the Beijinger

What do fireworks, great action movies, fruit wrapped in baskets, fancy envelopes, new clothing and people getting fat have in common? You guessed it, they’re all things you see during Chinese New Year! As this year’s chunyun comes to a close, let’s take a minute and look back on some of the impressive figures that were rung up during the CNY period.

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.

Forgive me, I’ve been less on top of artsy news this week because I’ve been too busy trolling the internet at odd hours to keep up with this Jeremy Lin business. Yes, I am the world’s most intermittent basketball fan. But that’s beside the point. There are actually quite a few exciting things going on this week, like Capital M Literary Festival tickets going on sale, great indie films, a blind movie-watching experience and your last chance at several art exhibits! Click through for more.

“Last Orders” is a regular magazine column in which we ask noteworthy Beijingers to imagine their final meal before leaving the city for good. This month’s host: Will Yorke, Owner, Vineyard Cafe and The Vineleaf

The venue
A mianbao taxi from 1997. The driver is happy and there would be a hole in the floor and the rear might open up and lose diners at any moment.

The starters
Meat-filled pancakes (roubing 肉饼) from Ping’an Roubing Dian on Ping’an Dajie, just west of Dongsishitiao. These would be served with ma doufu (麻豆腐) and guanchang (灌肠) (potato starch sliced, fried and served with a bowl of smashed garlic in water). Not because I really like guanchang, but just because the characters for the dish are the same as “enema.” Some restaurants translate it into English as “fried enema,” which is surely a unique dish.

Up until now, Topshop and Topman have only been accessible to China residents via their online websites. All that’s about to change.

FEI Space – a concept store in 798 that’s been likened to New York’s Opening Ceremony (by us), a “genteel flea market” (by Stylites.net) and “a creative bazaar” “with a salvaged-chic vibe” (by the New York Times) – sits at the helm of Topshop and Topman's first collaboration and presence on the Chinese mainland.

We recently wrote an article on local designers to look out for, but we’d be remiss in neglecting to acknowledge the beautiful women being chosen to wear their designs.

For awhile now, Western media have been marveling over the spike in Asian faces on the runways and in the glossies. The buzz first began in November 2010, when a photo spread titled “Asia Major” in Vogue’s December issue was first unveiled. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton cast its first-ever Asian male model in early 2011. (See our March issue's Style section for drool-worthy photos.)

                                 A Nazi meeting in Buenos Aires, 1938

Just after the close of WWII, a group of Nazi scientists began construction on a top-secret project on a remote island in Argentina.

The goal of “Project Huemul” was to produce limitless nuclear fusion energy – and along with it, enough power and nuclear weapons to rule the world.

Eight years ago, my band Chunqiu (Spring & Autumn) played at the Snow Mountain Music Festival in Lijiang. The day before the festival kicked off, we sound-checked at the venue, an alpine meadow 45 minutes by car above town. Then we shared a minibus back down to Lijiang with the band Brain Failure, one of China’s best-known Punk bands. At first there was a bit of awkwardness.

With Beijing's air pollution casting a dark gray shroud over our city sky this summer, its hard not to wonder what all that particulate matter, ozone, and other contaminates are doing to your body. We asked Dr. William Chickering, one of four American Board-certified Emergency Physicians at BJU, a few questions about it. Dr. Chickering has lived in Beijing almost four years after time on the faculty of the Medical College of Virginia. He has practiced for prolonged periods in Guatemala, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, and Korea.