the Beijinger

This photo of the Zhangye Danxia Landform in Gansu Province looks too good to be true, kind of like the rolling, Photoshop-polished hills that are so often featured on Beijing's billboards that keep people from glimpsing dreary construction sites. Bored Panda tells us its real, along with 21 other fascinating places around the world you didn't know existed. Go here for the full list, and see below for the four other spots in China that you can go check out for yourself next time a holiday comes around.

Lots of changes mean lots of choices for Beijingers this spring and summer. Not satisfied with burgers and seafood, the Let's franchise will expand into noodles with Let's Pasta in July, opening in Sanlitun Village South. The new venue will use a choose-your-own-pasta concept, including not only Italian, but also Hong Kong and Japanese-style recipes.

Author/photographer Tom Carter has gone on record about “getting his start” in China through the Beijinger. He answered a job ad in the back of the February 2004 issue, after the Craigslist ad he originally responded to – and flew out all the way to China for – turned out to be a scam (“some guy in a bathrobe running an ‘English school’ out of his Haidian apartment”). He later worked as a freelance photographer for the Beijinger.

Tom has published two books since then, CHINA: Portrait of a People and the new expat anthology Unsavory Elements, both which prominently feature Beijing in their pages.

Leading up to his May 21st book talk at The Bookworm, we asked Tom to name some of his own personal favorite reading material about Beijing, and he obliged us with the following list, along with some movies thrown in for good measure.

The weekend is here and there's plenty to be getting on with. For starters, there's the latest Tease Boutique party after a short break. It's being called a Secret Night Picnic Party. As usual, details are a little sketchy and you have to email them if you want more details about the soiree. One thing of which you can be assured is that there'll be drinking, dancing and some outlandish party wear. There will also be body and face painting.

Need some last minute ideas on where to wine and dine this weekend? Don't worry, we've got you covered.

This year – in order to give everyone more time to concentrate on drinking at our Reader Bar & Club Awards Party – we've decided to announce some of the winners before the big event. Yesterday and earlier today we announced the winners in nine categories, which you can read about here, here, and here. The last three categories that we are pre-announcing are: Maddest Regulars, Best Open Mic, and Best for Students (only votes from voters identifying themselves as students were counted). You can see which bars have come up trumps below.

For the other awards, turn up Saturday, as we're saving the best categories for the party. Names appear with the venue that received the most votes first, then outstanding performers in alphabetical order.

Tongli Studio stalwart Le Petit Gourmand is moving. Closed five days ago, the space that LPG currently occupies will become a bar called Jack D operated by the same management. It's slated to open towards the end of the month, one of the partners, Mr. Cui, told the Beijinger earlier today.

However, fans of the restaurant should not despair. LPG is looking at a bigger space in the Yashow area, which may feature a garden. The move and re-opening should take about three months, Cui said.

Kung-fu film fanatics, your dream has come true: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II – The Green Destiny will begin production in March next year. The news was confirmed yesterday at The Cannes Film Festival by producer Harvey Weinsten, who praised the stars of the sequel, Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen, as an action “Dream Team,” according to The Wall Street Journal:

This year – in order to give everyone more time to concentrate on drinking at our Reader Bar & Club Awards Party – we've decided to announce some of the winners before the big event. Yesterday we announced the winners in six categories, here and here. The next three categories are: Best Cheap Drinks, Best Happy Hour and Best Value. You can see which bars have come up trumps below.