the Beijinger

 

There’s much in the detail of life in Beijing for an aspiring standup comedian to draw inspiration from, and yet live English-language comedy shows are still few and far between here. Chopschticks is one of the few groups putting on standup nights, bringing comics from overseas every few months to give us some laughs. This weekend Chopschticks presents the Chicago Improv All-Stars, who’ll be making it up on the spot for two consecutive nights at Block 8. We cornered the All-Stars’ Al Samuels to put his improv skills to the test ahead of the show.

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The Syndicate are Beijing's premier drum & bass collective. For five long years they've been bringing parties to you and it's time to celebrate that. You can do so at Yugong Yishan tonight (Feb 27) at their fifth birthday. Here's what three members of the crew have to say on the first half decade. 

the Beijinger: Who started The Syndicate?

D-Rail: Dan and some bloke called MC Raph or something

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Ever wondered which is the most efficient mode of transportation in Beijing? We have too. So we sent out seven intrepid movers and shakers in a race from our offices at Dawang Lu (in the CBD) to the Drum Tower at rush hour in order to uncover which form of transport is the King of Commutes. Here are the results:

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Good news for snooker lovers, tickets for 2009 World Snooker China Open went on sale today. They are available through Emma Ticketmaster and price range from RMB 20-RMB 2,009. Call ticketing hotline on 6551 6590 and 400-707-9999. The game starts on Mar 30 at Beijing University Student Gymnasium, view the full fixture and price details here.

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Moving to a new city can be tough, especially when you don't know anyone. That’s one reason why so many networking groups have sprung up in Beijing, hosting events aimed at everything from helping newcomers meet new friends to hooking people up with potential employers. Alexander Rivan Ronalds from Oriented tells us it’s never too late to expand your circle of friends and contacts, and offered us a few tips on how to make networking work for you.

What is Oriented?
Oriented is a global network of international professionals with a focus on doing business in Asia. Right now we have more than 30,000 members worldwide. Here in Beijing, we host a monthly networking Happy Hour at different venues. The focus of this is to meet business contacts and make new friends.

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My oh my are there some good movies playing in town in the next few weeks. The New Beijing International Movie Week kicks off on February 27, which stretches a week like a fat man stretches sweatpants- the abundance of quality flicks our organizer friends have dug up have screenings lasting until March 21st, with the overflow spilling out into April- but lets not get ahead of ourselves here.

The event includes over 70 films playing at 11 venues, and many of the filmmakers will be flying in to attend screenings just to answer questions and watch you watch their movies.

You can expect to see zombies, landmines, flames, dead twins, junkie prostitutes, cartoons, corrupt Columbian politicians, Chinese hiphop artists, dead bodies for sale on the internet, Rastafarian coffee, North Korea, Gaza, and samurais.

Courting Condi plays at Yugong Yishan on March 1st at 7pm.

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The latest issue of the Beijinger is jam packed with things to do in March – DJ Kentaro, Young Knives, Battles, Story of the Year, Sarah Brightman, A plus D … the list goes on and on.

Befittingly, the coming of the spring means the hatching of a new batch of albums from local favorites – Re-Tros, The Gar, Casino Demon, Hedgehog and RandomK(e), to name but a few. And what are album releases without album release parties? Expect those to be happening throughout the month in a neighborhood near you.

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We’ve been sending out our weekly 7 Days in Beijing e-mail newsletter on Thursday evenings for many years now and every issue of this comprehensive guide to what’s been happening on our site in the past week and what's going on in Beijing over the coming week, includes a list of the best links that we’ve come across over the past week. The list below was taken from this week's issue of 7 days. For regular updates on the latest links, subscribe (along with 23,000 others) to the newsletter here or check it out on the site after it's posted every Friday at around 10am.

China's Folklore Photographic Association has begun to accept entries in their bi-annual World Folk Photo Contest. For all the details about how to enter and the rules of the competition, click here. You can also view a FAQ page about the competition here. You can view photographs that won the prize in the past here. The winning entries from 2006 included images from Beijing (here and here).

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     People Under the Stairs brings it from LA to Beijing

Feb 21
People Under the Stairs
RMB 80, RMB 50 (advance).
9pm. Yugong Yishan (6404 2711)

People Under the Stairs. Its shows like this that make Beijing’s off the music map location worth it. Where else can you get the chance to see one of the hiphop’s finest underground acts in a venue so small and out of context it doesn’t even feel real?

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Since Spring Festival, the papers have been full of images of students crowding large job fairs across the city as record numbers of university students preparing to graduate in June search for jobs. Expect more to come, today’s papers announce that by March 20, more than 140 job fairs will have taken place in Beijing.

On Saturday, at 1,368 testing centers around the city, 44,700 young graduates sat the first Beijing Government Civil Service examination of the year. They’re competing for a measly 2,707 positions – and the test is just the first of many hoops they have to jump through in order to get the “golden rice bowl.”

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According to the Beijing Times, Nike has agreed a deal which will see the sportswear giants plough USD 15 million into the Chinese Super League for the 2009 season. Twelve league teams will each get USD 732, 000 in equipment and a USD 220, 000 in cash. The remainder goes to the league. A 15% increase per year will eventually supply apparel to all 16 teams and would lead to a USD 30 million investment for the 2018 season. Holy cash cow!

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This weekend is the last chance to catch one of the most interesting art exhibitions in town, even though the show in question doesn’t have a single actual art work on display.

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When I say “hot”, you say “pot” … “hot” … no? OK then. Anyway, tonight (Feb 20) is the first anniversary of Hotpot at Block 8. DJ Wordy will be reunited with DJ Shougo and DJ Lomang for Beijing’s finest booty shaking hip-hop. Word. It’s RMB 60 to get in the door but it gets you a free drink. 

Also tonight is the Burton season highlights party at Punk. This starts at 10pm with DJ Lao Si on the decks and it promises to be whatever the snowboarder slang for cool is  these days. What’s more it is totally free.

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There’s a figure in the distance. Down on all fours, his sweatpants-clad rear juts out, as he waddles past a trashcan. With utmost delibera­tion and a look of intense concentration on his serene face, he alternates hand and foot. He is both awkward and regal; tiger-in-pants meets King of the Forest.

Success: I’ve finally spotted Han Laoshi.

“A new student!” exclaim his followers, a ragtag bunch of all-too-friendly sexagenarians. They lend me a set of obligatory hand-gear (worker gloves), and class is in session.

My teacher is a sprightly 72-year-old man with a personalized t-shirt. A banner behind him states 爬出健康 (“from crawling comes health”), the mantra of his unique philosophy – the “Five Beastly Walks” – which teaches disciples how to attain personal wellbeing through mimicking the gaits of animals.

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One of the best-kept secrets in hip-hop, Los Angeles duo People Under the Stairs has been killing the underground scene softly and consistently for the past decade. On Feb 21, they make their way across the Pacific to China for the first time. Before their Beijing show at YGYS, PUTS' Thes One took time out to discuss showmanship, Prince, and ten-plus years in the game.


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Snow Job

On the heels of its successful rainmaking venture earlier in the week, the Beijing Weather Modification Command Center has shot an additional “500 cigarette-size sticks of silver iodide” from “28 weather rocket-launch bases” into the clouds over the past few days to help create this week’s snowfall, the most the city has seen in a number of years. The artificially induced precipitation is intended to quell the region’s ongoing drought, but also led to the closure of 12 highways around the capital.

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Jose Gonzalez
RMB 150.
8pm. Yugong Yishan (6404 2711)

Last night’s snow didn’t stop hundreds of Beijingers from heading over to Yugong Yishan to catch Swedish indie icon, José González. The crowd paid little attention to the soothing melodies of the acoustic guitar/harmonica playing opener, Wu Zhuoling, choosing instead to catch up with one another over a drink in anticipation of the main act. However, the crowd hushed in expectant silence as the lights dimmed and Gonzalez - who proved not to be a big fan of on stage chit chat, saying very little throughout the show aside from the occasional polite xie xie - dove right into his first song.

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The art galleries of Beijing have reopened after the long New Year’s break, chilled by how much their ranks have thinned since the Year of the Rat. Artzinechina.com has calculated that some 36 have closed their doors around Beijing since the financial crisis began and those that remain have stripped their programs to the bone.  None of this adds up to a very jolly atmosphere in the streets of 798. Visitors have been used to finding the zone festooned with banners advertising a multiplicity of art openings and events, but last weekend only Nike seemed to have something to crow about. The whole sad scene could obviously do with a pep talk, and one gallery has taken on the responsibility of rallying 798’s spirits.

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