by Iain Shaw

The new issue is out, and as well as featuring 14 days of events including Timo Maas at Coco Banana, July 4 parties, and the environmentally conscious Greening the Beige festival, we've got lists covering Japanese dining, Traditional Chinese Medicine, art galleries as well as our cover feature on imperial cuisine – have a glance at our cover image for a preview!

We've got some cool interviews this issue, which include a chat with Alexandra Pearson from The Bookworm, chef Laia Pons from Tao on Mediterranean dining, talking shopping with a Marie Claire editor and learning about life on the back streets of Beijing with a rickshaw driver who speaks 21 languages!

And that's not all – as ever, our Try These write-ups cover some great dining options, hot new bar openings like Klubb Rouge and China Doll, and even Beijing's first indoor snowboarding venue, Burton Qiaobo Mellow Park. The issue is all over town by now, so look out for a copy today.

Let us know what you think! Get in touch with your comments and suggestions by e-mailing iainshaw@agendabeijing.com

agenda is looking for interns to help with contributing to features, interviews, compiling and formatting event listings, and contributing new ideas as the magazine continues to develop and grow. Ideal candidates will have previous experience in journalism/writing, and should be energetic, organized and creative. In-depth knowledge of Beijing and Chinese language skills are a bonus, but not essential. All candidates are welcome to apply, but excellent English speaking and writing skills are required. If you’re interested, please e-mail your resume to iainshaw@agendabeijing.com

by Paul Pennay, image by Simon Lim

According to a recent article in The Beijing Evening News and translated here, 50 new Chery A5 hybrid taxis are now in service across Beijing. The Beijinger photographer Simon Lim caught this photo of one of the new cabs over at Jiaodaokou earlier this morning, but was beaten to the cab by another passenger.

Seven of Beijing's various taxi companies have been running the taxis, the first batch of "weak-hybrid" vehicles to enter China's taxi market, since late June. The taxi's have
Hybird Electric Vehicle (混合动力汽车 Hunhe Dongli Qiche) written across the door. According to the article:

The 'weak-hybrid' model uses gasoline as its main power, and its working engine will recharge a special cell in the vehicle. The electric power will start to work for the vehicle at idle or initial speed. When the speed reaches 5km/h and above, the power program will switch back to gasoline. This power system, which is suitable for cars on the often-congested Beijing roads and streets, can reduce a vehicle's fuel consumption by 15%.

In other taxi news:

Due to a recent rise in petrol prices, the subsidy paid out to Beijing's taxi drivers has been increased by 525 kuai to RMB 1,305 a month. Despite this, there have been anecdotal reports of an increase in late night cab fares and the price rate jumping once the meter passes 50 kuai.

Special taxis that are able to transport passengers in wheelchairs were also unveiled this week. The new cabs resemble the shape of a black London cab but come in Beijing's own distinctive two tone color scheme. The cabs can be booked by calling 961001. Only 15 of the 70 cabs on order have been released so far. Non-disabled passengers will also be able to ride in the spacious cabs, which cost the same as a regular cab and can sit 5 people in the rear.

Beijing's traffic police have announced that they’ll be cracking down on the city's cabbies for the rest of the month. They’ll be making sure that drivers, among other things, keep their cab clean, only accept passengers in designated taxi zones and are also threatening drivers with a fine of up to RMB 2000 if they deliberately take passengers on a longer route than is necessary.

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Until recently, the local front in the Nike versus adidas war has been played out on the billboards lining Wangfujing and Xidan. The two global brands are also struggling to be the providers of whatever sporting apparel athletes choose, or are instructed, to wear at the Beijing Olympics. The competition between the two brands in the Chinese market heats up with the opening of adidas' flagship store at Sanlitun's village tonight. The Beijinger's Fashion and Beauty Editor Halla Mohieddeen got a chance to take a sneak peek at the store yesterday and gives us her take below. Images by Simon Lim

adidas Brand Center
Daily 10am-10pm. Bldg 11, South Area, Sanlitun Village, 19 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District.
朝阳区三里屯南路19号11幢

Designed to create a village within a city, the striking development in the heart of Sanlitun is slowly taking shape. The boards have come down, and we're now starting to see more of the eclectic mix of structures that will make up the shopping and entertainment district. The first store to throw open its doors is the new adidas Brand Center, adidas' global flagship store.

Boasting 3,170 sqm of floor space, this new store will be adidas’ largest worldwide. What's more, it brings together all the brand's concept lines under one roof, another first for the brand. This means that whether you want shoes, kids clothing, accessories and apparel, or lines such as Y-3 or adidas by Stella McCartney, it's now all available under one roof.

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by Paul Pennay, images Josselin Gautier

There's always a few late-breaking events that we didn't hear about before our weekly 7 Days in Beijing newsletter goes out, and so, in an effort to give the Beijinger readers the widest possible range of events to choose from, we offer the first in what will hopefully be a regular series of posts covering events taking place in the capital every Thursday.

Klubb Rouge Rooftop Terrace Opening Party
A few weeks after their grand opening, one of the newest clubs in town unveils their rooftop space. Featuring a separate bar, DJ booth and what they claim are great views of the city, the terrace will play host to dancers, fire breathers and Philippe Ortega on the decks for this opening party. RMB 100 (includes one drink)
9.30pm. Klubb Rouge (6500 3333)

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by Paul Pennay

The great showdown between 2006 Chili Eating King, Gabe "Dr Pepper" Monroe and reigning Chili Eating Queen Yulin Zhao ended in a controversial* draw on Sunday with the two pepper-eating machines swallowing an astounding 75 peppers in 5 minutes. Six other brave contestants nobly tried to keep up, with Spike in second place as he methodically ate his way through a fiery 33 peppers and Josh in third as he consumed 20 peppers.

But it was really just a battle between the two favorites, who went chili for chili down to the final count, with spectators holding their breath as they battled to eat just one more chili.

A large crowd of Canada Day attendees cheered on the contestants as they pushed their bodies to the limit for the chance to win vouchers from Asian Star and Elisa’s Italian. Each contestant also received a limited-edition t-shirt from Gobi Gear.

Witness the chili carnage for yourself below.

You can take a look at a gallery of photos from the event here.

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by Paul Pennay

Sit back and listen as host Paul Pennay talks to informed editors from The Beijinger about their picks of the best events going on in town this weekend.

Dining editor Jessica Wang offers a choice between Hawaiian brew and a BBQ on the Great Wall, Iain Shaw talks about a special screening of And The Spring Comes (Li Chun) on Sunday evening at Yugong Yishan and Managing Editor Oliver Robinson encourages listeners (yet again!) to head out to Fengtai Sports Center on Sunday to support the local Beijing football team.

Lisa Liang not only recommends the tbjkid's Olympics but a whole lot of great gigs going on around town. Finally Matt Jager arrives late to tell listeners about this week's Timo Mass show at Coco Banana and Client's show at Song.

You'll need to keep listening until the end to know the answer to this week's trivia. We're offering a copy of the extremely useful Insider's Guide to Beijing 2008 to the first listener who can tell us, How is Matt going to spend the morning of July 4th? Send an e-mail to podcast@thebeijinger.com before Friday noon with the answer.

So, once again, if you're not sure what to do next weekend, plug in your headphones, sit back, and enjoy the entertaining ephemera that is ... the Beijinger Podcast!

For those who'd like to download the podcast and listen to it later, click (right-click to save in MP3 format) on the icon to the left or click
here.

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by Paul Pennay and Victoria Yang

Keep reading below for a comprehensive list of all the films showing around town this half-price Tuesday. Aside from the films listed below, you can also catch a Chinese Japanese co-production set in the aftermath of Japanese occupation called Chun Ai《纯爱》, the Jackie Chan produced Run Papa Run(我们这一家 Women de yijia), a Thai cartoon called Khan Kluay(小战象Xiao Zhanxiang) and Kung Fu Pop.

Film News
» The 4th Beijing International Sports Film Week
With over 40 films from 15 countries, this festival of sporting celluloid is being screened at five cinemas across town. The Chinese films are all recent releases and include both The One Man Olympics film and Zhu Meng – a documentary about Liu Xiang and other Olympic hopefuls. A full schedule is available here (Chinese only) and most of the foreign films we be shown in the original language with Chinese subtitles. Until Jul 4. RMB 10.
Daily 9am-6pm (later screenings on some days). Wanda, Stellar International Wangjing and Haidian, China Film Archives and Mega Box.

Films Around Town

Screening Times for Films in Beijing – Tuesday July 1

(All times and prices have been taken from today’s Beijing News or this website – it would be a good idea to call and confirm details)

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by Oliver Robinson and Paul Pennay

In the July issue of the Beijinger, as part of the Talk about Town column entitled Meat-Free Philosophy (p21), founder of the Vegan Social Club Chris Barden was quoted as saying: "Chinese people don't understand vegetarianism."

Unfortunately, this is incorrect; Barden was misquoted and was actually making the point that veganism (not vegetarianism) is sometimes misunderstood in many places – including China, which has a long history of vegetarianism.

We apologize for the mistake and want to use this occasion to offer up some suggestions for those interested in discovering the best vegetarian restaurants in Beijing.

Beijing's Vegetarian Top 10

1. Pure Lotus Vegetarian 净心莲
Voted "Best Vegetarian Fare" in our 2008 Reader Restaurant Awards. Run by monks, their creative dishes will leave you with a full stomach and a clear conscience - and a considerably lightened wallet.

2. Bhodi-Sake 菩提缘
Fluffy rabbits jubilantly hop around the grounds of this Buddhist temple’s elegantly converted front courtyard. Large variety of imitation meat dishes, such as Lingering Aftertaste (RMB 26), a vegan version of mala beef jerky, will deliciously flummox your meat radar.

3. Elaine's Vegetarian Restaurant and Bar 素心小筑
Elaine's quaint little garden supplies generous portions of Chinese vegetarian fare. The imitation meat dishes are popular with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diners. Take a look at the full review here.

4. Vanilla Garden 百合素食香草园
More than the sum of its parts, Vanilla Garden is a great place to enjoy vegetarian cuisine, sip imported organic coffees and herbal teas, or just hang out. Also boasts helpful and attentive staff, an English menu, desserts, and wireless Internet access. Location 2 calls itself Lily Vegetarian but it's run by the same people.

5. Still Thoughts Vegetarian Restaurant 静思素食坊
A clean, calm and cozy vegetarian oasis that forgoes the hype for thoughtfully prepared mock meats and other vegetarian dishes.

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by Jessica Wang

There will be no more Stewed Pork in Brown Sauce or Chickens without a Sex Life! In preparation for the Olympics, the government has just released a list of suggested Chinese dish translations. The mew model menu offers more readily understandable English translations of dishes that previously went by names such as Lion's Head or Saliva Chicken. Too bad for that, I really enjoyed reading all the Chinglish dish names, my favorite being Steamed Crap and Noodles of Fornication. Take a look at this New York Times article or this story over at Slate for a more in-depth analysis of the new translated menu.

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by Paul Pennay

Yes folks, the wait is over. As of today you'll finally be able to get your hands on a crisp, freshly printed copy of the Beijnger. The debut issue's cover feature is devoted to our Reader's Choice Bar and Club Awards and is accompanied by Nightlife editor Matt P. Jager's own picks of the best places to slum, schmooze and sparkle around town.

As Matt says, the results of this survey should be a guide, not a gospel. Chances are that there are some pretty chill places to have a brew, hiding out just around the corner. But until the day you stumble upon some hidden treasure, it might be worth taking a look at what our readers collectively consider to be the cream of the crop.

Aside from Q Bar (Bar of the Year, Best Cocktails) and Saddle Cantina (Best New Bar, Outstanding Cocktails) other big winners in this year's awards include The Rickshaw, which not only took home the honors for Best Happy Hour, but also managed to win the awards for both Best Place to Start the Evening and Best After-Hours Spot. A contradiction in terms? Newcomer White Rabbit won the clubbers' vote, taking home awards for Best Electronic Music and Best Place to Dance, while Centro held strong and retained the mantle of Best Business Networking venue for the fifth year in a row. Old favorites Bed (Best Place to Bring a Date, Best Lounge ), Lush (Best Student Hangout, Best Value)and Suzie Wongs (Most Beautiful People, Best Place to Find a Date) all took home awards in more than one category.

Also in this month's issue, Halla Mohieddeen talks to Chinese designer Xander Zhou; Oliver Robinson and Venus Lau speak with Tiago, Beijing Guo'an's Brazilian striker; artist Olivier Mosset tells us why his work is really nothing special; and Matt P. Jager chats to some very eco-friendly DJs. All this, plus a handsome selection of new bars, restaurants and shops to offer you respite from the sticky heat of July.