasant drinks, light soups and heartier main courses from this charming cafe. Fowers are also available for sale.

> Daily 10am-10pm (Lunch start from 11am, Only afternoon tea served on Mon-Fri 2.30-5pm), No. 19/20, B1/F, Jia Ming Center, 27 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东三环北路27号嘉铭中心地下一层 19/20号(6500 3354)

VIC Not to be confused with the notorious nightclub of the same name, this VIC is the Sofitel Beijing’s casual dining restaurant. All the major world cuisines are in attendance here – make sure you pay special attentions to the French-inspired breads and pastries – as is the customary Sunday champagne brunch. > Sofitel Wanda Beijing, Tower C, Wanda Plaza, 93 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国路93号万达广场C 座索菲特酒店6层 (8599 6666)

Yi House (Contemporary Western) Nestled in the confines of 798, Yi’s great tasting brunch is bettered only by their wide range of cocktails. Sundays offer jazz brunches with lobster and champagne.

> Daily 11am-3pm, 6pm-12am; 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, 798 Yishu Qu, No.1 706 Houjie, Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥 路2号院798艺术区706后街1号 (6436 1818)

Wood

>Daily 10.30am-11pm, Lakeside Gourmet Street, Solana, 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区 朝阳公园路6号蓝色港湾南边湖畔美食街 近南边地面 停车场 5726 8255

Stuff’d (Contemporary Western) The concept of Stuff’d is to simply stuff one kind of food in another. From sausage calzone pizzas (RMB68) to scotch eggs – it all works. On-site micro brewery a bonus.

> Wed-Mon, 11:30am-2:45pm, 6-10pm, 9 Jianchang Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区箭厂胡同9号 (6407 6308)

Café/Deli/Sandwich Café Zarah (Café) * A smart new interior and menu for this longstanding cafe has propelled it from hipster hangout to Gulou institution. Large, airy and with a terrace for summer, the only

完美巧克力蛋糕的首选新加坡品牌，Born

in Singapore, made by hand, using the finest ingredients.

>Daily 9am-10.30pm, 1) Sanlitun: Opposite to BHG, B1/F, Southern area of Taikooli, Sanlitun, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯太古里地下一层华联超市对面 (8468 3802); 2) Indigo: B1/F, Indigo Mall, 18 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路18号颐堤港地下一 层 (8426 0917); 3) Joy City Chaoyang: 5/F Joy City Chaoyang, Qingnian Lu, Chaoyang Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区朝阳北路青年路朝阳大悦城5楼悦界区 (8582 2677); 4) Raffles City: B1/F, Raffles City, Dongzhimen, Dongcheng 东城区东直门来福士地下一层 (8409 8038)

Element Fresh (Contemporary Western) Chain of restaurants and one of the longest running with quality ingredients and good service. One of the mainstays in Beijing. > Daily Mon-Fri 10am-11pm, Sat-Sun 7am-11pm.

833, Building 8, 19 Sanlitun Taikoo Li South, Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯太古里南区 8号楼833 (6417 1318)

Maan Coffee漫咖啡文化体验馆

>Daily 9am-20:00pm;The south gate of Jiangfu Park,Half tower road,Chaoyang 朝阳区半截塔路将府 公园南门西侧(5949 8336)

MOKA Bros (Contemporary Western) * Power bowls, salads and wraps are the kind of fare on offer at this trendy Nali Patio space, which also has a great selection of cakes and pastries if you’re feeling more indulgent. > Sanlitun: Sun-Thu 11am-10:30pm, Fri/Sat 11am11:30pm, B101b Nali Patio South, 81 Sanlitun Beilu Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路81号B101B南楼 (5208 6079) ; Solana: Solana Lakeside Dining Street, 6 Chaoyang Park Road, Chaoyang 朝阳区湖畔美食街 朝阳公园路6号院蓝色港湾 (5905 6259)

LISTINGS Ricci Named after a 17th century Italian Jesuit (duh), this creative café has a funky, kookymeets-organic vibe and serves up some of the best casual western food in town, and a great brunch at the Wudaokou location (Chaoyang branch closed weekends).

S4-32 South Block, Sanlitun Taikoo Li, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里太古里南区 (6416 5212)

TRIBE * Salads, wraps and sandwiches, and noodle and grain bowls are as tasty as they are holistic, and there are more superfoods in one single dish than we even knew existed.

Come hungry, leave basking in the warm glow that comes from knowing that you are eating well. Kombucha is the icing on the (organic, locally-sourced) cake.

> Tue-Thu 5.30pm-1am, Fri-Sat 5.30pm-2.30am, Sun 11am-1am; 1/F, Unit 10, Electrical Research Institute, Sanlitun Nan Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯南路机电研 究院内10号1层 (6501 6026)

> 1/F, Building D, Tsinghua Science Park, 1 Zhongguancun Donglu, Haidian 海淀区中关村东路1 号院清华科技园D座1楼 (8215 8826 )

> Daily 8am-10.30pm, 1/F, Building 3, China View Plaza, 2A Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工 体东路甲2号中国红街大厦3号楼1层大厅入口南侧 (8587 1899)

The Rug (Contemporary Western, Organic) * With ingredients supplied by local organic farms like Dahe and De Run Wu, and an emphasis on sustainability, this café’s wide ranging menu has something for everyone, especially green types, bored foreign moms and freelance Macbook types. > Mon-Fri 7.30am-10:30pm, Sat/Sun 9:30am10:30pm; Bldg 4, Lishui Jiayuan, Chaoyang Gongyuan Nanlu (opposite Chaoyang Park South Gate), Chaoyang 朝阳区朝阳公园南路丽水嘉园4 号楼(朝阳公园南门对面) (8550 2722) > Additional location in Sanlitun Nan Jie (see online.thatsmags. com for details)

Wagas (Contemporary Western) Quality eats with minimal pretension. This stylish, no-fuss Shanghai rival to Element Fresh offers some of the best and most affordable Western lunch options in town.

The zesty carrot-and-zucchini cake is a crowd pleaser.

> Daily 8am-10pm; S8-33, 3/F, Bldg 8, Taikoo Li South, 19 South Sanlitun Street, Chaoyang 朝阳区三 里屯太古里南区三层 (6416 5829) > Additional locations in The Kerry Centre, Raffles Mall Dongzhimen (see www.thatsmags.com for details)

American/BBQ/Grill Eudora Station 亿多瑞站

> (Near Lidu place))No 6,Fangyuanli Chaoyang 朝 阳区 芳园西里6号(丽都广场对面)(6437 8331, 6437 8334)

Home Plate BBQ * Scruffy looks and laid-back staff belie the popularity of this entry-level brick-smoker barbecue joint, that blossoms in the sunny months. Pulled-pork sandwiches are the favorites, followed by baby-back rib racks. Beer and bourbons are taken care of, too. > Daily 11am-10pm. 35 Xiaoyun Lu courtyard (20m north of Xiaoyun Lu intersection, first right), Chaoyang District 朝阳区霄云路35号院过霄云路路口, 往北走20米,到第一个路口右转(5128 5584) > Additional location in Sanlitun Nan Jie (see www. thatsmags.com for details)

NOLA N’Orleans finds a dark-wood home in the leafy embassy area, with a jazz soundtrack, shrimp and grits, gumbo, fried chicken, jambalaya and decent-enough po’boys – yes’m. Excellent Cajun snacks, craft beers and cocktails also make NOLA a popular watering hole. > Mon-Fri 8am-11pm, Sat-Sun 10.30am-11pm. 11A Xiushui Nanjie, Chaoyang 朝阳区秀水南街11号 (8563 6215)

The Big Smoke * Taking the Home Plate BBQ concept and upscaling was a gourmet masterstroke. Full menu evenings only (also delivers rotisserie chicken via Uncle Otis).

> Daily Mon-Sat 11am-midnight, Sun 11am-10pm.

First Floor, Lee World Building (opposite Frost Nails), 57 Xingfucun Zhong Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区幸福村 中路 57号楼利世楼 (6416 5195, 6416 268, www. uncle-otis.com)

The Woods * New York native-owned, Manhattan-style restaurant, tucked in amongst the skyscrapers of CBD: you can’t get more Big Apple than that. > Daily 12pm-10pm, Central Park Tower 1, Suite 101, No. 6 Chaowai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区朝外大街6号 新城国际1号搂101 (6533 6380)

Mexican/Tex Mex Cantina Agave (Tex-Mex) Great selection of burritos, tacos and 80+ imported tequilas. Spice up dishes with the walk-up salsa bar and don’t leave without a bite of the custardy flan. >Sun-Thurs 11am to midnight. Fri–Sat 11am to 2am,

Taco Bar Rising from the ashes of its deceased hutong location, the new Taco Bar is hip, popular and able to produce some of the most authentic Mexican fare in town. Only RMB45 for three and great cocktails to complement.

Palms L.A. Kitchen and Bar * (KoreanMexican fusion) Tucked away near Gulou, this hip little hutong concept is truly one of a kind in Beijing. Quesadillas with kimchi and bibimbaps with melted cheese and hot sauce.

Guess what? It works. Killer range of classic Cali’ cocktails, too. > Daily 11:30am-midnight (closed Mondays); 14 Zhangwang Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区旧鼓楼大街 张旺胡同14号 (6405 4352)

Q Mex Bar & Grill

> Sanlitun Courtyard (across from Salsa Caribe, nearby Bookworm), Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北路4号院 机电研究院餐饮街内 6585 3828

Burgers Blue Frog Blue Frog is pleased to introduce a creative new Drinks Menu. As the new year begins, this new menu will wake up everyone’s taste buds with a bevy of specialty and original cocktails, mocktails, shots, beer, wine and healthy drinks inspired by popular ingredients.

> All open Daily 10am-late; S2-30, Level 3, S2 Tower, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路19号三 里屯太古里南区三楼S2-30 (6417 4030) ; No.167, 1/F, 18 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路 18号1层167号 (8426 0017) ; No.125, 1/F, Bldg 1, Sanfeng(North), Chaoyang 朝阳区三丰北里1号楼1层 125号 (8561 2665) ; Unit 15-16, 1/F, Bldg AB, Ocean International Center, 10 Jintong Xilu, Chaoyang 朝阳 区金桐西路10号远洋光华国际中心AB座一层15 16单 元 (8590 3168)

Steak Morton’s of Chicago (American) ¥¥ * Meat so tender the knife falls through it: ritzy Morton’s deserves the worldwide praise. Expensive, but where else are you going to get steak this good? (Try the RMB550 set menu if you want to save cash) > Mon-Sat 5:30-11pm, Sun 5-10:30pm; 2/F, Regent Hotel, 99 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng 东城区金宝街99号 丽晶酒店二层 (6523 7777)

O’Steak A well-cooked steak in Beijng isn’t all that rare anymore, and here we have affordable but quality cuts. Don’t be fooled by the Irish sounding name, it’s an authentic French bistro – not a Guinness in sight.

> Daily midday-midnight, Xingfu: No.55-7 Xingfucun Zhonglu, opposite of April courmet, Chaoyang 朝 阳区幸福村中路55-7杰作大厦底商绿叶子超市斜对 面 (8448 8250) ; Central Park: No.o103 building 20, Central Park, No.6 Chaowai Avenue, Chaoyang 朝 阳区朝外大街6号新城国际20号楼103 (6533 6599); shunyi: No.11-102 Shine Hills, No.9 Antai Avenue, Shunyi 顺义区后沙峪安泰大街9号祥云小镇南门 11号 楼102 (8048 5080)

29 Grill (Contemporary Western) * Top-notch steak, along with just about every other cut of meat found in the barnyard in this well-priced meat-eaters’ mecca. > Mon-Fri lunch: 11.30am-2.30pm; Mon-Sat dinner: 6-10.30pm (closed Sundays); Conrad Beijing, 2/F, 29 North Dongsanhuan, Chaoyang 朝阳区东三环北路9 号2层 (6584 6270)

Italian Assaggi ¥ * This fine Italian spot in the leafy embassy district has one of Beijing’s best terraces for summer dining. The tagliata steak is worth a return visit.

> Daily 11:30am-2:30pm, 6pm-11:30pm. 1 Sanlitun Beixiaojie, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯北小街1号 (8454 4508)

Bene ¥ * Chef Ricci will have you singing like a soprano with his pork ravioli and prize-winning tiramisu. Excellent set menus (RMB588) and extensive wine selection. > Daily 11am-2.30pm, 5.30-10.30pm. Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng, 36 Northeast Third Ring Road, Dongcheng District 东城区北三环东路36号(5798 8995)

BOCCA DELLA VERITA¥ Good-value homestyle Italian is the order of the day at this little-known spot in Beixinqiao.

> Dinner: 5-10pm; Lunch: 10am-3pm; 3/F, 277 Dongzhimen Nei Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区东直门内

大街277号三楼 雍和宫大街和北新桥头条交叉处的四 层商业楼三楼 (6455 3832, 1391 0969 240)

Annie’s ¥ * Now a certified Beijing institution, Annie’s serves up the city’s most reliable Italian fare. Delivery is free anywhere between Line 5 and the the Fifth Ring Road (call for delivery prices outside this area), and can be ordered in English between 10.30am and 10.30pm from www.annies.com.cn.

Alternatively, drop in to your local branch.

> All open Daily,10.30am-11pm; Beijing Riviera: opposite west gate of Lane Bridge Villa, Shunyi 朝 阳区来广营东路5号长岛澜桥别墅西门对面尚古城一 楼 (8470 4768); Lido: Jiangtai Lu, opposite United Family Hospital 朝阳区将台商业街4号楼2楼和睦家 医院对面 (6436 3735); Wangjing: 2F, beside the Daimler Tower, LSH Plaza, 8 Wangjing Jie 朝阳区利星 行广场A座戴勒姆大厦裙楼2层近望京商业中心 (8476 0398); Chaoyang Park: West Gate of Chaoyang Park 朝阳区朝阳公园老西门南侧 (6591 1931); Sanlitun: China View Building, opposite East Gate of Workers’Stadium 朝阳区工体东门对面中国红街一楼 (8587 1469); Ritan Park: Ritan High Life, 3F, north of Ritan Park 朝阳区神路街39号日坛上街3-108号 (8569 3031); The Place: East of the Place, south of Central Park 朝阳区金桐西路10号远洋光华国际中心AB座1 层 (8590 6428); Guomao: Ruisai Business Building (southest of Guomao subway) 朝阳区东三环南路2 号瑞赛大厦商务楼1层 (6568 5890); Sunshine 100: Guanghua Lu, opposite Sunshine 100 Building 朝阳 区光华路阳光100公寓对面首经贸南门 (858 98366)

Cepe ¥ In a city inundated with Italian offerings, Cepe manages to stand out thanks to its attention to the smallest detail – everything from the vinaigrette to the Parma ham is import quality, and the wine is superb. > Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm. The RitzCarlton Financial Street, 1 Jinchengfang Dongjie, Jinrong Jie, Xicheng 西城区金城坊东街1号北京金融街 丽思卡顿酒店大堂 (6601 6666)

Florentina 翡冷翠意大利餐厅 Florentina serves authentic Italian fare in low-key, yet elegant surrounds. Cuisine is high-end, the environment is relaxed. A beautiful outdoor terrace makes this place a godsend for Lido residents.

> Daily 11-late (Kitchen serves until 10pm), 1/F, Bldg 2, No. 6 Yard, Fangyuan Xilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区芳园 西路6号院2号楼1层(8431 0027)

Mercante ¥ * Old World family charm in an intimate hutong setting. Time (and, occasionally, service) slows with a rustic menu from Bologna offering an assortment of homemade pastas and seasonal mains. > Tue-Sun 6-10.30pm. 4 Fangzhuanchang Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区方砖厂胡同4号 (8402 5098)

Tiago Home Kitchen Even the most exacting palettes are delighted by TIAGO, whose team prepares globally sourced ingredients and sustainably grown produce. TIAGO’s dining experience is distinctly Italian, but its menu also offers such classics as Australian steaks and Boston lobster - plus a wide selection of salads, pizza, pasta and desserts. >Indigo: Daily 11.30am-10pm, Shop L173, Indigo Mall, 18 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路 18号颐堤港购物中心L173商铺(6438 8772); Chaoyang Joy City: Daily 11am-10pm, 5F50/6F, Chaoyang Joy City, 101 Chaoyang Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区朝阳北路 101号朝阳大悦城5F50/6F(8558 3892)

Opera Bombana ¥ Head chef Umberto Bombana boasts three Michelin stars to his name, earned at his wildly successful Hong Kong restaurant Otto e Mezzo. He’s the only Italian chef to do so outside of his native land, and certainly the only to have opened a restaurant in Beijing. > Daily, 12pm-10:30pm; LG2-21 Parkview Green Fangcaodi, 9 Dongdaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东大 桥路9号侨福芳草地地下2层21号 (5690 7177)

German Drei Kronen 1308 * Authentic (truly – when they say 1308 they mean it) displays of armour and brewing kits draw regular evening crowds for the superb pork knuckle and heavy-duty helles (pale lager), wheat and dark beer (brewed on-site). > Daily 11am-2am. 1/F, Bldg 5, China View, Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体东路中国红街5号楼1 层(6503 5555)

Hacker-Pschorr Brauhaus If you’re looking for authentic German fare and, most importantly, German-style beer, then you can’t go wrong with HackerPschorr Brauhaus. Made from centuries-old recipes – and in accordance with the 1516 German Beer Purity Law – the brews here are some of the finest in Beijing. Prost! > Room 3, Building 3, No 12 ,Xindonglu Chaoyang 朝阳区 新东路12号院3号楼3门(5323 3399)

Paulaner Brauhaus The grand old man of Beijing brauhauses, Paulaner delivers the Teutonic goods in the hands of lederhosen-clad staff from the provinces. It can be pricey but is usually worthwhile, especially during Oktoberfest.

> Daily 11am-1am. Kempinski Hotel, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区亮马桥路50号凯宾斯基饭店 (6465 3388 ext. 5732)

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant 博璨德国啤酒餐厅 Brotzeit offers its customers a unique experience with authentic German cuisine and world famous German beers in a casual environment. Coupled with its contemporary setting and unique brand appeal, Brotzeit is distinct from the traditional-style German restaurants still seen in Germany and other parts of the world. > Daily 11am-late; F109, Grand Summit, bldg 5, 19 Dongfang Donglu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东方东路19号 楼(DRC外交办公大楼)一层F109 (8531 5166, www. brotzeit.co)

Pizza La Pizza Among the upper echelons of Beijing pizzerias is this Sanlitun goldfish bowl with a wood-fired oven and Neapolitan manners. Further branches in Solana and pasta/salad/mains-buffet restaurant in Sanlitun 3.3

> Sanlitun Branch: daily 10.30am-3pm, 6-11pm. 1/F, 3.3 Mall, 33 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯 路33号3.3服装大厦西北角底商(5136 5582); Solana Branch: SA-48, 1/F, Bldg 3, Solana, 6 Chaoyang Park Road, Chaoyang 朝阳公园西路6号蓝色港 湾3号1层 SA-48 ( 5905 6106) > SOHU Shangdu Branch: SH1112, SOHO Shangdu, 8 Dongdaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区东大桥路8号SOHO尚都 SH1112号(5900 3112); La Pizza Buffet: 4F, Sanlitun 3.3 Mall, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯3.3服装大厦4层 (5136 5990)

Tube Station Nowhere does gigantic toppen-laden pizza quite like Beijing, and these guys claim to be the biggest in town. > Sanlitun 3.3 Branch: Mon-Fri 10am-10pm, Sat/Sun 10am-11pm, delivery Mon-Thu 11:30am-10:30pm, Fri-Sun 11:30am-11pm 3/F, 3.3 Building, No. 33 Sanlitun Beijie, Chaoyang 三里屯北街33号3.3服 装大厦3层3008号 ( 5136 5571, delivery 8989 177) > Additional branches in Gongti, Beida, Beitai, Yayancun, Solana and Weigongcun, see www.online.thatsmags.com for details)

Spanish Agua ¥ * Occupying the high end of Nali’s Spanish invasion, Agua excels with reasonably priced classics like suckling pig, chorizo and jamon. Winner of the 2014 Golden Fork Editors’ Pick for best restaurant. > Daily Midday-2pm, 6pm-10pm. 4/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路81号那里花 园 (5208 6188)

Casa Talia by Tiago

>Daily 11.30am-9pm, 01B, 4/F, Raffles City, 1 Dongzhimen Nan Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区东直门南大街1 号来福士购物中心4层01B 8409 4009

Niajo ¥ * With homely Mediterranean influences and a charming management, Niajo is prime Sanlitun smart-casual dining. Order the paella (their star dish) together with some tapas and be automatically transported to Spain (minus the constant sunshine). > Daily noon-10.30pm. 3/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路81号那里花园3层 (5208 6052)

Migas ¥ * The boys at Migas have turned a concept bar into a thriving Mediterranean restaurant, bar and party venue, and one of summer’s rooftop destinations.

> Daily 10am-3pm, 5pm- late. 6/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路81号那里花园 6层 (5208 6061)

Asian Indian Raj Tucked away in musty old building just underneath the drum tower, this curryhouse may look Chinese but everything on the menu is authentic Indian, espcially the rather fine naan. > Daily 11am-2pm, 5pm-11pm, 31 Gulou Xidajie Dongcheng 东城区鼓楼西大街31号 (6401 1675)

Ganges Conveniently located above popular Irish sports bar Paddy O’Sheas, this solid Indian curry house provides the perfect post-match culinary accompaniment. Or put another way: it’s what you’ll be craving after eight pints of beer.

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LISTINGS > Daily 11am to 10.30pm; Dongzhimen Branch: 2/F, 28 Dongzhimen Wai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区东直门 外大街28号2层 (6417-0900) > Additional branch in Sanlitun, see online.thatsmags.com for details.

Indian Kitchen

fried delights to munch alongside it.

>Daily 5pm-1am, Ichibangai First Avenue Food Court, Zaoying Nanli, Maizidian, East 3rd Ring Road, Chaoyang朝阳区东三环农展馆北路宾都苑 东侧一层底商一番街内 (137 1692 7543)

Korean Ai Jiang Shan This upscale seafood restaurant proves that chargrill and composure can go together. Their RMB58 bibimbap lunch is an absolute bargain. > Daily 11am-10pm, Sat and Sun until 9.30pm; 5/F, LG Twin Towers (East Tower), 12 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建 国门外大街乙12号双子座大厦东塔5层 (5109 6036/6037) see www.thatsmags.com for other locations)

South-East Asian

The go to curry house among Beijing’s homesick Indian community, this ever popular no-nonsense restaurant has built up a solid reputation thanks to its wide range of quality dishes and particularly friendly service. Looking good after a recent rennovation and very available on JinShiSong online delivery. > Daily 11am-2:30pm, 5:30-11pm, 2/F 2 Sanlitun Beixiaojie, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯北小街2号2楼 (6462 7255)

Japanese HAGAKI 叶书 * Serves up a selection of signature maki rolls, as well as classics like tonkatsu, tempura and udon, Hagaki specializes in Californian-inspired Japanese cuisine and has a lively sushi bar.

>Daily 11am-2.30pm, 1/F, EAST Beijing, 22 Jiuxianqiao Lu,Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路22号东隅酒 店1层 8414 9815

Hatsune ¥ * (California Japanese) As much a California roll joint as true Japanese, Hatsune is now an old favorite among the sake-swilling, sushi-swallowing set, though less so among sashimi purists. > Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30-10pm; 2/F, Heqiao Bldg C, 8A Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华路甲8号 和乔大厦C座2层 (6581 3939) >Additional locations in Sanlitun Tai Koo Li South; Kerry Centre Mall (see www.online.thatsmags.com for details)

Inagiku * This Beijing branch of one of Tokyo’s oldest and most celebrated restaurants is as near to perfection as you’re likely to find.

Deceptively simple yet finely crafted, the handmade Inaniwa udon (RMB80) is not to be missed.

> Daily 11am-3pm, 6-10.30pm; Rm 315, 3/F, Park Life, Yintai Centre, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大街2号银泰中心悦生 活3层315室 (8517 2838)

Sake Manzo * The barmen here are serious about their sake. Boasting one of the best stocked drinks cabinets in town with over 60 different sakes on offer, this super-cool little eatery is the perfect place to unwind after a hard day’s toil.

The sashimi is fresh to the cut, and the beer-marinated chicken is out of this world. One of the very best and least appreciated restaurants in town.

> Daily 6pm-midnight. 7A Tuanjiehu Beisantiao, Chaoyang 朝阳区团结湖北三条甲7号(6436 1608

Saveurs de Coree This upmarket Korean bistro has undergone several changes in recent years, not least its move away from the hipper-than-thou confines of Nanluoguxiang. Fortunately, the menu remains largely intact. The Shin Ramyun is among the best in Beijing, while the Wagyu barbecued beef is almost too good to be true. > Daily noon-11pm; 128-1 Xiang’er Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区香饵胡同128-1号(5741 5753)

Yotsuba ** It doesn’t come cheap (tasting menu RMB1,000), but what would you expect from some of the best sushi in town?

Buttery and meaty fatty tuna sashimi is a cut above.

> Dongcheng: Tue- Sun 11.30am-11pm. Sanlitun branch: 2 Sanlitun Bei Xiaojie, Chaoyang 朝阳区 三里屯北小街2号 (6464 2365); Lido branch: 2F, No.9-3, Jiangtai Xilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区将台西路 9-3号2层 (8420 0998)

Sui Ka Is this what after-work hangouts are like in Japan? We’re not sure, but we hope so: This charming izakaya nails it when it comes to sake selection and 74 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

4Corners (Vietnamese, Fusion) The definitive hutong bar/restaurant? Chef Jun Trinh took a break from his celebrity TV work to host this part-Vietnamese venue, serving up steaming bowls of pho with zesty, fresh rolls, as well as a great bar, with frequent live indie performances. > Tue-Sun 11am-2am, 27 Dashibei Hutong (near west end of Yandai Xiejie), Xicheng 西城区大石碑胡 同27号烟袋斜街西口附近) (6401 7797)

Cafe Sambal (Malaysian) When it comes to Malay-style food in a hutong, nowhere does it better. Admittedly, it’s something of a niche category, but then so is the food on offer. The spicy Kapitanstyle chicken is pricey, but worth it. > Daily 11am-midnight. 43 Doufuchi Hutong (just east of Jiugulou Dajie), Xicheng 西城区豆腐池胡同43 号旧鼓楼大街往东走(6400 4875)

Purple Haze (Thai) Given Beijing’s lack of white sand beaches and backpacker bars, Purple Haze has to make do for the best Thai experience in town. Has all the classics like veggie spring rolls (RMB40), papaya salad (RMB46) and curries (RMB44-180) – but our pick’s the seafood pad Thai (RMB45). > Daily 11am-11pm, 55 Xingfu Yicun, Chaoyang 朝 阳区幸福一村55号 (6413 0899)

Greyhound Café (Modern Thai/Fusion) Greyhound Café originated in Bangkok offering Thai food with a twist and served in a fashionable surrounds. Perfect for Taikoo Li Sanlitun then.

> Daily 11am-11pm, S1-30B, Building 1, Sanlitun Road 19, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路19号1号楼 S1-30B (6416 3439)> Additional branch in Shin Kong Place (see online.thatsmags.com for details)

Nyonya Kitchen (Malaysian, Nyonya) This chain specializes in Nyonya style cooking – ostensibly Malaysian but with a mix of Chinese, South-East Asian and European influences resulting in lots of bold flavors and bright colors. > CBD: EB105, B1/F, China World Mall Phase 1, 1 Jianguomen Wai, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门 外大街1号国贸商城一期地下一层EB105 (6505 0376); Taiyanggong: Unit 10-11, 4/F, CapitaMall Taiyanggong, Chaoyang 朝阳区凯德Mall太阳宫4层 10/11号 (8415 0863,www.nyonyakitchen.com)

Malacca Legend Malaysian food with a view, this spacious and airy restaurant sits on the banks of Shunyi’s Roma Lake and at a new unit in the heart of the city at The Place, making a great spot for their beef rendang or green curry prawns.

> Daily 11am-10pm; 6 Roma Lake: 6 Luodong Lu, Luogezhuang Village, Hoshayu Town, Shunyi 顺义 区后沙峪镇罗各庄村罗马湖东北三路6号C院 (8049 8902); Signature: Shop L203, 2/F, The Place, 9 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华路9号世贸天阶2 层L203 (6587 1393)

Singapore Seafood

> China World Shopping Mall Branch: Daily 11am10pm, NL4010, North Area of China World Shopping Mall, 1 Jianguomen Wai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国 门外大街1号国贸商城北区NL4010 (8595 0251/8595 0361); Parview Green Branch: Daily 11am-10.30pm, 1/F, Tower C, Parkview Green, 9 Dongdaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东大桥路9号侨福芳草地购物中心C 座1层(东大桥地铁站) ( 8518 8811)

Susu (Vietnamese) The first step is finding it. Follow that up with a dreamlike renovated courtyard, extensive wine list and a listing of top-notch Vietnamese curries, banh mi sandwiches, stews, soups and la Vong fish. > Tue- Sun 11.30am-11pm; 10 Qianliang Hutong Xixiang, Dongcheng 东城区钱粮胡同西巷10号 (8400 2699)

Vegetarian Lotus 莲花空间

> China World Shopping Mall Branch: NL4006, North Area of China World Shopping Mall, 1 Jianguomen

Wai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大街1号国贸商 城北区NL4006 (8527 4868); Financial Street Branch: Daily 11am-9pm, L220, 2/F, Seasons Place Mall, 2 Jinchengfang Jie, Xicheng 西城区金城坊街2号金融街 购物中心2层东侧L220 (6622 0515)

Tianchu Maoxiang (Asian) Like many arrivals to Beijing, this place started out in Wudaokou and it’s since made a successful migration to Chaoyang. Great range of veggie fare, reasonably priced and they offer cooking classes as well. > Daily 10am-10pm; 19 Rm 0260, 2/F, Bldg D, Chaowai SOHO, 6B Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳门外大街乙6朝外SOHOD座2层 0260 (5900 1288)(see www.online.thatsmags. com for details)

Veggie Table (Western, Asian) * Proving that Beijing-style vegetarian cuisine is by no means the exclusive preserve of Buddhist monks and soppy Jack Johnson fans, this superbly honed eatery offers some of the very best sandwiches – vegetarian or otherwise – found anywhere in the city. > Daily 10.30am-11.30pm (last order 10.30pm); 19 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区五道营胡同 19号 (6446 2073)

BARS

TOP 40 BARS AND CLUBS

About This guide represents our editors’ top 40 picks, and includes some That’s Beijing advertisers. Bars rated(*) have been personally reviewed by our experts, and scored according to the cuisine, experience and affordability.

Arrow Factory The newest craft beer taproom on the block, Arrow Factory is a rustic hideaway brimming with good Anglo-Scandinavian vibes (courtesy of the brew-masters) and the brand’s distinctive Chinese brewed ales.

A winning combination > 38 Jianchang Hutong, Dongcheng District 东城区箭 厂胡同38号(6407 6308)

8-Bit Drinking alongside multiplayer retro gaming – why didn’t anyone do this sooner?

Megadrive, Super Nintendo, N64... some real gems make up an ever-growing collection. Draft Kirin goes for a reasonable RMB25 a glass.

> Daily 1pm-2am; 13 Beiluoguxiang, Dongcheng 东 城区北锣鼓巷13号 (159 1025 6538)

BBC (Bottle, Boot & Cigar) The brainchild of local spirits professional Douglas Williams, this bar provides the discerning Beijing drinker with a peerless selection of liquor for sale, cocktails and coming soon, shoe shines, cigars and straight-razor shaves.

> 1pm-late. 1 Taipingzhuang Nanli (At Xingfucun, between Frost: Coffee, Nails & Cocktails and Commix Bar), Chaoyang 朝阳区太平庄南里1号 (1861 405 7407, www.bbcbeijing.com)

Capital Spirits A team of non-China natives doing a baijiu bar? Brave and, luckily, brilliant. Lovely hutong setting, friendly owners and great bottle collection.

> Tue-Sun 8pm-late; 3 Da Ju Hutong, Dongcheng 东城 区大菊胡同3号 (6409 3319; www.capitalspirits.com)

China Bar ¥¥ Top views from the 65th floor and flash drinks are the attractions on offer at this hip hotel bar.

> Sun-Thu 5pm-1am, Fri-Sat 5pm-2am. 65/F, Park Hyatt, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国 门外大街2号柏悦酒店65层 (8567 1838/40)

Daily Routine 日常生活 This cozy bar is a diamond in the rough.

Owner Travis is a cocktail aficionado, and the drinks at this establishment change seasonally according to ingredient availability.

Light cafe fare is available during the day. > Daily 11am-11pm. 34 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区五道营胡同34号 (8400 1159)

El Nido * The first hutong hang-out to patent the fridge-full-of-cheap-imports formula, El Nido inspires a loyal following, particularly in summer. The roast leg of mutton place next door is one of the best locally. > Daily 6pm-late, 59 Fangjia Hutong, Dongcheng 东 城区方家胡同50号(158 1038 2089)

First Floor First Floor is like that friend who’s too popular to properly enjoy their company.

At weekends, it gets aggressively full, with regulars and the passing tourist trade all baying at the bar. A good place to meet new friends, perhaps.

> Daily, 4pm-late, Sanlitun Beixiaojie, Chaoyang 朝阳 区三里屯北小街 (6413 0587, first.floorbeijing.com)

Great Leap Brewing 大跃啤酒 ¥ * The bar that began the whole Beijing microbrewing frenzy (yes, frenzy) specializes in idiosyncratic, local-style brews (RMB2540) with intriguing flavors – their Sichuan peppercorn ale was memorably good.

Reservations used to be recommended for their original hutong brewhouse, but the opening of a wildly popular new pub on Xinzhong Lu has shifted most drinkers there instead.

> Gulou: 5pm-late, Tue-Fri, 2pm-late Sat-Sun 2-10pm, 6 DouJiao Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区豆角胡同6号 (5717 1399) ; Sanlitun: Daily 11:30am-2pm; Sun-Thu 5pm-midnight, Fri /Sat 5pm-1am, B12 Xinzhong Street 新中街乙12号 (6416 6887, www.greatleapbrewing.com)

Heaven Supermarket A purgatory of bottles, bongs and bedraggled English teachers, Heaven sells the cheapest alcoholic takeaways in town. You can also hang around and appreciate the afterlife (clientele) if you want. Caveat: the food is straight from Hell’s own kitchen. > Daily 11-4am. 14 Xindong Lu (next to The James Joyce), Chaoyang 朝阳区新东路14号 (6415 6513)

Hidden Lounge * Although frustrating to find, Hidden Lounge rewards the intrepid with good artwork and comfortable seating, suggesting a Kasbah, plus well-made drinks at great prices (wine from RMB100 a bottle, mix drinks from RMB25). You’ll probably have to call them to find it, though.

> Daily 6pm-1am. Room 101, Bldg 8, CBD Apartments, Shuanghuayuan Nanli Erqu, Chaoyang 朝阳区双花园 南里二区CBD公寓8号楼101屋 (8772 1613)

Jane’s & Hooch ¥ * Acclaimed by some foreign press as one of the best bars in the world (cough), this not-so-plain Jane has been at the vanguard of the South Sanlitun gentrification. It serves RMB60-80 measures of your favorite Prohibiotion-era hooches in a fanstastic speakeasy atmosphere, with attentive staff and unimpeachable cocktails.

> Daily 8pm-2am, Courtyard 4 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北路4号院 ( 6503 2757)

Jing-A Taproom ** In just a few years, these guys developed from shady guerrilla brewers to upstanding publicans with their own range of souvenir T-shirts. Their bar is a peach: a bricks-andmortar taproom, which is large, warm and sociable, and has up to 16 different beers on tap. > Building B, 1949 The Hidden City, Courtyard 4, Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北路4号院

Mao Mao Chong ** The cocktails at Mao’s – such as their sublime ‘Mala’ Mule, a Sichuan peppercorninfused vodka drink that’s a long way from Moscow – are unique infusions using local ingredients and know-how. Grungey without being grimey, Mao’s eschews flash while still keeping it real. And those pizzas. > 12 Banchang Hutong, Jiaodaokou, Dongcheng 东 城区交道口南大街板厂胡同12号 (6405 5718, www. maomaochongbeijing.com)

Mesh ¥ Whether it’s an early evening cocktail or a late-night infusion, Mesh’s moody interior and underground soundtrack draws the bright young things (and on LGBT Thursdays, quite a few old things, too). > Daily 5pm-1am. Building 1, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯路11号院1号楼 (6417 6688)

Maggie’s ¥ A notorious sausage fest (we refer, of course, to the hot-dog stand outside), Maggie’s has been providing its special comforts for so long, it’s practically a timehonored Beijing brand – although it’s also a bastion of Mongolian culture. > Sun-Thur 8pm-4am, Fri-Sat 8pm-5am, Ritan Park South Gate, Chaoyang District 朝阳区日坛公园南 门 (8562 8142)

Parlor Learn a few quotes from Gatsby before heading to this 20s Shanghai-style speakeasy and you’ll fit right in.

> Daily 6pm-2am, 39-8 Xingfuercun, Chaoyang 朝阳区 新东路幸福二村39-8 (8444 4135)

Mai Bar * Understated hutong hideaway with a long list of some of the best cocktails in town.

> Daily 5pm-late, 40 Beiluoguxiang, Dongcheng 东城 区北锣鼓巷40号 (6406 1871)

Revolution * Sanlitun doesnt really do hipster bars but if it did, this cramped ode to Maomorabilia

LISTINGS would be it. The East may be red but their cocktails (RMB45) are fit for a Chairman.

> Daily, 12pm-late, west of Yashow, Gongti Bei Lu, 朝 阳区工体北路雅秀市场西侧 (6415 8776)

The Brick A Cheers-style atmosphere ensures you’ll find this neighbourhood drinking hole-inthe brick-wall faux dive bar either cliquey or inclusive. The heavy-duty cocktails (including the devastatingly boozy RMB80 Terminator) are probably needed for the bizarre Wednesday pub quiz.

> Daily 4pm-late. Unit 2-11, Bldg 2, Tianzhi Jiaozi, 31 Guangqu Lu (northeast corner of Shuangjing Qiao), Chaoyang 朝阳区双井桥东北角广渠路31号院天之骄子 2号楼底商2-11 (134 2616 6677)

The Irish Volunteer Everything – from the red-faced owner to the grub – is authentically Irish: tinged with alcoholism, doggerel and drunken regret. A good place to down a pint and a pizza before heading into town, then. > Daily 9pm-2am. 311 Jiangtai Lu (opposite Lido Hotel East Gate), Chaoyang 朝阳区将台路311 号 (6438 5581)

The Tree A cozy stalwart of the Beijing bar scene, you’ll find wood-fired comfort pizza, beer aplenty and a hearty, mature atmosphere.

Has two neighborhood offshoots: By the Tree (brickwork, pool, old man’s pub) and Nearby the Tree (live music, two floors).

> Daily noon-2am. 100m west of Sanlitun Bar Street, Youyi Youth Hostel, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯酒吧街往 西100米友谊旅馆后面三里屯医院东面 (6415 1954)

Slow Boat Brewery Taproom ** This popular microbrewery has its own pub hidden away in Dongcheng’s hutongs.

Quality ales that change depending on the season, heated floors and a great little kitchen round out the deal. > Mon Closed, Tues-Wed: 5pm-midnight, Thu 5pm1am, Fri 5pm-late, Sat 2pm-late, Sun 2-10pm; 56 Dongsi Batiao, Dongcheng 东城区东四八条56号 (6538 5537)

Glen ¥ Experiences can vary at Glen (we’ve endured poor service and drinks that are scandalous at the price), which is located in a decidedly downbeat compound. But whisky lovers have been known to swear by its selections and dark, intimate atmosphere.

See for yourself. >Daily 6.30pm-2am. 203, 2/F, Taiyue Suites Hotel Beijing, 16 Nansanlitun Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区南三里屯 路16号泰悦豪庭2楼203室 (6591 1191)

Glen Classic ¥ Tucked away in the grounds of Face hotel, Glen Classic is a Japanese-owned whisky bar where discerning drinkers can sink into an arm-chair, glass in hand, and while away the hours. Huge range of whiskies and rums are personally selected by expert owner Daiki Kanetaka – let him recommend you something special. > Mon-Sat, 7pm-2am, reservation required, minimum spend RMB200, Face Hotel Courtyard, 26 Dongcaoyuan, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体南路东草园26 号 (6551 6788)

Trouble Bar Beijing’s leading venue for imported craft beers. Stocks a large draft selection and an even larger selection of bottles. Also does a nice line in creative cocktails, if brews aren’t your thing. Conveniently located next to Gung-Ho, hosts a full-sized foos-ball table, darts, and plenty of TV’s to accommodate any event, meetings, and gatherings. > 2-101, China View Building, 2B Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang (Next To Gung-Ho) 朝阳区工人体育场东 路乙2号中国红街2-101叫板比萨隔壁 (8590 0390, troublebar@gmail.com, www.trouble.bar)

10 Best Livehouses School Bar 学校酒吧 * Crap drinks and regular, unscheduled fights: no wonder the cool kids adore this alternative livehouse/ DJ bar, founded by Beijing and Shanghai rock n’ rollers.

> Daily 8pm-late. 53 Wudaoying Hutong, Chaoyang 朝阳区五道营胡同53号 (6402 8881, 6406 9947)

Jianghu 江湖酒吧 This former Qing Dynasty courtyard home is exactly where you’d take that friend from out of town to prove you’re cool. Its cozy atmosphere is also its downfall – any show with under 40 people and you’re stuck looking through the windows. Hip and casually familiar, the jazz and folk bookings keep things low-key enough for the gethome-for-the-babysitter crowd.

> 7 Dongmianhua Hutong, Jiaodaokou Nan Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区交道口南大街东棉花胡同7号 (6401 5269, site.douban.com/jianghujiubar, jincanzh@

gmail.com)

Dusk Dawn Club (DDC) 黄昏黎明俱乐部 Great little livehouse near Meishuguan with a focus on jazz, folk and indie rock.

Craft beer and whisky means you won’t get bored of the drinks list quickly. > Tue-Sun 1pm-2am; 14 Shanlao Hutong, Dongcheng 东城区美术馆后街山老胡同14号 (6407 8969)

Hot Cat Club 热力猫 A true stalwart of the Beijing scene, Hot Cat is the type of hard-working venue that helps cement a city’s music scene. > Daily 10am-late, 46 Fangjia Hutong (just south of Guozijian Jie), Dongcheng 东城区方家胡同46号 (6400 7868)

The Post Mountain 后山 Built into a man-made hill in the center of the MOMA Complex, this new addition to Beijing’s growing livehouse empire is The Hobbit meets Manhattan. With as much vibe as a sterile modern-art gallery. Its imported sound system and ramped floor makes for decent sound and sightlines.

> Bldg T8, MOMA, 1 Xiangheyuan Lu, Dongzhimenwai, Dongcheng (next to MOMA Cinemateque) 东城区东直门外香河园路1号当代 MOMA园区T8楼北百老汇电影中心北侧 (8400 4774)

Temple 坛 * Probably the manliest venue in town, this dimly lit and unventilated space is owned by rockers (Gao Xu, Gao Jian and Clement Burger) and known for late sets of hard rock, punk and ska, with weekend gigs and DJ sets every fortnight. It offers a long drinks menu, with plenty of cheap pastis and shooters, but you’ll probably stick to the RMB15 draught. > Daily, 7pm-late. Bldg B, 206 Gulou Dong Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区鼓楼东大街206号B楼202 (131 6107 0713)

Yugong Yishan 愚公移山 * We’ve lost more body weight than we’d care to remember in YY’s mosh pit. Fortunately, almost all the acts – usually hip-hop DJs, emo rocks and obscure indie outfits from across the globe – were worth it. The upstairs bar area is a refuge from the sweat glands below. > Daily 7pm-late. 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu (100m west of Zhangzizhong Lu subway station), Dongcheng 东 城区张自忠路3-2号(6404 2711）

Sports Bars The Local * Formerly Brussels, this beery bar has come into its own, with large (yet strangely unobtrusive) screenings of sports and political events, a pub quiz, quality fare and a nice selection of draughts and cocktails.

Try the Bourbon Street Ice Tea – you won’t need another. > Daily 11-2am. 4 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工 体北路4号院 (6591 9525)

Paddy O’Shea’s * An entire Irish-themed pub, which could easily been trasnsported, untouched, from a back alley in Limerick and gently deposited in central Beijing. With plenty going on, including pub quiz and sports.

> Dongzhimen: Daily 10am-late, 28 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区东直门外大街28号 (6592 6290); Sanlitun: 2/F, Tongli Studio, Sanlitun Back Street 三里屯北路43号同里二层 (6415 0299)

V Sports Spacious, comfortable, huge screens and no rowdy drunken cretins, V Sports makes a claim for the champion of Beijing sports bars. > Daily 5.30pm-6am, Gongti North Gate East side, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北门内东侧 (5293 0333)

Nightclubs Chocolate It’s impossible to discuss Chocolate without mentioning gold leaf, dwarves, cabaret dancers and oddly-friendly Russian women.

Timed right, a visit can be raucous fun, with bottles of spirits from around RMB200, cocktails under RMB50 (including the absinthe-based Flaming Armageddon) and regular floor shows. > Daily 7pm-6am. 19 Ritan Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区日 坛北路19号 (8561 3988)

Dada * It hasn’t been on the Beijing scene for too long, but already Dada is the hippest hangout in town. Their cosy Gulou confines under rock house Temple offer an intimate place to nod along to an eclectic range of all things electro from the best names on the underground scene. > Daily 9pm-late, Rm 101, Bldg B, 206 Gulou Dong Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区鼓楼东大街206号B栋101室 (183 1108 0818)

Lantern * Founded by now-defunct Acupuncture Records, Lantern is a beacon of light in the strip of truly ghastly nightclubs and bars known as ‘Gongti.’ Serious about its music, it also makes good drinks and attracts international electronica DJs. > Thurs-Sat 9pm-6.30am. 100m north of Worker’s Stadium West Gate, Chaoyang 朝阳区工人体育场西 门向北100米 (139 119 77989)

MIX A bit like a trip to the Forbidden City, Mix is one of those places in Beijing you have to experience before you leave. Not much is forbidden in this underground hip-hop disco palace and if you don’t leave with hook-up in tow then you’re doing something very wrong.

> Daily 8pm-6am, Inside Worker’s Stadium North Gate, Chaoyang 朝阳区工人体育场北门内 (6506 9888, 6530 2889, 150 1138 2219, mixclub@sohu.com)

The Bar at Migas * A place to dance and prowl, perhaps, rather than a drinks destination, TBAM, as no one calls it, focuses on upscale local DJs to get the party started. Good-enough cocktails range from RM55-70 but mostly it’s about the music, man. > Sunday to Wednesday 6pm-2am, Thursday to Friday 6pm-late. 6/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区三里屯路81号 (5208-6061)

Vics Separated at birth from its identical twin brother, Mix, this is the definition of Gongti sweatbox meat-market chic at its very finest. The Chinese love it – as do moody Russians and jailbait students – helping Vics to become one of the most infamous clubs in the capital.

> Daily 8.30pm late, Inside Worker’s Stadium North Gate, Chaoyang 朝阳区工人体育场北门内 (5293 0333)

Hotel Bars Atmosphere ¥¥ Beijing’s highest bar, on the 80th floor of the 1,082-ft China World Tower, offers 300+ swanky cocktails from RMB65 with 360-degree views of the 700AQI PM2.5. > Mon-Fri noon-2am, Sat and Sun noon-4am. 80/F, China World Summit Wing, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大街1号北京国贸大酒店80 (6505 2299 ext. 6433)

Centro ¥ Although it’s no longer quite the go-to place for beautiful people it once was, Centro still draws a cute crowd with its nightly jazz performaces, spacious and recently renovated lounge areas and classic drinks like the blue-cheese martini. > Open 24 hours. 1/F, Kerry Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华路1号北京嘉里大饭店1层 (6561 8833)

MEI One of the livelier hotel bars in town, MEI has a nightly band, serves creatively delicious cocktails and overlooks the CCTV ‘trousers.’ Don’t leave without trying the frightfully delicious Panjiayuan Bramble.

Mon-Wed 6pm-2am, Thu-Sat 6pm-3am, Sun 5pmmidnight; 5F Rosewood Beijing, Jing Guang Centre, Hujialou, Chaoyang District朝阳区呼家楼一号京广中 心北京瑰丽酒店3层 (6536 0083)

Building, 36 Guangshun Bei Dajie, Chaoyang 朝阳 区望京广顺北大街36号博泰国际商业广场3层T—5 (8472 2855)

Alona Pilates Studio Pairing up traditional Pilates with an innovative, full-body workout, Alona Pilates offers classes designed to tone and whip you into shape fast. It also provides a personalized experience for all its students, regardless of fitness, strength and flexibility levels. > Daily, 7.30, late. 5/F at Heavenly Spa by Westin, 1 Xinyuan Nanlu, Chaoyang 朝阳区新源南路1号威斯汀 酒店五层 ( 139 1029 0260, www.alonapilates.com)

Narcisse Beauty Brands Encompassed One of a kind! A 600 m2 brand-new concept of beauty salon——Narcisse, encompassed with professional brands on skincare, manicure and hair removal. Not only can we guarantee to give you the highest quality of products and treatments, but also an impressive one-stop beauty experience.

Brands inside Narcisse： Youngfo: Facial Cleansing Center Clean Out What’s Deeply Buried In Your Skin 10+10: Minimal-Design Nail Chic Workaholic’s Luv! Edelweiss: Laser Hair Removal Latest Technology, Safe&Permanent Deep Facial Cleaning- 880rmb/once

> 10.30am-10.30pm, Bldg. 1,No.6 West Fangyuan rd, Chaoyang (inside Narcisse Beauty Brands Encompassed)朝阳区芳园西路6号院1号楼水仙美容品 牌集合店内(5365 9418)

Daisy’s Beauty Salon Since 2001, Daisy’s beauty salon has catered to thousands of Beijing expats and locals and is renowned for its premium waxing services and imported wax that smells like hot chocolate. If waxing isn’t your thing, the salon also specializes in an array of other treatments including IPL Facial Rejuvenation and lifting, a 90-minute treatment that uses a laser to stimulate collagen production and soften lines. Laser and IPL permanent hair removal treatment is also proving popular and effective. > Daily, 10am-8.30pm, Rm301, Building B,Sunshine100 International Apartment, Guanghua Donglu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华东路2号阳光100国际 公寓B座301室 (5100 0556 / 0557, www.daisysbeautysalon.com)

Beijing Hikers Want to experience the wild, unrestored Great Wall, away from the tourist masses?

Or do you just want to get out of the city for some exercise? Beijing Hikers offers hikes in the countryside of Beijing every week all year round. Hikes for all fitness levels! Regular hikes are priced from RMB380, with discounts for members. Cost includes hiking guide, transportation, tickets, food and water. We’ve also got adventures all over China. > For more information, visit www.beijinghikers.com

Shang Xia

>L118 & 119, L1 China World Mall, China World Trade Center 1, Jianguomen Waidajie, Chaoyang 朝 阳区建国门外大街1号中国国际贸易中心国贸商城1楼 L118 & 119 (6505 3446)

Lily Nails

O’Bar With both a fantastic cocktail menu and one of the finest terraces in the city, NUO Hotel’s O’Bar is a sure bet for classy evening drinks in the city. >Sun-Thr:6pm-1am;Fri-Sat:6pm-2am;2 Jiangtai Lu,Chaoyang朝阳区将台路甲2号(5926 8888)

Xian 仙 Bold multi – element bar Xian on the ground floor mixes a pub, whiskey bar, live music venue and games room into one vibrant entertainment hotspot. >Daily 5pm-2am, 1/F, EAST Beijing, 22 Jiuxianqiao Lu,Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路22号东隅酒店1层 (8414 9810)

BEAUTY & FITNESS Black Golden Tanning Studio 古铜日晒中心 Beijing is hardly the best place to pick up a natural tan. When it finally reaches the warm summer, the sun’s rays struggle to penetrate the smog. Thankfully, Black Golden Tanning Studio is on hand to give you that golden glow with its quick, safe and effective technology. With a membership card, enjoy a 50-minute session for RMB400 and come away with natural, healthy-looking color.

> Sanlitun: 11am-9pm, 2/f, Bldg 3, Sanlitun SOHO, Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北路三里屯Soho3 号楼2层217 (5785 3711, jusonghao@hotmail.com); Wangjing: 11am-9pm, Rm T5, 3/F, BOTAI International

A long-time favorite among locals and expats alike, Lily Nails is much more than a nail spa; they eyelash services, of pampering treatments and waxing too.

>3.3 Flagship store: Daily 11am-11pm, Shop 5009, 5/F, 3.3 Fashion Plaza, Sanlitun, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯3.3大厦5层5009号(5136 5919); 3.3 Star store: Daily 11am-11pm, Shop 2049, 2/F, 3.3 Fashion Plaza, Sanlitun, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯 3.3大厦2层2049号(5136 5829); Yashow shopping mall: Daily 10am-10pm, Shop 22, 4/F, Yashow shopping Mall, Sanlitun, Chaoyang 朝阳区三 里屯雅秀购物中心4层22号(6416 6441); Shimao store: Daily 10am-10pm, Shop E301, 3/F, ShiMao shopping center, Sanlitun, Chaoyang 朝阳区 三里屯工体北路世茂购物中心3层E-301号(8590 0569 ); Ginza store: Daily 10am-10pm, Shop B1-

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LISTINGS 11H, Ginza Mall, Dongzhimen, Dongcheng 东 城区东直门东方银座Mall B1-11H号(8447 7178) ; CapitaMall Crystal store: Daily 10am-10pm, Shop B1-09,CapitaMall Crystal, Haidian 海淀区复 兴路51号凯德晶品购物中心B1-09号(8819 7078); CapitaMall Wangjing store: Daily 10am-10pm, Shop K01, 2/F, CapitaMall Wangjing store, Guangshun Beidajie, Chaoyang 朝阳区广顺北 大街凯德望京购物中心2层02-K1(5602 0736) ; Carrefour Siyuanqiao store: Daily 10am-10pm, Shop 08, 3/F, Carrefour Siyuanqiao store,Yiju Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区四元桥家乐福购物中心3层08号 (647 71889)

HAIR SALONS Laurent Falcon

membership also includes free towel usage and a fitness assessment. >South Tower, L4, 9 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang (4008 100-988,www,californiafitness.com)

Cycle China Inc. 北京非常之旅 Cycle China provides organized cycling and hiking tours in and aroundBeijing as well as longer tours throughout China. Some of their more popular tours take cyclists through the Olympic Green, Tian’anmen Square, and Beijing’s traditional hutongs.

>12 Jingshan East Street, Dongcheng 东城区景山东街 12号 (6402 5653 ,139 1188 6524)

Heyrobics “Sweat like a Swede!” they say with annoyingly smug grin and toned abs. The only fitness craze worth following in Beijing, Heyrobics is all about a punishing full-body workout set to pumping beats – not forgetting the fluorescent spandex. Differing classes for all abilities, check online for the full schedule. > www.heyrobics.com, info@heyrobics.com

Yihe 42° Hot Yoga 2 locations in Beijing: the best Yoga for Beginners! No previous experience necessary - and if your body is a bit stiff – that’s okay!

Yihe knows it can be a little intimidating to begin your journey into Yoga, so they are available to answer any questions you may have. It’s a great workout for the body and calming for the mind. Call them today on (5905 6067, 8599 7395)

> Daily 10am-8pm. 3/F, No. 2 South Building, Blue Castle, Dawang Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区大望路蓝堡国际 中心南写字楼2座3层 (8599 7395/96, www.yh42.com); 3/F, Bldg. 14, Solana, No. 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Xilu Chaoyang 朝阳区朝阳公园西路6号,蓝色港湾14号,三层 (5905 6065/67, www.yh42.com)

Broadwell International Tennis Academy Located inside Chaoyang Park’s Tennis Center, this indoor club boasts a complete state-of-the-art air-supported structure for all-weather year-round indoor tennis, with an advanced lighting system and controlled climate. Ideal for peeps looking to perfect their service and batting a few balls. > Nongzhan Nanlu, Chaoyang 朝阳区农南路1号朝 阳公园网球中心(400 6406 800/ 6595 8885, www. broadwell.cn1)

As China’s first REAL French hair salon we promise each and every one of our customers that we’ll treat your hair like it’s our own. We use only the finest imported products to guarantee that your experience with us is as relaxing and professional as possible. Come in and meet our specialist stylist and visit our facilities. Your hair deserves a true touch of French sophistication. Man cut 115RMB up; Women cut 165RMB up; Color 500RMB up; Highlight 610RMB up. > SanLiTun salon: No.43 Building, SanLiTun Beijie South, Chaoyang 朝阳区三里屯北街南43号楼 (6409 4243, 1350 137 2971); GuoMao Salon: 209, 2/F, Phase 3 China World Shopping Mall, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门外大街1号国贸商城北 区3L209(8535 1002, 1314 667 9913)Catherine de France

Catherine de France Awarded best expat salon in 2014/ 2015, with a trained team of international and local stylists, colorists and beauticians, this salon welcomes all ages and budgets in a modern and relaxed atmosphere for a wide range of hair and beauty treatments, include manicure, pedicure and waxing.

Wella, SP, INOA, TIGI Language: French, English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian.

> East Avenue BLD Ground Floor, No.10 Xindong Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区新东路10号逸盛阁首层(8442 5120, 135 2147 3492, eastavenue@catherinedefrance.com, Wechat: CDFSalon, www.catherinedefrance.com)

Blow+Bar This salon is equipped with more than shampoo – the team here provides haircuts, dye, updos, hair treatments and more. With prices for almost everything listed under RMB1,000, Blow+ is a haven of reasonably priced good taste in Sanlitun’s 3.3 Mall. They have champagne and a wellstocked bar, so bring your friends and make a night of it. >3/F 3.3 Mall, 33 Sanlitun Lu, Sanlitun, Chaoyang朝 阳区三里屯路33号3.3服3/F (for appointments, call 5136 5432)

Sport California Fitness Beijing Club California Fitness Beijing’s Group X program is among the best in the region, and with membership you have access to over 150 weekly Group X classes and a team of professional personal trainers in Asia. Your

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HEALTH SERVICES Amcare Women’s & Children’s Hospital With a zero waiting-time policy, top-quality inpatient facilities, home visits, night services and transportation assistance, Amcare provides a trustworthy experience. Englishspeaking services include pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics. > 9 Fangyuan XiLu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区芳园西 路9号 (6434 2399, 24hr hotline 800 610 6200, www. amcare.com.cn)

American-Sino OB/GYN/Pediatrics Services 北京美华妇儿医院

> 18 anyuan road,chaoyang district,Beijing 北京市朝 阳区安苑路18号 (8443 9666, bj.americanobgyn.com)

Beijing International Medical Center (IMC) Established in 1993, the International Medical Center-Beijing counts on an expert team of foreign doctors, offering a wide range of medical services, including family medicine, psychological services, dental, ob/gyn, pediatrics and TCM. Drop-in services for travelers; x-rays and ultrasounds are also available. English, Farsi, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Russian spoken. > 24hours. Room S106/111 Lufthansa Center, 50 Liangmahe Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区亮马桥路50号燕莎 中心写字楼1层S106 (6465 1561/2/3, 6465 1384/28, www.imclinics.com)

Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinics 北京和睦家医院

> Wi-fi internet. Lido, Emergency Room is open 24/7/365, Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5pm; 2 Jiangtai Road, Chaoyang District, 朝阳区将台路2号. (5927 7000 / 5927 7120 Emergency Hotline);United Family CBD Clinic和睦家朝外诊所 Mon-Sat, 9.30am-6.30pm, Suite 3017, Building AB, Vantone Center, 6 Chaowai Street, Chaoyang, 朝阳区朝阳门外大街6号万通中心 AB座2层3017室(5907 1266); Jianguomen Health and Wellness Center和睦家建国门保健中心, Wi-fi internet, Mon-Sun 8:30am-5pm, 21 Jianguomen Dajie, B1, The St. Regis Residence, St. Regis Hotel朝阳区建国门外大 街21号北京国际俱乐部饭店 ( 8532 1221 / 8532 1678 Immigration Clinic ); Shunyi Clinic和睦家顺义诊所, Wi-fi internet, Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat and Sun, 9.30am-4.30pm.Pinnacle Plaza, Unit 806, Tian Zhu Real Estate Development Zone, Shunyi District, 顺义区 天竺开发区荣祥广场806号(8046 5432); Shunyi Dental Clinic顺义牙科诊所, Wi-fi internet, Mon-Sat, 9.30am7.30pm, Pinnacle Plaza, Unit 818, Tian Zhu Real Estate Development Zone, Shunyi 顺义区天竺开发区荣祥广 场818号 (8046 1102) ; Liangma Clinic亮马诊所 , Wi-fi internet, Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5pm, 2nd Floor Grand Summit, 19 Dongfang East Road朝阳区东方东路19号 1号楼会所27号 外交人员公寓B区官舍16号 (5927 7005 www.ufh.com.cn, patientservices@ufh.com.cn)

Raffles Medical International SOS and Raffles Medical Group have formed a joint venture to enhance and expand the services of its China Clinics. From March 30 the International SOS clinics in China will be branded and operated by Raffles Medical with expanded services to all patients and privileged access for International SOS members. Patients of the clinic will continue to have access to the same doctors, the same facilities and same level of high quality care.

Raffles Medical Group is a leading medical provider in Singapore and has been operating for 40 years with over 100 clinics and hospitals in Asia. The joint venture is committed to maintain the high standard of quality with a focus on innovative and expanded clinical services and excellent patient care. > Suite 105, Wing 1, Kunsha Building, No.16 Xinyuanli, Chaoyang 朝阳区新源里16号琨莎中心1座105 室(6462 9112/ 6462 9100, www.internationalsos.com)

OASIS International Hospital OASIS International Hospital specializes in serving the expatriate community with the latest world-class technology and a broad range of services, all in a pristine facility designed to provide patients with the utmost comfort, care and privacy. > Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5.30pm; Sat-Sun, 8.30am12.30pm; 24 Hour Emergency Bldg C1, 9 Jiuxianqiao Beilu Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥北路9号C1栋 (400 876 2747, 5985 0333, www.oasishealth.cn)

Beijing HarMoniCare Women and Children’s Hospital 北京和美妇儿医院 > Wi-Fi available. Chaoyang: 2 Xiaoguan Beili, Beiyuan Lu 北苑路小关北里甲2号 (6499 0000. contact@hmcare.org, en.hmcare.net)

Hongkong International Medical Clinic, Beijing 北京港澳国际医务诊所

> Dongsishitiao: 9/F, Office Tower, Hongkong Macau Center-Swiss Hotel, 2 Chaoyangmen Bei Dajie 朝阳门 北大街2号 港澳中心瑞士酒店办公楼9层 (6553 9752, 6553 2288/2345/6/7; service@hkclinic.com; www. hkclinic.com)

DENTAL Arrail Dental Affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, Arrail Dental has access to top-class equipment. Its well-trained staff, multiple locations across town and excellent facilities make it one of the best dental providers in Beijing. English-speaking staff. Dental services including examinations, whitening, root-canal treatment, orthodontics and implants.

>Rm 201, the Exchange-Beijing, 118B Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国路乙118号国贸桥东南角京 汇大厦201室 (6567 5670); Rm 208, Tower A, CITIC Building, 19 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang 朝 阳区建国门外大街19号国际大厦A座208室 (6500 6473); Rm 308, Tower A, Raycom Info Tech Park 2 Kexueyuan Nanlu, Haidian 海淀区中关村科学院南路2 号融科资讯中心A座308室 (8286 1956); Rm 101, Bldg 16, China Central Place, 89 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国路89号华贸中心公寓16号楼101室 (8588 8550/60/70); 1/F, Somerset Fortune Garden, 46 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区亮马桥路46号燕莎 东侧盛捷福景苑1层 (8440 1926)

PrettySmile Dental If you are looking for professional and comfortable dental care, PrettySmile Dental ishighly recommended by many patients.

The clinic is standing out because of the professional team, all doctors are from the dental hospital of Peking University and most of them got professional training in USA. The strictest sterilization processes and high-end imported equipment and materials all help guarantee the highest quality of all dental services.

are at hand, including restorative dentistry and cosmetic dentistry. Call ahead for all appointments.

> 818 Pinnacle Plaza, Tianzhu Real Estate Development Zone, Shunyi 北京和睦家医院牙科诊所, 顺义区天竺开发区荣祥广场818 (8046 1102)

SDM Dental 固瑞齿科 The full spectrum of dentistry. Services include teeth cleaning, root-canal treatment, porcelain crowns, dental implants, orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, fillings, pediatric dentistry, extraction, teethwhitening and veneers. Credit cards accepted.

>Mon-Fri 9am-8pm. NB210, 2/F, CBD, Guomao, China World Shopping Mall, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie建外 大街1号国贸商城地下2层 (6505 9439/31/93, www. sdmdental.com); Mon-Fri 9am-8pm.Olympic Area,F0186B, Sunshine Plaza, 68 Anli Lu(east of Sunshine Plaza)亚运村安立路68号阳光广场东侧 (6497 2173,6498 2173) ; Mon-Sun 10am-19pm.LB07-08, Euro Plaza, No.99 YuXiang Road,Shunyi 北京顺义区 天竺镇裕翔路99号欧陆广场LB07-08号 (8046 6084); Mon-Fri 9am-8pm. FC222, 21st Century Hotel, 40 Liang Maqiao Lu,Sanyuanqiao 亮马桥40号21世纪饭 店2层 (6466 4814, 6461 2745); Mon-Fri 9am-8pm.

4076B, 4/F, New Yansha Mall, Yuanda Lu,Haidian 远 大路金源燕莎购物中心Mall4层4076B (8859 6912/13); Mon-Sun, 10am-7pm, Rm 5, 3/F, North Tower, China Overseas Plaza, 8 Guanghua Dongli 北京朝阳区光华 东里8号中海广场北楼3层05号(5977 2488)

Vista Medical Center 维世达诊所

> 24hours. Wi-Fi internet. 3/F Kerry Center. 1 Guanghua Lu 光华路1号嘉里中心商场3层 (8529 6618, vista@vista-china.net, www.vista-china.net)

Beijing New Century Harmony Pediatric Clinic

> Shunyi, K-01, Building No.19, Harmony Business Centre, Liyuan Street, Tianzhu Town 天竺镇丽苑街荣 和商业中心19号楼K-01 (6456 2599; harmonypeds@ ncich.com.cn, www.ncich.com.cn)

Beijing Passion International Medical Center This full-service international clinic provides 24-hr general medical care and a patient-centered attitude. Beijing Passion International Medical Center is equipped with the latest in medical technology and is designed to support the comfort, safety and privacy of patients.

> 24hours, B1/F, Borui Building, 26 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东三环北路26号博瑞大厦B1层 (6517 7667, www.passion-medical.com)

Parkway Health Clinic

> Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm; CBD, 1-2/F, Vantone Center, 6 Chaowai Street 朝阳门外大街甲六号万通中心AB 座一二层 (4000 662 -882, 24hrs; enquiry@parkwayhealth.cn; www.parkwayhealth.cn); No.101-201, Beijing link, block2, No.6 Yuan, Jing Shun Dong Street, Chaoyang 朝阳区京顺东街6号院2号楼北京 Link101-201室

IDC Dental

>Daily: 9am-6pm, Room 209, Bldg 7, Richmond Park Clubhouse, Fangyuan Nanli, Chaoyang 朝阳区芳园南里 丽都水岸会所209 (6538 8111, info@idcdentalbj.com)

EDUCATION Mandarin Schools Gloria Chinese School Focusing on teaching Chinese, making sure your improvements, organizing taskbased. practical activities and providing 180-day student visa.

>R202 East Building, No.78 Maizidian Street, Chaoyang 朝阳区麦子店街78号一幢二层202室(6500 8201. WeChat:1381 186 4656,www.gloriachinese.com)

The Frontiers School

>Mon-Fri, 9.30am-6pm (closed Thu); 5-105-1, Building 5, Sanlitun SOHO Chaoyang 朝阳区三里 屯SOHO 5号商场1层5-105 (5785 3689/5785 3898, www.prettysmiledental.cn, psd3898@163.com)

Joinway Dental A reputable and trusted dental practice, Joinway Dental provides the perfect combination of cutting edge technology and comfortable treatment, while maintaining the strictest sanitary and sterilization processes. The clinic uses high-quality imported materials, and its professional, US-trained staff offers a personalized and private service.

> Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm; 11D, Building D, Oriental Kenzo Plaza (Ginza Mall), 48 Dongzhimen Wai Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区东直门外大街48号东方银座D座 11D (8447 6092/93, mobile:1326 181 6708, joinway@dentalcn.com, www.dentalcn.com)

United Family Shunyi Dental Clinic The Beijing United Family Dental Clinic in Shunyi is a satellite of the main hospital in Lido (which has its own dental clinic onsite). A comprehensive range of services

Join the friendly and professional team at Frontiers, who’ve been teaching Mandarin for 11 years. > 3/F, Bldg 30, Dongzhongjie, Dongzhimenwai, Dongcheng 东城区东直门外东中街30号三层 (6413 1547, www.frontiers.com.cn, frontiers@frontiers. com.cn)

Hutong School Learn Mandarin with Beijing’s best Mandarin school, Hutong School. Our expe-

LISTINGS rienced teachers will customize your classes and help you learn in a fun environment. >Room 1501, 15/F, Zhongyu Plaza, A6 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北路甲6号中宇大厦1501室

The Bridge School 北京桥汉语言学校

>The Bridge School Head office, Room 503, 5/F, Guangming Hotel, 42 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝 阳区亮马桥路42号光明饭店5层503室(186 1244 1282 Grettchin)

International Schools Canadian International School of Beijing 北京加拿大国际学校 Located in the Third Embassy Quarter of downtown Beijing, the Canadian International School of Beijing (CISB) opened its doors in September 2006. This world-class facility offers an internationally recognized Canadian & IB PYP, IB MYP and IBDP education. The Canadian International School of Beijing develops the whole child in an environmentally sensitive school within a kind, caring community to become a citizen of the world. > 38 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区亮马桥路38 号 (6465 7788,www.cisb.com.cn)

Springboard International Bilingual School 君诚国际双语学校 Springboard International Bilingual School is a place where children, staff and parents work in partnership to enable all their students to realize their full potential. They are offering a stimulating and full international curriculum as well as an exciting after school program, which will include Kung Fu, calligraphy, health and fitness and football. > 15 Gucheng Duan, Huosha Lu, Houshayu Town, Shunyi 顺义区后沙峪镇火沙路古城段15号 (8049 2450; www.sibs.com.cn, office@sibs.com.cn)

The British School of Beijing 北京英国学校 The British School of Beijing, established in 2003, has campuses in Shunyi (primary & secondary) and Sanlitun (primary). BSB offers an enhanced English National Curriculum to 1,500 expatriate students, aged 1 to 18, beginning with Early Years Foundation Stage, Primary, Secondary, IGCSE exams in Year 10 and 11 and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme in Year 12 and 13. Admission & Fees: RMB102,993246,057. Contact our Admissions team to arrange a school tour.

> Mon-Fri, 8am-4.30pm, South Side, 9 An Hua Street, Shunyi 顺义区安华街9号南侧 (8047 3558, www.britishschool.org.cn, admissions@britishschool.org.cn)

Western Academy of Beijing 京西国际学校 The Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) is a creative and innovative IB World School built upon a solid foundation of core values and our mission to Connect, Inspire, Challenge; Make a Difference. Our students exemplify these values through their awareness of the world around them, service to others, can-do spirit and commitment to excellence. WAB graduates are accepted into world-class colleges and universities across the globe. > 10 Lai Guang Ying Dong Lu, Chao Yang 朝阳区来广 营东路10号(5986 5588)

3e International 北京3e国际学校

>9-1 Jiangtai Xilu Chaoyang 朝阳区将台西路9-1号(四 德公园旁) (6437 3344 , www.3eik.com)

Beijing City International School 北京乐成国际学校 Located in Beijing’s Central Business District, Beijing City International School (BCIS) lives by its motto: “Empowering and Inspiring through Challenge and Compassion.” This non-profit, independent co-educational day school offers an international curriculum under the International Baccalaureate (IB) World School system and is authorized to teach all three IB programs (Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma Programme).

> 77 Baiziwan Nan’er Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区百子湾南 二路77号 (8771 7171, www.bcis.cn)

The International Montessori School of Beijing 北京蒙台梭利国际学校 Founded in 1990, MSB is Beijing’s first fully registered international Montessori school.

The school also boasts an unsurpassed dual Mandarin/English program geared towards helping students achieve fluency in either language from an early age. Curriculum aside, MSB boasts spacious classrooms, a high teacher-student ratio and impressive staff longevity. Tuition: RMB98,000 - RMB177,000/year. > Bldg 8, 2A, Xiangjiang Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区香 江北路甲2号院8号楼 (6432 8228 ext. 800, www.msb. edu.cn, admissions@msb.edu.cn)

Beijing BISS International School 北京BISS国际学校

> Building 17, Area 4, Anzhen Xili Chaoyang 朝阳区 安贞西里4区17楼 (6443 3151 www.biss.com.cn)

Beijing World Youth Academy 北京世青国际学校 Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA) is an international school for students of all nationalities ages 6 to 18, offering programs on its campuses conveniently located in Wangjing and Lido. An IB World School since 2001, BWYA values holistic education and seeks to give students ample opportunity to develop as globally-aware critical thinkers. A wide varity of co-curricular activities are offered to further enrich student life. Graduates of BWYA have been accepted at prestigious universities around the world. Age range: 6-18. Tuition: RMB 100,000- 140,000/year.

> Mon-Fri, 8am-4.30pm. 18 Huajiadi Beili, Wangjing, Chaoyang Inside 94 Middle school 北京市朝阳 区望京花家地北里18号(6461 7787 ext.32, 8454 3478/0649, admissions@ibwya.net, www.ibwya.net)

La Maison Montessori de Pekin 北京中法双语蒙氏儿童之家 The first bilingual French-Chinese Montessori kindergarten in Beijing, it welcomes children between ages 2 to 6 years old.

The kindergarten is located in a beautiful courtyard in the hutongs. Schedule: Monday to Friday: 8:30am to 3:30pm. After class activities also offered. > 50 Dongsi Shisitiao, Dongcheng 东城区东四十四条 50号 (131 2025 0341/ 8401 3974; lamaisonmontessoripk@gmail.com; www.lamaisonmontessoridepk. com)

Beijing Mandarin School Established in 1998, Beijing Mandarin School is the city’s top institute for teaching spoken and written Mandarin as a second language, more than 5,000 students from over 66 countries and more than 80 companies and embassies have successfully learned with us each year. Also recognized and recommended by BBC News as one of the most professional Chinese language school. > E-tower School(Guomao Area): Room 904-905, 9/F E-tower Building E数码世界9层904-905(6508 1026/1126); Guangming Hotel School (Embassy Area): Room 0709, 7/F Guangming Hotel(near U.S Embassy) 光明饭店7层0709室 美国大使馆附近 (84418391, info@beijingmandarinschool.com, www. beijingmandarinschool.com, Skype ID: beijingmandarinschool1998)

Beijing City International School 北京乐成国际学校 Located in Beijing’s Central Business District, Beijing City International School (BCIS) lives by its motto: “Empowering and Inspiring through Challenge and Compassion.” This non-profit, independent co-educational day school offers an international curriculum under the International Baccalaureate (IB) World School system and is authorized to teach all three IB programs (Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma Programme). > 77 Baiziwan Nan’er Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区百子湾南 二路77号 (8771 7171, www.bcis.cn)

The International Montessori School of Beijing 北京蒙台梭利国际学校 Founded in 1990, MSB is Beijing’s first fully registered international Montessori school.

The school also boasts an unsurpassed dual Mandarin/English program geared towards helping students achieve fluency in either language from an early age. Curriculum aside, MSB boasts spacious classrooms, a high teacher-student ratio and impressive staff longevity. Tuition: RMB98,000 - RMB177,000/year. > Bldg 8, 2A, Xiangjiang Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区香 江北路甲2号院8号楼 (6432 8228 ext. 800, www.msb. edu.cn, admissions@msb.edu.cn)

La Maison Montessori de Pekin 北京中法双语蒙氏儿童之家 The first bilingual French-Chinese Montessori kindergarten in Beijing, it welcomes children between ages 2 to 6 years old.

The kindergarten is located in a beautiful courtyard in the hutongs. Schedule: Monday to Friday: 8:30am to 3:30pm. After class activities also offered. > 50 Dongsi Shisitiao, Dongcheng 东城区东四十四条 50号 (131 2025 0341/ 8401 3974; lamaisonmontessoripk@gmail.com; www.lamaisonmontessoridepk. com)

Beijing World Youth Academy 北京世青国际学校 Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA) is an international school for students of all nationalities ages 6 to 18, offering programs on its campuses conveniently located in Wangjing and Lido. An IB World School since 2001, BWYA values holistic education and seeks to give students ample oppor-

tunity to develop as globally-aware critical thinkers. A wide varity of co-curricular activities are offered to further enrich student life. Graduates of BWYA have been accepted at prestigious universities around the world. Age range: 6-18. Tuition: RMB 100,000- 140,000/year.

> Mon-Fri, 8am-4.30pm. 18 Huajiadi Beili, Wangjing, Chaoyang Inside 94 Middle school 北京市朝阳 区望京花家地北里18号(6461 7787 ext.32, 8454 3478/0649, admissions@ibwya.net, www.ibwya.net)

Beijing Mandarin School Established in 1998, Beijing Mandarin School is the city’s top institute for teaching spoken and written Mandarin as a second language, more than 5,000 students from over 66 countries and more than 80 companies and embassies have successfully learned with us each year. Also recognized and recommended by BBC News as one of the most professional Chinese language school. > E-tower School(Guomao Area): Room 904-905, 9/F E-tower Building E数码世界9层904-905(6508 1026/1126); Guangming Hotel School (Embassy Area): Room 0709, 7/F Guangming Hotel(near U.S Embassy) 光明饭店7层0709室 美国大使馆附近 (84418391, info@beijingmandarinschool.com, www. beijingmandarinschool.com, Skype ID: beijingmandarinschool1998)

Harrow International School Beijing 北京哈罗英国学校 www.harrowbeijing.cn Harrow International School Beijing prides itself on its high academic standards, a close-knit school community, a rich extracurricular activity program and the quality of its pastoral care provision. Leadership skills are promoted school-wide, with a range of enrichment activities to help students develop teamwork and creative thinking skills, as well as independence and responsibility. Students graduating from Harrow Beijing have won places at a range of universities across the world including Princeton, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge. > Address: 287, Hegezhuang, Cuigezhuang County, Chaoyang 朝阳区崔各庄乡何各庄村 287 号 (8610 6444 8900 Ext. 6900 Fax: 10 6445 3870 ,enquiries@ harrowbeijing.cn)

Yew Chung International School 耀中国际学校 Located in downtown Honglingjin Park since 1995, Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing) offers a truly international curriculum for children of foreign nationals in China. The school follows the National Curriculum for England but also integrates an extensive Chinese language and culture program, allowing foreign nationals to get the best out of their time in China. YCIS Beijing is one of only five schools in China accredited by three separate accreditation organizations and has a 100 percent pass rate within the IGCSE and IB programs. In addition, YCIS Beijing is the only international school in China to receive the Cambridge Award for Excellence in Education from the University of Cambridge International Examinations. > Honglingjin Park, 5 Houbalizhuang, Chaoyang 朝阳区后八里庄5号红领巾公园 (8583 3731,www. ycis-bj.com)

Beijing BISS International School 北京BISS国际学校

> Building 17, Area 4, Anzhen Xili Chaoyang 朝阳区 安贞西里4区17楼 (6443 3151 www.biss.com.cn)

Kindergartens House of Knowledge International Kinde garten (HOK) House of Knowledge International kindergarten (HOK) has locations in both Shunyi and Chaoyang. Both locations offer a Kindergarten program for children aged 10 months to 6 years (Pre-school). Students are treated as competent learners and the school emphasizes critical thinking and collaboration skills, in an environment where children “Lean to Learn”. In additional, the Shunyi location also has a elementary school starting from grade 1 in September 2014. > Quanfa Gardens Campus: North gate of Quanfa compound, 15 Maquanying, Chaoyang District 朝阳区马泉营15号泉发花园北门 (6431 8452, www.hokschools.com);Victoria Gardens Campus: 15 Chaoyang Gongyuan Xilu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区朝阳公园西路15号维 多利亚花园公寓(6538 2624, www.hokschools. com)

EtonKids International Kindergarten 伊顿国际幼儿园 > LidoRoom C103 Lido Country Club, Lido Place Jichang Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区蒋台路机场路丽 都广场 (6436 7368 www.etonkids.com) ;3/F, Block D Global Trade Mansion Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华路世贸国际公寓D座3层 ( 6506 4805) ; Southwest corner of Beichen Xilu and Kehui Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区 北辰西路与科荟路交汇处西南角(8437 1006); Kehui Lu, Chaoyang, Beijing 朝阳区科荟路大

屯里社区(8480 5538) ;Bldg 19, Central Park, 6 Chaowai Dajie Chaoyang 朝阳区朝外大街6 号新城国际19号楼 (6533 6995); Palm Springs International Apartments 8 Chaoyang Park Nanlu Chaoyang 朝阳区朝阳公园南路8号棕榈 泉国际公寓 (6539 8967); Bldg 21, Guangqu Jiayuan, Guangqumen- wai, Dongcheng东城区 广渠门外广渠家园21号楼 (6749 5008); Baoxing International Phase 2, Wangjing Chaoyang朝阳 区望京宝星园国际社区2期 (8478 0578); Block 1, Arcadia Villas, Houshayu Shunyi 顺义区后沙峪罗 马环岛北侧天北路阿凯笛亚庄园1座(8047 2983); 20A Xidawang Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区西大 望路甲20号首府社区内 (5870 6779)

Beanstalk International Bilingual School 青苗国际双语学校 > Kindergarten: 1/F, Tower B, 40 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区亮马桥路40号B座一层 (6466 9255); Primary School: Block 2, Upper East Side, 6 Dongsihuan Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区 东四环北路6号阳光上东二区 (5130 7951);Middle & High School : 38 Nan Shiliju, Chaoyang朝阳区 南十里居38号 (8456 6019)

Ivy Schools 艾毅幼儿园

> www.ivyschools.com ; East Lake Campus C-101, East Lake Villas, 35 Dongzhimenwai Main Street, Dongcheng 东城区东直门外大街35号东 湖别墅C座101室(8451 1380/1) ; Ivy Bilingual School 艾毅双语幼儿园 Ocean Express Campus: Building E, Ocean Express, 2 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东三环北路2号远洋新干 线E座 (8446 7286/7) ;Orchid Garden Campus: Orchid Garden, 18 Xinjin Lu, Cuige Xiang, Chaoyang 朝阳区崔各乡新锦路18号卓锦万代 (8439 7080); Wangjing Campus: Kylin Zone, Bldg 11, Fuan Xilu, Wangjing, Chaoyang 朝 阳区望京阜安西路11号楼合生麒麟社内 (5738 9166/1332 110 6167) ; Rm106, warehouse4, 653 Waima Lu, by Wangjia Matou Lu 外马路653 号4库106室, 近王家码头路 (3376 8308)

MBA & EMBA Schools Rutgers International Executive MBA

> 5/F China Life Tower, 16 Chaowai Dajie Chaoyang 朝阳区朝阳门外大街16号中国人寿大厦 (5877 1706, www.rutgersinasia.com)

BBA at BFSU-SolBridge 北京外国语大学国际商学院

> 19 Xisanhuan Beilu, Haidian, 海淀区西三环北 路19号 (solbridge.bfsu.edu.cn, 8881 6563/8881 6763/8881 8537)

LEMBA The Leadership EMBA from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business is a unique learning experience in Beijing. The program offers world class executive and leadership education from some of the best professors the world has to offer. Every month one of the professors from the University of Maryland comes to Beijing to instruct the class for 4 consecutive > days (Thurs – Sun). The program lasts 18 months; the impact lasts a lifetime. (8526 2528/29, beijing@ rhsmith.umd.edu)

Other Atelier Art School 阿特黎尔艺术工坊 Atelier is the reference art school for artistic education for all ages and profiles in Beijing. Founded in 2012 by a team of french professionals, Atelier offers a high quality instruction, with sensibility, creativity and openness to the world in the center of its educational programs. >Sanlitun campus: C202, Jinxiuyuan, Xingfucun Zhonglu, Chaoyang 朝阳区幸福村中路锦绣园C202 (6416 1614 / 132 4018 4908); Shunyi campus: 204205, Bldg 2, Central Park, 16 Yufeng Lu, Shunyi (Go to 2/F from Entrance A of Commercial Buildings) 顺 义区裕丰路16号院会展誉景2号楼204-205 商铺A入口 2楼 (5686 4243 / 151 1009 8260, contact@atelier. cn.com, www.atelier.cn.com)

Bookstores The Bookworm * This glass cube looks over Sanlitun Village, providing a cozy atmosphere for browsing bibliophiles. The Western bookstore, library, film house, bar, bistro-cafe and event space always has a cultured evening on its shelves for both adults and kids. > Daily 9am-2am. Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 三里屯南街4号楼 (6586 9507, www.beijingbookworm.com)

Page One The go-to shop for new releases and special requests. With sister venues in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and two locations in Beijing, its network allows for fresh authors whilst upholding an extensive collection of titles.

> Daily 10am-9pm. Shop 3B 201, Zone 3 China World Mall, No.1 Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue, Chaoyang District 朝阳区国贸商城三期地下二层3B201 (8535 1055, www.pageonegroup.com); Page One Indigo.

Shop LG50, INDIGO, 18 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区酒仙桥路18号颐堤港商业中心B1楼50号 (8426 0408, www.pageonegroup.com)

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CLASSIFIEDS ACCOMMODATION

Ascott Beijing >No.108B Jianguo Road,Chaoyang District,Beijing 北京市朝阳区建国路乙108号 (6587 0888) Ascott Raffles City Beijing Located in Dongzhimen, one of the most vibrant areas, Ascott Raffles City is near the second embassy district, which is rich in cultural heritage and is only a 15 minute drive to The Forbidden City.

Other nearby leisure attractions include Food Street (Gui Jie) and Sanlitun nightlife district. > No.1-2 Dongzhimen South Street Dongcheng District Tel: 8405 3888 Ascott Raffles City Chengdu > No. 3, Section 4, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu 610041, China Post code: 610041,Telephone:(86-28) 6268 2888 ,Facsimile:(86-28) 6268 2889 ,GDS Code: AZ, Reservations Telephone:400 820 1028 (China toll-free) ;(86-512) 6763 1021 Email:enquiry.china@the-ascott.com Beijing Kerry Residence Whether you’re a single business executive or a busy family, Beijing Kerry’s fullyfurnished 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments will feel just like home. As well as enjoying all the comforts of modern living – including a well-equipped kitchen, entertainment systems, high-speed broadband and much more – residents are just moments away from the Kerry Centre’s shopping mall and sports facilities. The rest of the CBD is on your doorstep too. >1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华路1 号 (8535 6888, www.beijingkerryresidence. com) Lusongyuan Hotel A traditional compound of quadrangle composing of 5 courtyards which lies in the "hutong" area of Beijing. The hotel building is famous for its imperial living taste of the Qing Dynasty with a history of nearly 170 years. The original owner of this large private house was the Grand General SenggeRinchen, who lived here while he carried out top official duties, such as defense minister. > Tel: (86 10) 6404 0436, Fax: (86 10) 6403 0418 , Address:No.22 Banchang Lane , Kuanjie, Dongcheng District 东城区宽街板 厂胡同22号 www.the-silk-road.com, E-mail: webmaster@the-silk-road.com Lee Garden Service Apartments A newly renovated high-end premier living residence in a central location next to the shopping and cultural sites of Beijing’s Wangfujing, suites range from studios to 4-bedroom apartments (60-610sqm in size) and are tastefully furnished with specially selected materials. > 18 Jinyu Hutong, Wangfujing, Dongcheng (100m East of Sun Dong An Plaza) 东城区 王府井金鱼胡同18号 (新东安东侧100米); 24hr front desk: 6525 8855, Fax: 6525 8080, general.manager@lgapartment.com, www. lgapartment.com) FraserSuite CBD Beijing The ultimate luxury in apartment living, Fraser Suites CBD Beijing epitomizes style and comfort, that surpasses the service level of many Beijing hotels. The 357 Gold-Standard Beijing apartment features contemporary concepts designed for luxury living. > 12 Jintong Xilu Chaoyang District Beijing Tel: 5908 6000 GTC RESIDENCE BEIJING One of the top residences in Beijing, GTC Residence is located beside the third ring road with 5 minutes’ walk to subway line 5 , 10 minutes’ drive to Hou Hai . It is also within easily reach of CBD, embassy area, Financial Street and other urban commercial,shopping and recreation areas.

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Fully equipped apartments with impeccable quality offer you a cozy living system and will meet all of your requirements for room decoration, furniture, electric appliances etc..

Unique sky garden with golf practice field and barbecue area is another symbol of GTC Residence. > sales@gtcresidence.com, website: www. gtcresidence.com Tel:56756666 Marriott Executive Apartments Ideally located in the center of Wangfujing area where the prestigious business, commercial, entertainment, and shopping center of Beijing. The Imperial Mansion, Beijing – Marriott Executive Apartments reflects an exceptional level of luxury. > Gate, No. 1 Xiagongfu Street, Dongcheng District Tel: 6564 9999

The Millennium Residences of the Beijing Fortune Plaza The Millennium Residences of the Beijing Fortune Plaza is located in the heart of the Beijing CBD which bears the most momentously potential of development and value elevation. While 25 minutes away from the Beijing International Airport, the Millennium Residences is walking distance from nearly all Embassies. > 7 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu Chaoyang District. Tel: 8588 2888 Oak Chateau Beijing Oak Chateau Beijing has 236 stylish and contemporary fully serviced apartments from studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four bedroom suites available, measuring 64 to 260 square meters. There is a 24-hours guest reception, and housekeeping is offered twice a week.

Nestled within the landscaped gardens of the Ocean Express commercial and residential complex, Oak Chateau Beijing is very close to the third Embassy Area and shopping and dinning services at the Beijing Lufthansa Center. There are only 19 kilometers to the Beijing Capital Airport. >北京市朝阳区东三环霞光里66号远洋新干线 D座 邮编 100027 Block D, Ocean Express, 66 Xiaguang Li, Third East Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027, P.R.C Tel: (86-10) 84465888 Fax: (86-10) 84465999 Email oak.chateau@oakchateau.com Website: www.oakchateau.com Oakwood Residence Beijing Oakwood Residence Beijing offers 406 fully equipped luxury apartments ranging from studios to four bedroom penthouse and terrace apartments, all exquisitely furnished in elegant and stylish decor. Each apartment is fitted with a state-of-the-art air purification and air conditioning system which ensures 99.9% pure, triple filtered air, so you can trust in Oakwood and breathe easy. > No. 8 Dongzhimenwai Xiejie, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027, China reschaoyang@oakwoodasia.com Website: www.oakwoodasia.com/resbeijing Tel: 5995 2888 Fax: 5995 2999 Oakwood Residence Damei Beijing The only serviced apartment in the city that has its own in-house supply of natural hot spring water supply. Expansive city views are available from floor to ceiling windows with the apartments situated from level 23 to 35 in the building complex.

The 171 stylish contemporary serviced residences range from studios to threebedroom apartments and offer an elegant range of amenities and facilities to ensure each resident’s stay is comfortable and well taken care of.

Building No.1 Damei Center, 7 Qingnian Road, Chaoyang District Beijing北京市朝阳 区青年路7号达美中心1号楼 Tel: 86-10 8585 2211 (8:30am-5:30pm) 86-10 8585 2888 (5:30pm-8:30am) Fax: (86-10) 8585 2666 website OakwoodAsia.com

THE WESTIN EXECUTIVE RESIDENCES The Westin Executive Residences at The Beijing Financial Street offer an array of world-class cuisine options and Westin’s signature amenities designed to elicit personal renewal. Just 40 minutes from the airport, the Westin Executive Residences provides direct access to Beijing’s business, entertainment and shopping district and close proximity to cultural landmarks such as The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Each apartment is also fitted with contemporary furnishings, fully equipped kitchens, state-of-the-art appliances, home entertainment system and LCD flat screen televisions. > Email: reservation.beijing@westin.com Website: www.westin.com/beijingfinancial Tel: 6606 8866

BUSINESS CENTER Regus Serviced Office 雷格斯服务式办公室 •Flexible office leases from 1 day to 1 year •Quick and easy to set up for 1-200 people •Prices from RMB180 per month •Find more on Regus.cn •Tel: 400 120 1207 >> BEIJING (20 LOCATIONS) << Lei Shing Hong Plaza [New] 北京利星行广场 5/F, Tower C, Lei Shing Hong Plaza, No.8 Wangjing Street, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区望京街8号利星行广场C座5层 Sun Dong An Plaza [New] 北京新东安广场 7/F, Office Tower 2, Sun Dong An Plaza, No.138 Wangfujing, Avenue, Dongcheng District 北京市东城区王府井大街138号新东 安广场写字楼2座7层 Zhongyu Mansion [New] 北京中宇大厦 6/F, Zhongyu Mansion, No.6 North Workers Stadium Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区工体北路甲6号中宇大厦6层 Diplomatic [New] 北京亮马桥外交办公大楼 17/F, Tower E, Liangmaqiao, Diplomatic Office Building, 3rd Embassy District, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区第三使馆区 亮马桥外交办公大楼E座17层 Kerry Centre - South Tower [New] 北京嘉里中心-南楼 10/F, South Tower, Kerry Centre, No.1 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心南楼10层 Landgent Building [Coming Soon] 北京乐成中心 5/F, Block A, Landgent Center, No.20 East Middle 3rd Ring Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区东三环中路20号乐成中心A座5层 China World Tower 3 北京国贸三期 15/F, China World Tower 3, No.1 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区建国门外大街1号国贸中心3座 15层 China Central Place 北京华贸中心 9/F, Tower 2, China Central Place, No.79 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区建国路79号华贸中心2号楼9层 Lufthansa Centre 北京燕莎中心 C203, Lufthansa Centre, No.50 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区亮马桥路50号燕莎中心C203 Kerry Centre 北京嘉里中心 11/F, North Tower, Kerry Centre, No.1 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心北楼11层 Pacific Century Place 北京盈科中心

14/F, IBM Tower, No.2A North Workers Stadium Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区工体北路甲2号IBM大厦14层 Parkview Green 北京侨福芳草地中心 15/F, Office Building A Parkview, Green, No.9 Dongdaqiao Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区东大桥路8号芳草地办公楼A座 15层 China Life Tower 北京中国人寿大厦中心 5/F, China Life Tower, No.16 Chaoyangmenwai Street, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区朝阳门外大街16号中国人寿大 厦5层 China Life – West 北京中国人寿大厦-西 West, 5/F, China Life Tower, No.16 Chaoyangmenwai Street, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区朝阳门外大街16号中国人寿大 厦5层西区 IFC 北京财源国际中心 10/F, IFC East Tower, No.8 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区建国 门外大街甲8号财源国际中心东座10层 Prosper Center 北京世纪财富中心 6/F, Tower 2, Prosper Center, No.5 Guang Hua Road, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区 光华路5号世纪财富中心2号楼6层 Financial St. Excel Centre 北京金融街卓著中心 12/F, Financial Street Excel, Centre, No.6 Wudinghou Street, Xicheng District 北京市 西城区武定侯街6号卓著国际金融中心12层 NCI Centre 北京新华保险大厦中心 15/F, NCI Tower, No.12A Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 北京市朝阳区建国 门外大街甲12号新华保险大厦15层 Taikang Financial Tower 北京泰康金融大厦 23/F, Taikang Financial Tower, No.38 East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District 北京市 朝阳区东三环北路38号泰康金融大厦23层 Zhongguancun Metropolis Tower 北京中关村欧美汇大厦 7/F, Metropolis Tower, No.2 Dongsan Street, Zhongguancun Xi Zone, Haidian District 北京 市海淀区中关村西区东三街2号欧美汇大厦7层 Servcorp Smart businesses understand that flexibility is the future of the workplace. They choose the world's finest Serviced Offices to grow their businesses, run critical projects and give their people flexibility.

Level 26 Fortune Financial Center, 5 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang 朝阳区 东三环中路5号财富金融中心26层 (Servcorp. com.cn; tel: 5775 0310; fax: 5775 0350) Need flexible and affordable ready workspace to enhance your business or register a representative office for your temporary projects in Beijing? We have the perfect solution. Located within a Grade-A building in the popular Lufthansa Business Area, our work-spaces provide you, or your company, with the ideal business identity, and most importantly, come with the most competitive rates to minimize your cost and risks. > Gateway Plaza, Tower A, Suite 16D , NE 3rd Ring Road, Chaoyang 朝阳区东三环 北路霞光里18号佳程广场A座16D T:01084400606 M:15910782518 Cynthia LU CSO (Singapore) Beijing Business Center We have 10 years experience in managing serviced offices in the Asia and Pacific region, and our headquarters is in Singapore. CSO Beijing is our first business center in China . We are mainly providing fully renovated and equipped offices to clients for immediate use, and all the serviced offices can be used as

CLASSIFIEDS incorporation purpose, and we offer maximum flexibility and complete smart office system to help our clients save cost. We also provide virtual offices, meeting room and conference room, video conferencing, incorporation services and many other services.

Level 6, Sun Palace Building, Taiyanggong, Beijing Ms. Stephanie Yan, Mobile: 18210080591, Email: sales.beijing@ corporateso.com, Website: www.csochina. cn, Tel: 86 10 64697000

BEAUTY SERVICES Black Golden Tanning Salon Sanlitun Branch Grand Opening Black Golden Tanning Salon is the only fivestar China flagship store by Ergoline. As the 2011 model of Ergoline Esprit 770’s, to bring a continuous tanning effect 25% above standard machines with unique aquacool and aroma functions, we provide customers with the safest and most comfortable tanning space. > Open time:11:00-21:00 Sanlitun SOHO Branch 2rd Floor Building 3, Sanlitun SOHO,Chaoyang District Tel: 57853711; Wangjing Branch Add: Room T5 3rd Floor, BOTAI International Building, No. 36 North Guangshun Street, Wangjing, Chaoyang District, Website: www.bjtanning.com Tel: 84722855

*English -speaking driver *Long-short term leasing *Airport-Pick up/Drop off *Sedan, Van and Bus We, ES-PATS Life Group, also serves with Mandarin, housemaid, Visa, driver, driving license, vehicle registration service.

Tel: 6438 1634, 1350 123 7292, service@ expatslife.com www.expatslife.com Beijing Top Rate Car Rental Service Co., Ltd *Long/Short term leasing *Daily car service *Sifht-seeing car service, Tailor-made car service *Airport-Pick up/Drop off *Sedan (Audi A6, Audi A6L, VWPassat, Accord, Lacross 2.4, Benz MB100, Benz Vito, Hyundai) and Buses *Native drivers with good English *More information please contact Tel:6504 7266/6504 7256 FAx:6504 7256 www.sxsdcar.com Email:car-rental@live.com

CONSULTING SERVICE Harris Corporate Services Ltd Beijing | Shanghai | Guangzhou | Hong Kong

LA BELLEZA La Belleza means Beauty and Aesthetics in Spanish. Professional hair-designers from Hong Kong ,Korea and China gather here.

LA BELLEZA is the hairdressing salon for you with its pleasant atmosphere, excellent service, and finest products.

New haircut! Good mood! Excellent life!

Add: F4 No.408, Jinbao Place .Jinbao Street No88,Dongcheng District, Beijing, china.

Website: www.labelleza.com.cn Tel: 010 8522 1626

Established since 1972

MegaSun Tanning Salon As the only flagship store for this popular German tanning salon, megaSun Tanning will provide for each client the finest sun tanning experience.

Our center has prepared the newest functional 7900 alpha and pureEnergy chamber systems, combined with easyCare optical testers. At megaSun, enjoy our professional UV and tanning services. > 8 Dongdaqiao Road, sShangdu SOHO North Tower, Rm. 2302 Chaoyang District, Beijing Website: www.imegasun.com e-mail: 1019771453@qq.com Sina Weibo: @麦肤堂 Tel: 5900-2236/2238

Tel: (86)10-6591 8087 Mobile: 186-019-43718 Email: info.bj@harrissec.com.cn

STORAGE China Self Storage Co. Ltd As a member of SSA and SSAUK, China Self Storage Co. Ltd. introduces an international industry standard to professionally developed Self Storage for private, family and business. Safe, clean, air-conditioned, 24h access, flexible size. To learn more, visit www.selfstorageinchina.com. To make a reservation, contact 400-600-6378 info@ selfstorageinchina.com.

Jin’an Building, Tianzhu Garden West Rd., Shunyi District, Beijing.

Koala Ministorage Koala Ministorage is the first professional self-storage provider in Beijing. To learn more, visit our website www.koalaministorage.com. To make a reservation, call us toll free at 400-017-8889, email us at questions@koalaministorage.com, or visit one of our stores.

CAR RENTAL SERVICE Beijing First Choice Car Rental Service Co., Ltd We offer short and long term vehicle leasing services for both business and sightseeing. Our commpany could provide the latest elite, high-end vehicles such as Mercedes Benz S300, BMW S5 and more!

Contact our friendly representatives for more information.

Tel: 138 1015 6525/6434 0778 www.fccars.cn fccars@live.cn Beijing TOP-A Vehicle Service Co., Ltd Beijing Top-A Vehicle Service provides:

WFOE & Rep. Office Set Up Accounting & Tax Compliance Payroll, HR & Visa Solutions Hong Kong & Offshore Company Registration Hong Kong & China Bank Account Opening Serving all your business needs for investing in China. Call us for a free consultation.

Beijing: Room 2302, E-Tower, No.12 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, PRC.北京市朝阳区光华路12号数码01大厦 2302室 Shanghai: Suite 904, OOCL Plaza, 841 Yan An Zhong Road, Jing-An District, Shanghai, PRC.上海市静安区延安中路841号东方海外大 厦904室 Guangzhou: Room D-E, 11/F., Yueyun Building, 3 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou, PRC.广州市中山二路3号(东山 口)粤运大厦11楼D-E室 Hong Kong: 7/F., Hong Kong Trade Centre, 161-167 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong.香港德辅道 中161-167号香港贸易中心7楼 MHI China LTD 凯特威（北京）咨询有限公司 Room 971, 9/F，Poly Plaza，No.14， Dogzhimen Nan Dajie，Dongcheng 东城区 东直门南大街14号保利大厦写字楼9层971室 (6551 0663) Beijing Office-TMF Group In order to enable clients benefit from the increasing globalization of the worlds economy, TMF Group offers a comprehensive range of corporate administrative outsourcing services in 67 counties across the globe. With a genuine global network and qualified staff, TMF group provides an array of accounting, corporate secretarial and HR administrative outsourcing services. > Colin.Zhang@TMF-group.com Website: www.tmf-group.com CCTV Tower and Kerry Centre Suite 3107, Tower A Beijing Fortune Plaza,7 Dongsanhuan Zhong Road, Chaoyang District Tel: 65330533-860

FURNITURE Crossover Crossover Center Flagship Store, is mainly marketing international super home furnishing brand products.

Our agent brands include Poltrona Frau, Cassina, Fritz Hansen, Moroso, Cappellini, Timothy Oulton, Tom Dixon etc, over 20 international super home furnishing

brands.

Our products are covered with all of fields in daily-life home furnishing, including furniture, furnishing, lighting, dinning, and office supplies etc.

Website: www.crossovercenter.com NO.81 North Road San-Li-Tun Bar St. ChaoYang District.Beijing.100027,P.R.C. Tel: 5208 6112/6113 Fax: 8610-5208 6123

HOUSEKEEPING JNY Home Service JNY Home Service was established in 2007, supplying foreign families with English speaking/non-English Speaking nannies(maids), either daily or live-in.

As a part of our service,we make sure all references and ID cards are thoroughly checked to guarantee the safety and health of your family.

Email : jieniyou@hotmail.com Mobile: 13426362833(24h) Beijing EX-PATS Service Healty, reliable, experienced, Englishspeaking housemaid/ nanny. Free agency and 24- hour English service. Medical and Accident insurrance covered. EXPATS Life Group also serves with Mandarin, car leasing, English-speaking driver, Chinese driving license, vehicle registration. service@expatslife.com Website: www.expatslife.com Tel: 64381634 Mobile: 13501237292

MOVING AND SHIPPING Rex Service Moving and Relocation Is a dedicated and professional removals company based in China, Established in 1995, which operates worldwide.

•Free of Charge Pre-Move Survey •Professional Packing Material •Professional Packing & Loading •Special Crating •Efficient Customs Clearance •Shipment Forwarding •Destination Delivery •Unpacking and Set-up •Transit Insurance for "All-Risks" •Global Network in more than 200 Countries As a respected member of global organisations such as the International Association of Movers (IAM), Fédération Internationale des Déménageurs Internationaux (FIDI) and Japan International Movers Association (JIMA), we have sought and established relationships with over 2000 companies from around the world which gives us successfully logistics network worldwide.

Contact us: Hotline: 400 8821 060 Tel: (86) 18222169211/ 15010058549 E-mail: sales1@rexmovers.com; ew@ rexmovers.com Website: www.rexrelo.com

REAL ESTATE AGENTS JOANNA REAL ESTATE RELOCATION SERVICE We are one of China’s leading real estate agencies boasting an extensive database of high-end properties for rent. We have helped thousands of expatriates find their homes as well as hundreds of companies re-locate their employees. Once we have found you your ideal home we will be on hand to deal with any post move issues and our dedicated after sales team will be contactable 7 days a week to help you with any queries you have throughout your stay in our country. > For more information please contact us: Email: paulquin@joannarealestate.com.cn Website: http:>beijing.joannarealestate. com.cn/ (Tel: 84585667 ; 13501358971) Replus-Benchmark “Replus-Benchmark” is one of the leading real estate agencies and relocation service provider for expatriates in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen.

• Residential Home Search Service • Visa Application • Commercial Office Space Search Service • Buying and Selling Property Service E-mail: marketing@replus-benchmark.com

Website: www.replus-benchmark.com > A-1509,Xiaoyun Center, No.15 of Xiaoyun Road, Chaoyang District Beijing Tel: 84467119 Fax: 84467577 Silk Road Travel Management Ltd. Silk Road Travel is a pioneer in organizing Silk Road tours and other classic routes in China. Founded in 1997, we are specialized in tailor making travel packages that allow travellers to truly experience the local cultures and explore the amazing heritages. Whether you are a small group of 2-9 persons or a corporate group, our professional staff will tailor make the tour programme based on your needs.

Email: travel@the-silk-road.com www.the-silk-road.com TUI China An affiliate of World of TUI, the world’s leading tourism group, TUI China was established in late 2003 as the first joint venture with foreign majority share in the Chinese tourism industry. Its headquarters are in Beijing whilst its operations reach deep into the far corners of China. World of TUI generated approx.50,000 predominantly western tourists to China yearly and provides M.I.C.E services for renowned companies worldwide. > Add: Bright China Chang An Building, Tower 2, Unit 921-926, 7 Jianguomen Nei Avenue (Fax: +86 (0)10 6517 1371; Email: sales@tui.cn; Website: www.tui.cn; Tel: 8519 8800

CATERING SERVICES Aurora Catering An 100% authentic Italian experience whether tasting a mouthful Lasagna or a juicy Carpaccio. Our international team brings to you the authentic freshness and tidbit of an Italian Espresso or a homemade tastiness of a Mozzarella.

We offer a full range of catering and event planning services for all types of business and personal functions that are tailored for you. The best service, at your service.

Contact Jacopo Tomé at 137 1794 0458 jacopo.tome@gptinternational.com Zone de Comfort With our professional service, you can focus 100% on your event at Zone de Comfort, every single assignment is unique for us. Our experience helps us understand your objectives with thorough planning, and of course, exquisite food with elegant presentation. In the past 5 years, we have handled numerous catering projects covering diplomatic/business functions for embassies, high-end cocktail receptions for luxuries brands, automobiles and month-long hospitality center services. Find out more from our Website: www.zdc-catering.com

TRAVEL SERVICES Beijing Trans-World Air Service Co.Ltd. Established in February 2005 and approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, we are an aggregator of international and domestic air, global hotel reservations and big business travel.

With sales rankings in the top ten and having earned the title of major proxies of worldwide airlines, we are well-known for our top-notch service. We offer online booking, hotel inquiry and reservations and a varity of travel-related services. > G8, First Floor, China Resources Building, 8 Jianguomenbei Avenue, Chaoyang 朝阳区建国门北大街8号华润大厦一层G8 tel: 8519 2468/2469/2470/2471/2472; fax: 6518 2589; renwoxing26@viptkt.com; www.viptkt.com; WeChat: twas08314854

HEALTH FOODS E & L Healthy E & L Healthy provides safe and fresh vegetables of your choice up to twice a week (Monday/Thursday) together with fresh, handmade tofu, sesame oil, peanut oil or free-range eggs direct to your home.

Call Ellen to try our free trial box at 189 1178 0063, or email: customer@ ailinhesheng.com

WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | JULY 2017 | 79

JULY

ing ’s Beij

That

Horoscopes

Finally, a horoscope that understands your life in Beijing.

by N o e l l e M a t e e r

Cancer

Leo

6.22~7.22

7.23~8.23

Happy birthday! For the record, Cancer, you rock, and you deserve the best! Treat yourself to a big party, and don’t be afraid to buy drinks more expensive than Yanjing! (Full disclosure: The person who writes these horoscopes is a Cancer.)

You’re energetic, restless even – use up your energy by climbing something tall. An obvious choice is the Great Wall, but you could also walk up all seven flights of stairs in the new China World Mall. Use vinegar, not soy sauce.

Scorpio

Sagittarius

You’ll secure a major deal at work this month – if, and only if, you eat an odd number of baozi in the morning.

Pork baozi , not that pansy-ass eggand-chive kind. Avoid men in green jackets.

You can get a little intense sometimes, so focus that intensity on a new project, like learning salsa, or quietly dismantling construction equipment by night so that the sounds of drilling can no longer wake you prematurely.

10.24~11.22

Pisces

11.23~12.21

Virgo

8.24~9.23 It’s time to compromise. Your roommate will never agree to living in the hutongs. It just isn’t going to happen. Instead, try living in an apartment complex nearby the hutongs. Do not move to Guanshuyuan.

Capricorn 12.22~1.20

Get some new toothpaste. Your current brand is kinda lame. If you switch to Crest you will find love; if you switch to Darlie, a terrible calamity shall befall you. Floss regularly. Do not eat malatang on Sundays.

2.20~3.20

3.21~4.20

Aries

Taurus

July is a month of hot, hot weather and hot, hot passion for Pisces. Cool off with your lover by taking a sexy dip in the piss-infested Qingnianhu pool – it’s just north of Andingmen, and they sell fluorescent-pink sausages on sticks.

You’re smart – very smart. But this summer’s got you feeling dumb.

Get back in the game by actually attending your Chinese lessons for once. Oh, you’re too hungover again?

Fine – just be prepared to be ripped off while fruit shopping for, like, ever.

This month is all about self-care.

Go to one of those places where an old lady scrapes dead skin off your feet with a tiny knife, and then eat something really nutritious, like woodear with a vat of vinegar. Do not travel to Shandong if it’s raining.

80 | JULY 2017 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM

4.21~5.21

Libra

9.24~10.23 Actions have consequences. If you park your Mobike so that it blocks your neighbor’s actual bike, or if you bring your Ofo inside your apartment, misfortune will befall you later in the month. Eat tripe on the 13th.

Aquarius 1.21~2.19

Don’t lose hope, Aquarius. Your favorite bar or restaurant or chuan’r shack will open again. Or, actually, we don’t know. It might not, TBH. You know horoscopes aren’t real, right?

Clap twice before entering hutong bathrooms.

Gemini

5.22~6.21 Congrats on moving to Beijing! Are you new, or are you just terrible at navigating? Use your Maps app, and try to go somewhere other than Paddy O’Shea’s for once. We know it’s hard, but you can do it. Wear purple on the 19th.