WildChina, the award-winning Beijing-based adventure travel company, has launched Where the Wild Things Are – a series of intimate bimonthly dinners featuring members of their “expert network” of  renowned entrepreneurs, journalists, photographers and environmentalists.

To hear more about who will kick off the series check out agendabeijing.com.

Most of the city is back into the seven-day work week – the price we pay for the October Holiday. Whether you chose to get away or relax in the city, Beijing was far from dull as tourists flocked to see the Great Wall and Forbidden City.

The NBA lockout has been of extreme interest to CBA fans as it means that the Chinese league may see an influx of stars. Shanxi Fenjiu announced that they had a deal in place with Kobe Bryant, which caused yet more frenzy and speculation. That has been put to an end now as the CBA has taken the very sensible decision that players cannot have an opt-out clause to return to the NBA, and that only free agents who are willing to commit to at least a year will be eligible to sign on. The bad news? No Kobe. The good news? Yes to Tracy McGrady, Mike Bibby, Tyson Chandler and 121 other players. The CBA might resemble NBA Jam a little more next year.

North Korea has released its rating of countries based on happiness, awarding China perfect marks. Where does North Korea place itself and others?

Former Beijing-based writer Jennifer Conrad has written a list of "Eight Lesser-Known Places to Visit in China" for Seattle-based travel site BootsnAll. Some of the destinations -- i.e. Harbin and Dalian -- could be considered quite common for the more well-traveled and longer-term China residents, but a few stand out for their uniqueness and relative obscurity: