The Beijinger Blog - Jonathan White

Hit The Slopes Before They Melt

thebeijinger — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0800

The ski season is starting to wind down. It's time to strap your skis on and hit the slopes before all that lovely powder turns to shui. Here’s a list of ski resorts, plus some organized trips if you don’t want to arrange it all yourself.

Yes, snowboarders are welcome too.

Talking Balls: News, New Seasons Starting & The New Yao Ming?

thebeijinger — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0800

Spring has sprung and with it the hibernation of Beijing’s sports scene begins to end. We’ll tell you all about what you have to look forward to over the coming months. But first, the sports news of the week.

Win Tickets To See Karl Jenkins In Concert!

thebeijinger — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0800

The International Schools Choral Music Society (ISCMS) music festival is coming to Beijing and we've got two pairs of VIP tickets to give away to the Gala Concert on February 18. This year's star guest is Welsh music luminary Karl Jenkins, the most widely performed living composer in the world. If you want to see him and the cream of the world's young musical talent perform at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, just read on and answer one simple question. You should know that this performance will include the world premiere of Qing Zhu ("Celebration"), composed especially for ISCMS and conducted by Jenkins himself.

Write On: Final Week of the Beijinger's Six-Word Writing Competition!

thebeijinger — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0800

Last week we launched our first-ever writing contest, asking you to describe your Beijing in six words. The entries so far have been of a refreshingly high standard. However, we know that you've all got a little more left in the literary tank. You've got until 9am on Thursday, February 16 to tell us your tiny stories.

You can enter as many times as you like. The only rules are that each of your entries must be six words long – and that all of the words must be in English. Send them to sixwords@thebeijinger.com.

The Beijinger 2011 Charity Super Quiz Grand Total

thebeijinger — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0800

We're delighted to belatedly tell you what your great efforts at The Beijinger 2011 Charity Super Quiz raised. The grand total was a whopping RMB 28,042. Well done to everyone involved. We'd like to thank everyone who came out and attended the event. We'd like to thank the quizmasters (and Tuba John) for helping and Chocolate for hosting. Most of all, though, we'd like to thank the Holt Ping An Medical Foster Home for the good work they are doing with the money that you all raised.

Not Lovin' It: Price Increases A Sign Of Things To Come?

thebeijinger — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0800

We’re not long into the Year of the Dragon and the big chains are already putting the drag into it. Starbucks, Pizza Hut and McDonald's have riled netizens for raising prices on many of their products China-wide. The increases may seem small (the odd kuai here or there) but is it a sign that more retailers will be raising prices in the year ahead? An article on ABC News, reporting on Starbucks' similar pricing increases in the States, certainly seems to think so; they've listed another 11 things that American consumers can expect to pay more for in 2012.

Sleeping Satellites! Where Were You During Beijing's Lucky Miss?

thebeijinger — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0800

Do you remember what you were doing at around 10am in the morning on Sunday, October 23 last year? Little did we all know that it could have been our last moments on Earth.

At some time between 9.45 and 10.15am Beijing time on October 23, 2011, a German satellite entered the earth’s atmosphere and took around 15 minutes to hit the Earth. What we didn’t know until just recently is that Beijing came very close to being the site of the collision. According to London’s Daily Telegraph, the head of the European Space Agency’s debris team, Heiner Klinkrad, has now divulged, "Our calculations showed that, if Rosat had crashed to the ground just seven to 10 minutes later, it would have hit Beijing."

What does that mean?

Talking Balls: Gridiron Grilled Breakfast, Flying Ducks, Soccer Shorts & Real Live Sport

thebeijinger — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0800

Balls, balls, balls. It's been quite a week of sport and it promises to be a sport-tacular weekend. Read on for more on what's on to watch, what's been going on and how you can get involved. Let's start with the 500-pound linebacker in the room. The Super Bowl takes place at 7.30am on Monday. Here's a list of where you can pack yourselves in and decide whether the best New is England or York.

Have You Got The Write Stuff? Enter the Beijinger's Six-Word Writing Competition!

thebeijinger — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0800

We're delighted to launch our first-ever writing contest. You're all invited to enter. In fact, to make sure that the competition is open to everyone, we've given it a bit of a twist. All we want from all of you budding wordsmiths is just six words.

Smith brought the world the Six-Word Memoir. Before that, as legend would have it, Hemingway wrote his best work in just six words: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

You too can wow the world in six little words. Your story could win you worldwide fame, VIP status and a new life. Well, maybe not all of that ... but you will get your words in print as well as prizes from us and our friends at The Bookworm International Literary Festival (BLF). Read on to learn more.

Out Now - the Beijinger - February 2012: We Heart Beijing

thebeijinger — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0800

Love is … in the air, although you might not be able to see it among the particulate matter.

Who do we want to be our Valentine? Take a guess.

We Heart Beijing. How do we love thee? In our Cover Feature we count the ways.