More than 100 kilometers

Length of a traffic jam on National Expressway 110 earlier this week. The jam is now in its twelfth day.

Global Times

Trivia

Congrats to our group of winners who correctly answered the question: The play You Can't Take it With You was co-written by George S. Kaufman and...?

The correct answer was ( D ) Moss Hart

Our group of winners each won two tickets for the opening night of Beijing Playhouse's You Can't Take It With You September 3.


This Week's Trivia Challenge

According to the recent post “Talking Pints – Taking You Higher” on the Beijinger blog, what is the name of the highest bar in Beijing?

1. The Park Hyatt's China Bar
   
   
2. The Bird’s Nest
   
   
3. Atmosphere
    
4. Take You Higher
    
5. Laowai's Lounge
   
   

Send the correct answer to 7days@thebeijinger.com for a chance to win a double pass for Beijing Playhouse's comedy You Can't Take It With You on September 3.


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Best of the the Beijinger blog

The Census is Coming to Your Door… Probably Several Times
"Those of us who live in China get used to random intrusions into our homes by police or “volunteers” dropping in to check… well, who knows what they’re checking really, but check they do. On November 1 the biggest check of all begins, with the grandly titled “Sixth National Population Census,” which for the first time will include Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan residents –as well as foreigners living in China. Banners have been up for months, notices are starting to be pinned on doors, and “preliminary checks” have already begun around the city…"

Beijing's Traffic Madness Set to Worsen
"Back in July we reported that Beijing had scored the world’s highest rating on the “Commuter Pain Index,” with traffic five times worse than Los Angeles. That followed a Chinese Academy of Sciences report in June that found Beijing had the longest commute times in China. Now comes this news, reported yesterday in the People’s Daily: 'Average driving speeds in the Chinese capital will likely drop below 15 km per hour in five years if the number of vehicles continues increasing while no further measures are taken'...”
 

Instant Character Recognition Feature for iPhones
"Pleco, a New York-based company who specialize in developing tools to learn Chinese, have announced a new iPhone feature that looks like it will be invaluable, not only for those learning Chinese characters, but for anyone who lives here and isn’t fluent in reading Chinese. The feature uses the iPhone camera to look at and “read” Chinese characters through an Optical Character Recognition system. There’s no need to take a photograph – you just point you camera and the feature provides an instantaneous definition..."
 

This is the guide that punches through the tourist facade of this mighty city and tells you where real Beijingers like to eat, sleep, study, party, work, primp and play.

The ultimate English language guide to Beijing's Chinese restaurants is finally here! It’s called Beijing Eats – A Food-Lover's Companion to China's Culinary Capital, and it guides you to 140 of Beijing’s best Chinese restaurants, covering 31 regional and historic cuisines. Written by Eileen Wen Mooney, a long-time Beijing resident and food writer, each Chinese regional cooking style has its own chapter, with cultural information and expert descriptions of classic regional dishes, plus Eileen’s picks of the best restaurants around town.


Call our Distribution Manager Jenny Wang at 5820 7101 or e-mail for more details.

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Quick Jump: THU || FRI || SAT || SUN || MON || TUE || WED

Thursday, August 26 to Wednesday, September 1

Those with a sense of history will know that the thriving contemporary Beijing rock scene we all know and love has roots stretching back to the 80s, a time when it took real dedication to be a rock musician. Back then there were no real venues, no local festivals, no touring circuit and no international tours to be had. Yet from these unpromising beginnings emerged names like Cui Jian (pictured) and Tang Dynasty that have become synonymous with Chinese rock. On Friday these trailblazers hit the Workers’ Stadium to relive those heady early days at the Full Bloom Rock Heroes’ Concert. There’s a rumor local pop legend Wang Fei – aka Faye Wong – may also show up to lend a hand.

Meanwhile on the outskirts of Beijing, a younger generation will be ripping it up at the Great Wall Tanglewood Forest Music Festival out at Yanqing. Given a lot of the bands just played in Ditan Park at last week's Max Star Festival, you may not want to troop all the way to Yanqing to see them again, but there is also the Electric Picnic all night after the bands pack up, featuring some of Beijing's best-known DJs. Keep an eye on the Beijinger blog for details on how to get to the site.

And there's the Jing Lang Music Festival from Friday to Sunday in Jinglangdao Park, Mentougou, way out past the Sixth Ring Road West. How many more music festivals can Beijing take?

On a smaller scale, Beijing’s very own African group Afrokoko Roots are seeing out the last days of summer with an afternoon fundraiser at 2 Kolegas. The event will raise money for the thousands of victims of the floods and landslides that have plagued China over the last few months.

Finally, lovers of live performance and the printed word will be in heaven this Tuesday, with Beijing’s second Literary Death Match at the Bookworm. See authors Susan Barker, Mark Kitto, John Leary and James Palmer battle it out performing their best works in seven minutes or less. It promises to be loud, fun and ruthless!

Thursday, August 26

» Film: Great Debuts of the French New Wave
UCCA showcases some of the key titles of the French New Wave, a movement that introduced directors like Godard, Truffaut and Resnais to the world, and revolutionized filmmaking in the 1960s. Films in French with Chinese subtitles, some also with English subtitles. See here for subtitling details and the full schedule. Until Aug 29.
UCCA.

» Networking: ORIENTED Beijing
Get off the couch and make new friends, find new business contacts, win prizes, and sip cocktails. RMB 100/50 (pre-registered). Reserve at www.oriented.com/rsvp.
7pm. Loong Bar.

» Live music: Li Tie Qiao & Lander Gyselinck
Saxophonist Li Tie Qiao and drummer Lander Gyselinck make music “between jazz, rock, electronic music and noise.” RMB 50.
9pm. 2 Kolegas.

» Networking: INN Coffee Morning – Lido Area
Make friends and learn the ropes from veteran Beijing expats. Details at www.innbeijing.org. Free.
10am. Cosy Café.