the Beijinger

Do you like winning things? All you need to do is to find this month’s issue of the Beijinger and answer some questions correctly. You can earn yourself a Valentine’s Day dinner for two at Compass Grill (worth RMB 999) , or a Valentine’s Day dinner at Kerry’s Kitchen (worth RMB 688). Enter to win both but remember that you'll only win one, you can't physically be at two places at the same time. Not with Beijing traffic. And there's even more you can win ...

This women's shoe brand, first founded by expats in Shanghai in 2007, is now up to 14 Beijing branches and counting. (For a list of all existing store locations, click here.) According to their website, D:FUSE "strives to bring the latest Scandinavian urban trends to the fashion forward Chinese consumer."

It just so happens that their trend-conscious footwear appeals to us expats as well. And now, one lucky reader has the chance to win a pair of free shoes! Whether sandals or pumps, their designs typically range from RMB 600-1,500, with most of them priced at around the RMB 700-800 mark. You can check out some of D:FUSE's latest styles below, or peruse the full collections here.

The rules? With the exception of the higher-priced Desire line, you can choose whatever pair meets your fancy (though do note that their largest size available is 39).

Fancy a bit of Mala Xiangguo? Order your chicken wings biantai la? Put your Sichuan friends to shame by ordering the extra spicy broth at the local hot pot joint? Then we invite you to step up and take part in the Fourth Annual Beijinger Chili Pepper Eating Contest being held as part of the Canada Day celebrations at the Canadian International School this Sunday.

We've got good news for fans of electronic dance music. The man who has featured in DJ magazine's Top 10 every year since 1998 is returning to Beijing – and we've got tickets to give away. Paul Van Dyk's "Evolution World Tour 2011" hits Tango's third floor this Thursday. To win a pair of tickets, all you have to do read on.

Butcher’s Steakhouse’s giant burgers have gone – the building is currently a cleaned-out shell (we’ll keep you up to date on what moves into that “difficult” space at the top of Sanlitun Bar Street) – but Fuel at Langham Place is keeping the tradition of gut-busting eating challenges going with a new batch of dining promotions for the summer.

The August issue of the Beijinger is out now and what better time for us to unveil the new way to read the mag online than our Art issue? Inside the magazine - as you can see below - you'll find a veritable visual feast as we take the high roads and the low roads to explore Beijing's Art Districts. We're always hearing Chinese modern art this and Beijing's the center of that so we went for a wander around to find out where's best to have a great day out seeing it for yourself. Now you can impress your dates, astound your visitors and get fit while getting as much intellectual stimulation as you can handle.

While we're focusing much of our attention on the Beijinger's Tenth Anniversary Party on Saturday, another long-running Beijing institution is celebrating a birthday of its own on Friday night. Chaoyang Park West Gate veteran Suzie Wong's (or The World of Suzie Wong, to give the club its actual name) hosts its ninth birthday party on October 14, and we've got a few tickets to give away!

It really is a reading frenzy lately, isn’t it? Yesterday, March 3, was World Book Day, and tomorrow, March 5, is World Book Night, so the good folks over at Penguin China are offering up a lovely set of Penguin Classics to a lucky bibliophilic Beijinger. Just answer the question at the bottom of this post to win!

In case you haven’t heard, Usher is playing at Wukesong Stadium this Sunday (July 11). My first Usher song happened to be “Can U Help Me,” which was recorded on a pirated compilation cassette. Other songs on the tape include “I Fought in a War” by Belle & Sebastian and “Sing For the Moment” by Aerosmith, and also Sting’s “Fragile,” I think. It was more than ten years ago, so I started this interview by asking…