Game 1 of the 2015 CBA Finals will tip off tonight at 7.30pm in Benxi, Liaoning with the Beijing Ducks going head to head against the Liaoning Hunters. Given that basketball is one of China’s largest sports, the CBA finals could be one of the most viewed sports events on earth. This is the second season in a row for our beloved Ducks to get into the Finals, and there’s no better way to be a true Beijinger than getting a bottle of Yanjing and cheering for the Ducks tonight!

A Beijing-based scholar has criticized the big Chinese-character slogans and banners seen at intersections and subway stations as “creating confusion about the city’s international image,” ecns reports.

Cookie fans should get down to The Hutong this Saturday for the Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off, where 20 of Beijing's best bakers will go head-to-head for the cookie crown. Last year's winner, Jon Ellis, has since gone on to set up his own company, Big Bear Baked Goods, so the winner has big shoes to fill. The RMB 150 entry fee gets you a taste of all 20 cookies plus a hot drink provided by The Hutong.

Qualified passport holders from Canada and the People's Republic of China are now able to apply for visas in each other's countries that will be valid for up to 10 years. 

Families relocating to Beijing need help to navigate the shops, banks, paying utilities, grocery stores, and much more; this is where ayis come in. In most countries, people use agencies to hire nannies and cleaners, which makes it easier to get a standardized rate and so forth. However, there isn't a industry standard for ayis here in China, so most families  just try to figure things out on the fly. We compiled the most topical issues such as pay and opinions from a recent ayi survey in our feature. Find out if you are paying too much or too little?

Readers would be forgiven for thinking "World Baijiu Day" is the first day of Spring Festival, or whatever day male relatives arrive from out of town. But mark your calendars: World Baijiu Day is now set for August 8, 2015. Here is the press release, hot off the email:

"Whisky has one. Vodka, too. And so do absinthe, gin and tequila. Now the world's most popular spirit is getting its very own day. World Baijiu Day, slated for August 8, aims to spread the word a spirit that is the planet's most popular but almost wholly produced and consumed in China.

Apple had a guest from China on stage at Monday's "Spring Forward" event in San Francisco.

WeChat/Weixin, Shenzhen-based TenCent's popular messaging app, made a prominent appearance in the Apple Watch presentation by Kevin Lynch, vice president of technology at Apple, as he demonstrated the watch's features, which include messaging and the use of third-party apps. 

The cocktail chemists behind BBC and the current champions of innovative Japanese cuisine, Okra, will be joining forces to create 'Okra Wednesday Nights', starting this Wednesday (Mar 11).

Cuju mastermind, Badr Benjelloun is at it again with his new restaurant Caravan. Situated in the old digs of Casa Brasil, across from the Brazilian embassy, he will be serving up a wicked rotating menu of Moroccan-inspired eats for dinner (RMB 150 for a three course meal) and a set business lunch during the day.

Beijing’s Tianning Bridge was subject to an awkward and elongated, as well as unnecessary, failed escape at one of the many police check points yesterday afternoon.

A second-hand car driver who had not yet registered his changing license plate tried to steer clear of a police check point, but did so rather miraculously. The video shows him literally having nowhere to go, yet trying really hard to escape as he wriggles about in the tiny space trying to intimidate the police officers who literally have enough time to record his license plate number a thousand times.