5 Things to Taste, Smell, Touch, Hear, and See, May 29-31
Beijing can be overstimulating place to live, to say the least. Let’s be real: sometimes even our sixth sense (the one that tells you when that stick of chuan'r will make you sick for the next two days) gets a decent workout. With such a wide variety of events, restaurants, and gigs to attend, we suggest bathing each of your five senses in one, if not all, of the nourishing goings-on below.
Taste
Daily: Discounts at Superfly, The Opposite House
To round out The Opposite House's gustatory overhaul, their latest and last venue, Superfly, has officially opened. In essence, Superfly is a modern take on a Chengdu "fly restaurant" (a small family-run joint that attracts diners like flies), allowing hotel's in-house Chinese chef, Li Dong, to play around with a more casual menu and create small and bigger plates of Sichuanese cuisine, all made for sharing. As part of their soft opening, they're offering a limited and daily, midday-2pm, Sichuan-style beef noodle lunch set for RMB 88. What’s more, all dishes are 30 percent off through the end of June. Free. 11am-midnight. The Opposite House
Smell
May 30: TaoYoga at Ritan Park
Wake up and smell that fresh spring foliage in Ritan Park with TaoYoga. After a week of work and stress, it’s the perfect way to balance your inner harmony and usher in a much-deserved relaxing weekend. RMB 66 (registration required). 3.30-5pm. Ritan Park North Gate
Touch
May 30: Photo Walk Workshop
Feeling shutter happy? Looking to deepen your knowledge of the capital? Then give your index finger a workout and exercise your brain muscles and legs with a photo walk workshop. The day will consist of a photography lesson, some fascinating tidbits about old Beijing, and a dissection of what makes a good photo. The class will be led by Josh Haller, a US-native with 15 years experience living and working as a photographer in Beijing. RMB 350. 3-6pm. Location announced after registration
Hear
May 29-30: Reset at OneWood
The Two Sessions must be done because Beijing has been blessed with a club night this weekend! In what is Lido’s answer to Lantern, OneWood is throwing a two-day techno-drenched bash billed as “a gift for you before the Children’s Day.” Expect a variety of electro-inspired sounds, from disco to deep house and minimal to dub from the likes of Beijing DJs Meng Meng, Weng Weng, Darcy, and Aled spinning across Friday and Saturday. If the music isn’t enough to entice you through the door, perhaps this excerpt from the visionary wordsmith behind Reset’s WeChat marketing will be: "You can drink the strongest alcohol unscrupulously, listen to the hardest voice, and then fill your blood vessels with No. 98 gasoline fuel." RMB 50. 10pm-late. OneWood
See
May 29: Marina Abramović Zoom Conversation
Marina Abramović, AKA the Grandmother of Performing Arts, is no stranger to China. In fact, she's seen more of it that many of us, spending 90 days to walk 2,000km of the Great Wall back in 1988 for performance art piece "The Lovers" with her then-partner and collaborator, Ulay. This Friday Abramović returns to the capital, albeit digitally, for a conversation with Zhang Rui, associate professor in the Department of Art History at Tsinghua University. They'll be joined by Eric Shiner, executive director of New York's Pioneer Works, to discuss art as a career and predict what place art will have in future societies, as well as a Q&A session at the end. Free. 8-9.30pm. Zoom ID: 992 8624 8062; password 747133
READ: Hot & Spicy 2020: Putting the Fire Back in Dragon Boat Festival!
Images courtesy of the organizers, Ksenia Makagonova (via Unsplash), publicdelivery.org
