Tickets went on sale yesterday for Capital M’s Literary Festival. The restaurant’s fortnight of talks on writing, food and travel begins on February 25, which also serves as the unofficial kick-off date for Beijing’s book-based festival season. Here's a rundown of what to expect, where to purchase tickets, and the novelists, journalists, memoirists and adventurers who will be showcased at the Capital M Literary festival.

Robin Guo is appalled to hear that her child’s playthings may be poisonous. The mother of 3-year-old Colleen is one of countless Chinese parents stunned by a new study that found dangerous levels of heavy metals in nearly ten percent of the country’s children’s products.

We’re still waiting for things to get back into full swing around here, but that means you have some time to: 1) take some photos to try and win a month or two’s rent money, 2) catch up on web news like the accusations of Han Han not being a real writer and China getting snubbed at the Oscars, and 3) sleep. If you don’t like those ideas, you can get your fill of more movie screenings, and aspiring thespians: don’t miss a workshop teaching you how to audition for the stage.

All, it’s that time of year again: The Bookworm International Literary Festival (BLF) is drawing near, bringing authors of great acclaim to our humble town. We hear some people mark their calendars for this event and, even though they’ve left Beijing years ago, plan two-week vacations to come back and attend the festival. (!!) It’s quite the shindig, and each year the authors and events just keep getting better.

Whether you're a shaky amateur or can knock out a double axel like the pros, here are a list of rinks and lakes where you can work on your Olympic-worthy technique. Now throw on a spandex unitard, lace up the skates and hit the ice.

It’s very much a seller’s market for taxi drivers in Beijing these days — a dearth of vehicles, epic traffic jams and the cold weather have made catching a cab a free-for-all on the streets.

The problem has reached such epic proportions that now the Ministry of Transportation has been obliged to step in. China Daily reports on new rules aimed at preventing cabbies from arbitrarily refusing to pick up passengers:

For the full story on the new taxi regulations see agendabeijing.com.

Unless you hold a coveted hukou, you’re only ever here "temporarily," but this may change by the end of the year. Beijing authorities have announced a new residence permit system that foreigners can apply for, potentially allowing them access to city services and benefits that otherwise are only open to legal Beijingers.

One of the best parts about staying in Beijing over Chinese New Year is the chance to attend the temple fairs. Food stalls serve up goodies from chuan’r to cotton candy, while carnival games let you shoot, throw or guess your way to a bundle of cuddly stuffed animals. This year, expect plenty of dragon paraphernalia as well. All you have to do is pick which ones to go to and work on your pitching arm in the meantime.

When there’s no taxis in sight or no subway stop near your destination, hopping on a bus can make any journey around Beijing a little easier. However, the Chinese-only bus signs sometimes make this option impossible for expats.

However, Chinese search engine Baidu can give you a clear bus route to get from point A to point B. You don't need the ability to read or write Chinese – just a bit of common sense.

The launch of the Apple iPhone 4S, originally planned for today, has been cancelled, possibly because of overnight fights in the massive crowd. Queues began forming yesterday at both the Sanlitun and Xidan stores. The Xidan launch went ahead but their stock sold out within two hours.