the Beijinger

Let’s face it, summer in Beijing can drive a person mad. Hiding out inside under the A/C is no fun, and likely to end up making you sick, but the nearest beach is a day trip away at best. Get your fun in the sun at these outdoor pools in the city.

Baolian Sports Park Swimming Pool
In this sports park, there are two choices for you and your kids to enjoy aquatic fun outdoors. One pool is no deeper than 150cm, and intended as a safe play pool for kids and parents. The other, 150-180cm in depth, is a standard 25-meter swimming pool for adults and bigger kids (RMB 30 per person). The pools currently open at noon, but we’re told that they should soon be opening at 9am daily – call to confirm opening hours. Open until September 1. Play pool: RMB 10, free (children under 120cm. 25-meter pool: RMB 30. Daily noon-9pm. 48 Beiwa Xili, Haidian District. (6843 8898)

Bright pink isn’t a color that’s typically associated with the “manly art” of grilling meat, but then again, this isn’t your typical kao rou stand. Sizzling Serbian-style sausages and hearty hunks of meat are the specialty of the long awaited second branch of Kiosk, located in a hard-to-miss, bright pink two story building near the north gate of the Workers’ Stadium. Gregarious owner Sasha Unkovic opened the first location in the original Nali Mall back in December of 2003, and his new location features a sleek upper space with an Italian modernist touch, expanded patio seating and a bar offering wines (two reds and two whites, RMB 30 per glass, RMB 150 a bottle), cocktails (mojitos, capirinhas, vodka tonics etc, RMB 30-35) and coffee (RMB 15 for espresso, RMB 20 cappuccino). Grilled selections (including the Big Bite Burger – pork or beef patties with cheese – RMB 33, and Chavaptschichi – pork or beef sausages – RMB 26) and sides (including the ever popular paprika salad) are the same as those of the original location, with plans for additional salads, grilled items, expanded hours and wi-fi in the coming months.

While other theaters are cooling down a bit after a recent spate of art festivals, the Olympic Park is limbering up for an exciting series of upcoming performances, including one from director Zhang Yimou. Way back in 1997, Zhang premiered his opera Turandot in Florence – but following his success in directing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games, another performance of Turandot has been slated for October 6-7 at the Bird’s Nest.

Speaking of Zhang Yimou, the director says he has selected man-of-the-moment Xiao Shenyang (“Little Shenyang,” see photo above) to play a role in his upcoming thriller, Amazing Tales: Three Guns (三枪拍案惊奇), which should be on screens by the end of the year. Since early this year, this slim, tall comedian with smiling eyes has appeared on the cover of almost every major Chinese publication.

UK trance and progressive DJ Gareth Emery hits GT Banana Saturday, July 4. Below is some excerpted info about the rising star from his website:

“Writing and playing music is fundamental to Gareth Emery. His first gigs were at the age of 4, when despite never having lessons, he turned out to be so handy on the piano that his teachers insisted on him taking over the duties in school assembly. At 15, he found himself neglecting classical music training to sneak out to play guitar in a local indie band so ahead of their years that they found themselves headlining Southampton’s music pubs despite all being underage. And at 22, whilst on holiday in France, fiddling with a ￡500 laptop and wondering what he was going to do with his recent politics degree, he wrote his first electronic classic: the seminal ‘Mistral’. Plenty more were to come.

The Eatery at the Four Points Sheraton is launching a Saturday Brunch, which features a 50% discount for the first 15 guests and free RMB 180 French wine with the purchase of two RMB 368 brunches. In addition to the discount promotion, Saturday Brunch guests will be treated to a weekend food carnival experience.

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Pleasingly done out in creamy-pale hues accented by fresh flowers, Juliette’s has the feel of a cool, upscale French bistro – but not the flavor. We visited for lunch (RMB 78 for two courses) and endured a wishy-washy starter of underseasoned asparagus with quail eggs cooked to hard, chalky yolks. Better was the tuna tartare – piquant with a pleasant, chunky texture. To follow, a perfectly cooked chicken breast was betrayed by a mushroom ragout lacking the deep, woody flavor chicken craves, resulting in a dish not rustic and rich but flighty and forgettable. Admittedly, there’s nothing so broken here that can’t be fixed, but a lunch menu should be a tasty, value-for-money showcase for potential evening customers. And on our visit, Juliette’s fell short.

Juliette’s
Daily 8am-11pm. 1/F, Tongli Studio, 43 Sanlitun Beilu (southwest of 3.3 Mall), Chaoyang District (6417 8188)

/ – screech – / a printing press grinds to a halt / – click, slam – / a flip cellphone is opened then shut / it is the arrival of a new kind of book … / paperbacks, hardcovers, classics, goodbye … / – thud – / the publishing industry falls to the floor / – sobbing – / her children are grotesque monsters / claws like werewolves and syntax of drug-addled simians … /

If you haven’t heard of cellphone novels, ask your teenage daughter about it. The phenomenon, rampant across Asia and taking hold in the West too (www.textnovel.com), has taken the art of text messaging – and the malleability of the written word – to another level.

Every day, the mercury in the thermometer inches higher. You have two options: stay in the sun and be miserable, or find your closest swimming hole and cool down the old-fashioned way. Here’s where to escape the heat.

Aesthetic, elegant, and diminutively diet-friendly, sushi is perfect hipster food. So it’s a wonder that fashionable Nanluogu Xiang doesn’t have more places like this.

Haidian is a strange old place for those of us who live in town. It seems to be full of students and people who are willing to travel some distance to act like students (or touch them). It’s not all like this, though.

Q Bar has been enduringly popular in the three years it’s been open – thanks in large part to its terrace. So why would they change it now?

The Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Caochangdi turns two this week, with perhaps the most remarkable thing about this birthday being how young they are!

In two years photographer couple RongRong and Inri have established a leading venue for contemporary photography in Beijing, complimenting a series of rewarding exhibitions with the provision of a publicly accessible library and dark room facilities. It is now hard to imagine Caochangdi without them.

Dedicated to traditional analogue photography and dark room techniques, they are nonetheless not doctrinaire, with their current photography prize exhibition, “Points of Impact”, showing a diversity of works from artists ranging in age from 14 to 40, with most of them utilizing digital technology.

Jen Lin-Liu is here for the food. The Chinese-American writer enrolled in a local cooking school in 2005, apprenticed with a chef, worked in restaurant kitchens both humble and grand, wrote about all of these experiences in her memoir, Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China – and then topped it off by opening her own cooking school, Black Sesame Kitchen. We recently asked her a few questions about words and woks.

An uprooting of Oz proportions has set Cappuccino down at the opposite end of Bar Street. Upon seeing the extensive makeover, visitors may well testify that they aren’t in Cappuccino anymore. Manager Ryan says they want to “excite new customers,” which explains the newly installed svelte pole-dancing beauties.

This Japanese bar lies off a sterile corridor of a Jianwai Soho tower; you need to buzz the doorbell to get into the building, then follow the signs pointing to the appropriate door. Once inside, it’s a cool little box of a bar, similar in layout to most Japanese bars, but funkier in its decor.

Cocktails (from around RMB 40) are Yao Xin’s main attraction, with a detailed menu giving hints about each drink’s flavor and star ratings to indicate popularity. Sake (RMB 40-150/180ml), Belgian beers and a smallish selection of malt whiskies, including a ten year-old Laphroaig and 15 year-old Balvennie, add variety to the drinks list.

Much of Beijing woke up to the news that the irrefutable King of Pop had passed away, much too early, at the age of 50. As his iconic songs are being blasted around the world right now, Beijingers, too, are mourning the loss of such a creative genius.


With his undeniable hits, it's hard to imagine that Michael Jackson would have wanted his fans to sit around and wallow. In addition to attending the myriad of MJ tributes going on around town, Beijingers can also support our local original artists, who may aspire to, one day, make a lasting impact on worldwide music as well.

Here are five musical acts worth checking out this weekend:

This Sunday, the Canada China Business Council will be holding its annual Canada Day Celebrations at the Canadian International School. Join the Canadian community and friends at one of the largest outdoor events in Beijing this summer!

This is a fantastic way for family and friends to enjoy a fun and casual day out. Highlights of the event will include the Beijinger sponsored Hot Chili Pepper Eating Contest, where you can abuse your tastebuds and win cool prizes! There will also be BBQ, corporate exhibitions, a kids corner, and much more.

Time: 1pm-5pm

So, we're coming up on the one year anniversary of the monumental Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, and we're finally getting more light on the actual stats. As with most things, there is good news and bad news.

Bad news, the air quality was pretty scary. (surprise, surprise right?) Mr. James Fallows over at the Atlantic Monthly sheds some light through this dense fog of Beijing pollution here.

"...a joint US-Chinese governmental study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, has concluded that the air during the Beijing Olympics was far dirtier and unhealthier than in other recent Games..."