Beijing八卦: Your Source of Beijing's Juiciest Gossip

Welcome to Beijing八卦. Originating from the symbol of Taoist cosmology, a system for organizing and understanding the forces of nature, bāguà is now more commonly used as a catchword for rumors and gossip. Therefore, think of Beijing八卦 as your personal Beijing grapevine – a dumping ground for tasty morsels of info that doesn't fit into our regular reporting.

Bookworm lives on for one final weekend

The rumors are true! If you didn't hear already, The Bookworm was granted an extension to its original closing date and has been holding events throughout this week as usual. The final closing date is this Sunday, Nov 17, which means you have four more evenings to go say your goodbyes. Head over on Thursday for their classical music open mic night Basically Beethoven or the final Beijing Sci-Fi Club meetup; on Friday they'll host the Beijing Swing Dancers as well as their final trivia night hosted by Anthony Tao; Comedy Club China take to the stage on Saturday for one last Drunk Debate; and finally, on Sunday night, the Jing Sing a capella ensemble will help sing everyone's blues away and help the crew "Call It a Night." *slowly tips beer onto floor*

The Local cancels open mic comedy night

Sad news for comedy fans: according to a WeChat post by Comedy Club China, Sanlitun Courtyard 4 pub The Local has canceled their regular Wednesday night open mic comedy indefinitely. While no official reason has been given, word on the street is that management was visited by police recently, and 'encouraged' to put an end to the event. This development brings the number of regular English-language comedy nights in the city down to one: Tuesday nights at Paddy O'Shea's. The comedy scene is currently on the lookout for a new regular venue. 

The most lively fitness group in the city, Heyrobics, throws in the towel

Sweden's fittest pusher-uppers Heyrobics are calling it quits after nine years sweating it out in the city. According to a post on their official WeChat account, the pink-short-wearing not-for-profit fitness gurus are putting an end to their regular schedule of events, although they will continue to offer occasional pop-up activities as the spirit moves them in the new year. The main reason for the change appears to be logistical: "whilst it's been the most fun job, it has also been a very big job to run this exercise community," and while we sympathize with their decision – running regular free events for such a large group of people is no mean feat – their departure is a big loss for the fitness community.

Recycling is coming

Every day, we seem to get another tidbit of information about the impending recycling revolution. Perhaps due to the fubar that was the befuddling recycling rollout in Shanghai, Beijing officials seem to be proceeding fairly cautiously in the capital, testing the waters before unilaterally applying new measures. The latest development is a decree that each housing complex is responsible for building centralized garbage and recycling stations. In a recent report, Xinhua describes a pilot station now operating in Beijing's western Shijingshan District. Closer to home, there have been reports that many a Dongcheng neighborhood trash can and recycling bin are uprooting from their usual locations. Stay tuned here for news on the impending recycling revolution as it happens.

Michelin Guide is throwing a party!

... And you can't afford to go. To celebrate the release of their first-ever Beijing Michelin dining guide, the European tire manufacturer-cum-fine dining expert company is throwing a huge party. But RMB 4,399 for a seat?! What do we look like, Russian oligarchs? On the off-chance you are in fact a Russian oligarch or the child of one, you can book your tickets here. 

Online police registration now possible... in Shanghai

According to a report in Smart Shanghai, lucky expats in the Pearl City can now register their comings and goings with the police online, saving the hassle of going to the local five-oh every time they return from a trip abroad or move house. While the service isn't yet available in Beijing, what goes down must come up, right? Here's to hoping we also get this nifty feature in the future.

What did we miss? Send us your tips and word from the street to editor@thebeijinger.com. All sources will remain anonymous unless you otherwise wish to become famous.

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Images: 海超刘 (via Unsplash), Tom Arnstein, China Comedy Club, Heyrobics, Xinhua