[Updated Feb 16] If the thought of staying in Beijing for Chinese New Year makes you flinch, fear not. While the subway cars become abandoned your stomach needn't fear the same empty fate. Although some of our hotspots will be closed across the entire Chinese New Year holiday schedule (Feb 18-25) others are leaving their doors wide open for you to come in and try some of their cuisine without the hassle of waiting around. Check below for where you can still go: 

The official population of Beijing grew by only 368,000 people in 2014, as government officials claimed credit for keeping the city's growth under control. 

Beijing now has 21.516 million permanent residents, over eight million of which live "outside the city," Caixin Media reported, although it was not specific as to how "outside" was defined.

“Cheerful assistants.”

So turns out working in Hell makes people happy.

One of the Chinese traditions that as a foreigner you have to grasp quickly, is the concept of the Chinese red envelope. Whether you’re in China for business or pleasure, you’ll encounter situations in which you’re expected to give a hóngbāo (红包). Hongbao is an amount of money given as a gift to someone, tucked in an ornate red envelope. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. During the Chinese Spring Festival, people of a higher rank are expected to give away hongbao.

Yunnan is often referred to as the land of perpetual spring (四季如春) which for those of us stuck in equally perpetually dry and chilly Beijing seems like somewhat of a distant dream. The best we can do is visit one of Beijing's many Yunnan restaurants and imagine lolling in the sun in Dali Old Town with a chilled bottle of Dali Beer.

Thinking of setting off your own fireworks this year? Make sure you know what you are doing, as Beijing cuts firework selling days down to eleven (February 12 to 23) – the least amount of days in eight years, China Daily reports. On top of that, only 942 firecracker stalls were approved this year, also down from previous years. The Hope is that less fireworks will reduce pollution levels across the city (as well as injuries and the WWIII vibe as a byproduct).

Is Six Flags planning an amusement park in Tianjin? We're not sure anymore. Yesterday we were alerted to a news article from the LA Times that referenced Six Flags's plans for a park in Tianjin, slated to open in 2018.

But after receiving a brief note from Six Flag's Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications overnight indicating there were no such plans, we dug a little deeper.

China’s two biggest competing mobile taxi-hailing apps, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, announced their merger via Sina Weibo on Saturday. Upon completion of the merger, the two will take up nearly the entire taxi-hailing app market, combining Didi Dache’s 43.3 percent and Kuaidi Dache’s 56.5 percent market share.

"Does acting in or watching a Shakespeare play sound like a bad high school flashback? Well this isn't like anything you've seen, or possibly performed in, before.

Beijing Playhouse will hold auditions for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) on March 1 and 2, for performances of the long-running London West End play May 8-21. The show claims a record for the fastest performance of Hamlet ever: 43 seconds.

Although foreigners are leaving China at a quicker rate than coming in, and sometimes it feels like the only sector hiring is the education sector, there are still sectors where foreigners are actively sought after.