Out Now: the Beijinger December 2012 - A Dog's Life

It often seems that there’s no love for dogs in this city. We’ve found out that’s not the case but there are a whole lot of canines that still need someone to love them. Without being all sentimental (although it is that time of year) we want to help those of you who have the time and money to help our four-legged friends find a new home. This month’s Cover Feature highlights the plight of dogs, let’s you know how you can help and explains exactly what you’re getting in for if you’re thinking about getting a new best friend. You could even be lucky enough to take home our cover star.

In the FOOD & DRINK section, we've given the award-winning Stephanie Rocard of Mao Mao Chong the lead in our Cocktail Profiler feature. We've had a postman-sized bite out of the city’s chocolate chip cookies in Taste Test and we don’t mince our words about mince pies in the Dining Feature. We’ve also got the taste of Taiwanese night market snacks, a seasonal bar crawl for all and which fortified wines you should be leaving out for Santa. Plus, as always, our reviews of the newest bars and restaurants.

GO has gifts for the holidays in abundance (even if you forgot to hit the shops), hound-friendly apps and where to volunteer with all that seasonal cheer. There’s also an eye on World Aids Day, some delightful 3D photography and China’s hat-sporting rock pioneer Cui Jian. You can also win more prizes than the Best In Show in our Featured Giveaways.

We'd like you to MEET some of our new friends. Nick Smith of the International Festival Chorus shares his Playlist, Stefen Chow of Beijing Creatives opens his Bookshelf and the Westin Beijing Chaoyang’s Nick Porter sets fire to Babylon in Screentime. We’re also lucky enough to go for A Drink With the lovely Maika Endo, get the lowdown on The Man With The Iron Fists from Yoyao Hsueh and literary bad boy Paul French takes us deep into the Badlands.

Finally, we look at Yao Ming saving the world one animal at a time, the Peking Man’s reasons for returning to China and our Events section gets all old dog new trick with our new layout. Get the PDF here or go walkies around town to find one.