the Beijinger

Looking for something to do on April Fool's Day other than attend the U2 concert at the Workers' Stadium? Look no more! It's a freeze party at Jianwai Soho.

We're not really sure what to make of this event, which is apparently being organized by Soho itself. At noon tomorrow 100-200 people will gather in front of the Starbucks at Jianwai Soho. They'll discuss what position they want to "freeze" themselves in, and they'll then stay in that position without moving for five minutes. Soho informs us that photographers and journalists will be on hand to capture this (wild 'n crazy!) event. Might be worth heading over to see what transpires - last week's supremely innocent pillow party at The Place got broken up by dozens of city cops, who were apparently suspicious of a possible protest.

The new no smoking laws that made headlines back in February are now a little closer to being implemented as the Beijing People's Government Legislative Affairs Office has announced that the new regulations will come into effect on May 31. The details of the new laws, however, still remain vague, as lawmakers are still deciding on how exactly to broaden the ban on smoking to the city's hazy hotels, Internet cafes and restaurants. The copy of the draft law available here suggests that smoking will still be allowed in restaurants and other venues but restricted to well ventilated areas that are no bigger than 30% of the entire area of the restaurant. Other reports have claimed that the new law will only restrict smoking around the service counter of the restaurant. Another aspect to the new regulations that is still under discussion is the fining of individuals as opposed to the authority responsible for each venue. A spokesperson from the Legislative Affairs Office has announced that individuals will not be fined for smoking but that danwei will be held accountable for smoking taking place on their premises and are liable for fines of between RMB 1000-5000.

We'll just have to wait and see what Beijing lawmakers finally agree on, however, one thing is for sure, smoking in and around Olympic venues and facilities is going to be strictly monitored.

The Olympic Torch arrived in Beijing earlier this morning after a windy handover ceremony in Greece yesterday. Weather permitting, it's rumored that Olympic hurdler and star of a million advertisements Liu Xiang will carry the torch across Jinshui Qiao (the small bridge that straddles the moat that runs between the Tiananmen Gate and the square) to light the torch in the square later today. Festivities have already got under way with a lot of plate spinning and fan dancing going on at the square, but, details about the ceremony have been kept secret and, although it might not be obvious from the photo above, security is tight. Road blocks have been set up to prevent traffic and pedestrians getting too close to the square, and buses going along Chang'an Dajie as well as trains on the line 1 subway line, are not stopping at the Tiananmen East or West stations.

In a city bursting at its seams with mianbao che, a few more white vans don't get much attention. Until, of course, they catch your mianbao che violating the city standards for exhaust emissions.

Exhaust-monitoring vans hit the street this month, using laser technology to measure the carbon levels in the exhaust from passing vehicles. The laser takes less than a second to measure exhaust, and a camera snaps an image of the license plate of any offending vehicle. Minutes later, the driver will be stopped by a nearby cop car and fined RMB 100.

Chinese media reports that there are three vans in operation, with plans for seven more by the end of the year, and twelve more to hit the streets next year (according to The Times, however, there are already 22 in operation). Each van reportedly costs RMB 1.3 million, a significant amount, and we're surprised that the vans aren't getting much of a publicity campaign yet - you'd think that getting residents aware of the threat of being fined would be half the battle. We can't find a close-up photo of the vans, but supposedly they're marked with the words huanbao jiancha (环保检查, environmental monitor).

Xinhua announced last month that from this month on, only cars meeting China IV emission standards (the equivalent of Euro IV) can be sold in the city. Perhaps these standards (which were put into effect in Europe in January 2007, and limit car emissions to 0.25g/km of nitrogen oxides and 0.02 g/km of particulate matter) are being used to measure the city's vehicles.

The PENG crew, which consisted of X.L.F., Jackson Li, Huang Weiwei, and Pancake Lee, rebranded itself as Acupuncture Records last fall, bringing four other local DJs (Weng Weng, Elvis T, Terry Tu, and Xiao Feng) under its umbrella. Their goal: save techno. Six months later, even if techno's not saved, at least we all know it's around. Other electronica crews speak in hushed tones of awe of the Acupuncture marketing. One DJ said to me, "Where did they come from? ... They're making us all step up our game."

Starting from April, the Acupuncture umbrella just got a lot bigger. In addition to regular bilingual EP (electronic primer) Sessions designed to educate enthusiasts about DJing and different genres, Acupuncture is launching the Beijing Techno Union. "We are trying to get everyone together to make bigger noise and eventually a bigger scene," says Acupuncture manager and techno missionary Miao Wong. "The idea is to bring everyone together, establish a union."

No matter your "type", sometimes a big, sweet, sloppy love flows your way and is impossible to resist. This much is true of Study English Bar, just south of Tsinghua University in the Haidian district. If you're not chased away by the gushing refrain of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" which can dominate the entrance, Study English Bar will quickly prove itself a warm and worthy watering hole – particularly if you are looking for a language exchange.

Important bar safety tip: prepare yourself for Pong. No, not the videogame, though there are plenty of diversions strewn about the rooms; but Pong, the enormously genial manager. When he greets you, the bar's faux palm trees seem to sizzle and their cobalt string lights flash even more brightly. That is, his abounding warmth transforms the place into Orlando. So wear your tank tops. It is not uncommon for Pong to treat Study English Bar newbies to a free drink as he explains the different activities that take place in his establishment. Among them, notably, are the nightly English classes, which might run about RMB 15 and include a gratis red tea with the hour-long lesson. Free Mandarin tutorials are offered as well, but on a more ad-hoc basis.

Listen in to this very sad episode of the podcast as Johanna Steinke, who has raised the podcast to its 14th birthday but now has to return home to Europe, chats to that's Beijing editors for the last time about what's going on this weekend.

Jessica Wang recommends a blind wine tasting. Venus Lau along with Time Magazine suggest that PK 14's gig at 2 Kolegas is worth catching and Paul Pennay talks a little bit about TNT Theatre's production of Hamlet. A hung-over and emotional Matt P. Jager also manages to mumble something about a Grey Goose party at i-Ultra.

Also, be sure to stay tuned for Bus Talk at the end of the show, as Iain attempts to get the driver to wait for his friend.

This week in our trivia, we offer you the chance to win two tickets Beijing Playhouse's production of The Odd Couple on Apr 3. Send an e-mail to podcast@thebeijinger.com until next Monday and give us the answer.

So, once again, if you're not sure what to do next weekend and can't wait for the next issue of the 7 Days in Beijing e-mail Newsletter to land in your inbox, plug in your headphones, sit back, and enjoy the entertaining ephemera that is … the Beijinger Podcast!

For those who'd like to download the podcast and listen to it later, click (right-click to save in MP3 format) on the icon to the left or click here.

Winner of the Second Prize in the Sports News category by Ke Hao

In the wake of a flurry of fake photo scandals (South China Tiger, The Tibetan Antelope and even the pictures of the moon caught by the Chang'e moon probe), this year's International Press Photo Contest has come under considerable scrutiny. Mainstream media have picked up on blogs that accuse a winner of the award in 2005 (a picture of pigeons in a square being inoculated against bird flu) of being digitally modified - something that goes against the rules of the competition. Two other winners from the 2005 awards were also stripped of their titles. Keep reading below for a selection of some of the winning images from the competition.

You should have seen the debut issue of agenda around town over the last couple of weeks, but with a bi-weekly cycle there's no time for us to sit back and relax: Since putting the launch issue to bed, we've been hard at work putting together – to paraphrase an old music industry cliché – the "difficult" second issue, which is set to start hitting spots around the CBD and beyond from this afternoon.

For this issue's cover feature, we give you the lowdown on the best antique and reproduction markets around Beijing, and put the Spotlight on Lina Chen of Tanghouse Gallery, who tells us a thing or two about picking up antiques. We've also got profiles of Beijing's finest fusion restaurants, the city's spiciest Sichuan cuisine and best wine bars; a chat with Lovely Nails co-founder and interior designer Yang Ke, and a look inside Michael Liu's Lakeside Cafe and Gregoire Berthon's Murmur Lounge Bar; more Try These suggestions; and of course, complete event listings for the best of what's on over the next fourteen days!

A recent press release from the folks behind Block 8 detailed some changes to the May 9 opening of their terrace, The Beach. Last summer's Beach was one of the must-go venues for the seen-and-be-seen crowd, but took heat for its exclusive and apparently irrational entrance policy. This season, management promises: "We will be doubling our efforts to accommodate growing demands while also providing fair and equal treatment to all our VIP customers by implementing a new first-come-first-serve policy on more than half of the lounge-bed area. While nine cabanas and four beds will be offered nightly for group bookings (10 pax each), our six remaining beds will be to available to all, free of charge."

International Pillow Fight Day, a three-year-old event which originated in the US and has since spread to cities as far flung as Budapest, Sydney, and last year for the first time, Shanghai, is what it sounds like – a random meet-up of hundreds (or thousands) bearing pillows for a five-minute sploff with total strangers. How cute.

This year was Beijing's first attempt to join in the fun. But at 3.03 under the huge screen that covers the plaza of The Place at Guanghua Lu, who showed up? Not only a hundred-odd pillow fighters, ready for battle, but also upwards of 60 policemen who alighted from five vans, two cop cars, and an Escalade. They were quick to break up one of the most innocent gatherings imaginable.

The 2008 China Water Polo Open wrapped up on the weekend with the Australian women's team beating out the US in a tightly fought battle for first place. The Chinese women's team managed to come in third by defeating Russia in another competitive encounter on Saturday. Photographer Simon Lim captured these images of the Russia vs. America and Australia vs. China encounter on Friday. He noted that the sport lived up to it's reputation for being very rough with plenty of grabbing, pushing and kicking going on both above and below the surface. The image to the left shows a Russian player holding up her swimsuit after it was ripped off during their encounter with the US team.

On Tuesday Mar 18, Beijing experienced its first real sandstorm of the spring and we posted this image of the brown skies over the city as our pic of the week. Today we reproduce some images snapped by Xinhua and Beijing News photographers of some choice sandstorm fashion.

this video is no longer available - you can take a look at this one instead.

At about 10.20 last night, during the international news section of the Evening News (晚间新间) on CCTV 1, the screen suddenly switched from the prepared footage to anchor He Hongmei powdering her face. By the "caught in the spotlight" look on her face, we assume she was aware that the camera had just switched back to her.

From early March, Beijingers have been unable to access their Yahoo Group accounts. It now appears that the groups are available again and once more people can get access to such groups as the Beijing Organic Consumers Association, Beijing Cricket Club, TangoRen, BGLAD and Foreigners in Beijing.

Youtube, which has been unavailable since Mar 15, is still down.

I got a tour of the new Saddle Cantina today. The place is sharp, and matched Chad's promise that it will look like a Mexican hacienda. The location is hard to picture unless you've been there. Basically, it's in that big white thing behind Tongli, catty-cornered from the rear of Ciro's. For the moment, the mall entrance is hidden between the Sanlitun xiaomaibu and the magazine stand, but when the new Nali complex is finished, Saddle will be (pardon me as I gush)awesome.

The two-story stand-alone building is adobe orange with timber frames poking out from the roof, with a second story 200sqm outdoor seating area. The downstairs bar will be reminiscent of the old Saddle. Tables spill into the courtyard and the taps feed directly from the microbrewery (which will make an ale and some kind of dark beer). The upstairs feels spacious, the toilets look like cabanas, and there's this unbelievable fifty-foot glass retractable sunroof. Seriously.

Listen in for a rundown of the events taking place this Easter weekend. Paul Pennay recommends joining the closing ceremony of the Francophonie Fest at Yugong Yishan with bands like Chinatown (from Quebec) and Rue d’la Gouaille (from France).

Matt P. Jager breaks his tongue, as he tries to recommend Obiwan's Neue Deutsche Welle Party. He also suggests getting dressed up in white for Yen White in order to become part of the decorations at Star Live.

Venus Lau is not replacing Berwin Song this week, but appearing in her own right, and she recommends seeing Huang Yongping's "un-beautiful" art at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art.

Jessica Wang will head over to the Easter Moments Brunch at Elements at the Hilton to talk to a real bunny.

Also, be sure to stay tuned for Bus Talk at the end of the show, as Matt offers his seat to an old lady and has to deal with a guy that steals it.

This week in our trivia, we offer you the chance to win two tickets for Yen White on Friday at Star Live. Send an e-mail to podcast@thebeijinger.com until Thursday around noon and give us the question! to our trivia answer.

So, once again, if you're not sure what to do next weekend and can't wait for the next issue of the 7 Days in Beijing e-mail Newsletter to land in your inbox, plug in your headphones, sit back, and enjoy the entertaining ephemera that is … the Beijinger Podcast!

For those who'd like to download the podcast and listen to it later, click (right-click to save in MP3 format) on the icon to the left or click here.

In places like the UK, the US or Australia, even on domestic flights, it's not uncommon to spend more time checking in, passing through security, and waiting than you spend on the actual flight. So the idea of flying domestic in China tends to be a welcome change for most foreigners. Passengers can show up for a domestic flight in China 30 minutes before departure and still be confident that they will make the flight – admittedly this is often due to the fact that most planes take off well after official departure times. Indeed, taking a flight in China has often been compared to catching the bus: "if you miss this one, just take the next." All that, however, is about to change …

Although in place for years, China had decided to strengthen its policy of prohibiting the carrying of liquids on flights. The original policy, which prohibited the carrying of liquids on international flights, was strengthened in December of 2006 as the result of a thwarted plot to sneak explosive liquids onto a flight from Britain to the United States. However, as of March 14, the General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) has now prohibited liquids from being taken on domestic as well as international flights.