The eyeball-freezing Siberian winds, hunger for gallons of mulled wine, and the nagging stress that only delayed Christmas present shopping can bring means that it must be time once again for The Hutong Winter Fayre. Luckily, as with every year past, this Saturday's event (Dec 8, 11am-4pm) is the perfect panacea for all of the above ails, as shoppers huddle together on The Hutong's terrace sipping on steaming cups of spiced wine and browsing some of the finest goods from local sellers.

Generally speaking, the musical genres of disco and punk could not be more polar opposites – on the surface, one idealizes glamour and consumerism while the other holds dear to its gritty existence of disestablishment. However, their combination when done right can be a beautiful thing and Beijing has seen some exceptions to this throughout the years.

You’ve likely never heard of it, but once you try you’ll be raving about it for days. Justin is an upscale Singaporean fusion restaurant located in a nondescript office building between the CBD and the Silk Market, and yet you may have never even heard of it. That's likely because, in its year-and-a-half of operation, the eatery has done next to none of the marketing and promotion that has helped hype up its better-known competitors around town. And yet its pedigree is apparent from the moment you arrive.

Rising above an otherwise tepid 2018 Beijing dining scene, the Bottega team has added a little heat to the capital’s few south-of-the-border options with their new culinary endeavor, El Barrio.

Fret not, Beijing bookworms. If you passed by Page One's Sanlitun branch recently and saw it in a sordid state, with barren walls and laborers toiling about, you’ll be relieved to hear that the bookshop was only undergoing renovations, rather than joining a slew of other Beijing institutions that have shut down as part of the city's Great Brickening beautification campaign.  

Hearty fare like stuffed pork shoulder, borsche and onsite brewed beer are all on offer at this Czech restaurant in Sanlitun's prime foodie haven, Topwin Mall.

The seas of Beijing's F&B scene are tempestuous, and sailing them is a trial only to be undertaken by the brave, and resilient. Following new regulations imposed on a number of Shuangjing based eateries, the trendy vegan fast-food spot Root Pop was forced to close down their original location in the International Art Plaza.

Now that the mercury has dropped and the days are getting shorter and shorter, convincing yourself to get off the couch and onto the treadmill is harder than ever. If the fact that exercise is sure to raise your temperature isn’t enough to encourage you to go to the gym then these out-there fitness classes just might.

Experts say Beijing has plenty of work to do to reduce its emissions and temperture enough to ward of deiasterous global warming. But they are confident it can be done.

“Quite honestly a lot of talent is here. They just need to be uncovered, nurtured and guided,” said star snowboarding coach Bud Keene about China's winter sports prospects.