Beijing’s announcement that it will begin releasing hourly PM2.5 readings of the city’s pollution on January 23 is certainly good news, but the fervent response from newspapers and blogs seem a bit premature. We’ll get excited when Beijing begins reducing the pollution, not just telling us about it. If all the talk concerning PM 10 and 2.5, particulates and microns has you scratching your head, we’ve laid it out in our January Ecology feature. 

For those who want to introduce some more organic options into their lives, the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market is held weekly around Beijing (see their microblog at weibo.com/farmersmarketbj). Arrive early to get the best produce. Expect to pay more than you would at a supermarket – prices can be anywhere between 20 to 200 percent higher. A cheaper option is subscribing to a farm (see image) who will deliver weekly boxes of vegetables to your door. This is cheaper, and RMB 100 will generally buy weekly vegetables for two or three people.

Many articles have been written about the dinner organized by Alice Waters at the recent US-China Forum on the Arts & Culture, organized by the Asia Society. Some journalists gushed about her organic, locally sourced menu, but others are wondering how far her influence will go in China.

Waters, of Chez Panisse fame, has made a living advocating for locavorism, the Slow Food movement and organic eating. Her Edible Schoolyard project is at the forefront of the growing movement urging people, children in particular, to become more knowledgeable about what they’re eating.

To celebrate the sport’s growing accessibility, the Heyrobics team is offering all Beijinger readers free Heyrobics sessions at their new Lido location (at 3e International School) for the month of January.

What is a Little Gold Book? Glad you asked. Not only will it make for a great Christmas present, but it also serves as a useful guide for navigating Beijing’s dining scene.

This year marks the release of the first edition of this compilation of vouchers, which offers first-rate discounts at over 70 restaurants in Beijing (including 50 percent off at Hatsune, a free glass of wine at SALT, and 2-for-1 cooking class deals at The Hutong). Founders Irena Desmond and Andrew Pratley – a brother-sister team from New Zealand – recruited the help of Michael Crain (of Chi Fan for Charity) to track down Beijing’s best eateries, so it’s safe to say you can think of this as your “little black book” to eating out around here.

It’s the holiday season and that usually means a period of overindulgence and the exchanging of gifts followed by a resolve to make a change next year. We’ve tried to help you get a head start on two of those three inevitable in our Cover Feature. We’ve dived hands first into the world of Chinese handicrafts to bring you what Beijing has to offer – from candy figurine blowing to Peking Opera mask painting. Why not get your hands on a new hobby, craft gifts for family and friends and – in some cases – even give a little to charity? We think that’s well worth getting your hands dirty.

Since 1998, Chi Heng Foundation (CHF) has provided basic sponsorship (art and music therapy programs, summer camp and entrepreneurial training) for over AIDS-affected 13,000 children, and the organization is now in the process of expanding its social enterprises. In observance of today being World AIDS Day, we asked CHF’s founder and chairperson, Chung To, to break down the myths of this stigmatized epidemic.

Who is eligible for CHF funding?
We have very clear-cut criteria: Their parents are either living with HIV or have died of AIDS. We are not a poverty-relief program, nor a region-specific program. But we do end up supporting more kids in poorer villages simply because the parents who have to sell blood were usually poor to begin with.

Beijing’s pollution the past few weeks has been bad, but that alone isn't newsworthy. What has made this recent slew of hazy days so interesting is the attention that it has garnered on the Internet and in the local and international media, as well as the government’s various responses – including a puzzling reference to fog fairies.

A man who hadn’t gotten a proper haircut in over ten years was coerced to do so last month at TATA Salon.

What would you do if your office (in this case, ThoughtWorks Software Technologies) ganged up on you, raising over RMB 15,000 for a child-in-need on the terms that you chop off those long locks? This guy, Vincent Xu, cracked under the pressure and handed himself over to TATA Salon stylist Scarlet's scissor-ready hands.

Gentleman, time to shave. Movember is here. The 11th-month charity initiative was created in 2003 by a group of Australians looking for a laugh, but has grown to become a major event, with thousands of people taking part in countries all over the world.