December 2011

the Beijinger - January 2012: Enter The Dragon

Happy New Year, Beijing!

This month greets not one but two turns of the year. To mark that unusual fact we've dived into our dressing-up box and come up with ... our third-annual live action animal costume comic strip Cover Feature. This one is all about a dragon, let's call him Dragon, and the trials and tribulations he faces in the Beijing property market. We've all been there - trouble with the landlord, noisy neighbors, overzealous baoan - so here's a tale for the ages. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be in a state of frenzied anticipation for next year's Snake story.

Back in the real world, we're happy to start another year as we ended the last - giving you the best that Beijing has to offer. This month we clear up the murky world of the various Air Pollution Indices and unearth the organic fruit and veg on offer to us in our Ecology section. We've taken the cholesterol hit for you in scoping out the finest of fried dumplings in our Dining Feature and we've Taste Tested enough green tea-flavored foodstuffs to have left us a fittingly matching color around the edges. We have also found out all about charity's new secret weapon, the Little Gold Book, and the Mellowparks.cn crew share their memories of a whole decade of the Red Bull Nanshan Open.

Elsewhere in the issue it's what you've come to expect - all the content that matters. The best interviews, the events that count, all of the new bars, restaurants and shops plus more prizes than you can comfortably cram into a train home for chunjie.

Get a copy in all of the usual distribution points or resolve to read it right here, right now.

You can download the January issue of the Beijinger here (you'll need to sign in to download the PDF).

the Beijinger - December 2011: Get Crafty

It’s the holiday season and that usually means a period of overindulgence and the exchanging of gifts followed by a resolve to make a change next year. We’ve tried to help you get a head start on two of those three inevitable in our Cover Feature. We’ve dived hands first into the world of Chinese handicrafts to bring you what Beijing has to offer – from candy figurine blowing to Peking Opera mask painting. Why not get your hands on a new hobby, craft gifts for family and friends and – in some cases – even give a little to charity? We think that’s well worth getting your hands dirty.

Elsewhere in the magazine there's plenty more to keep you busy between all of that handiwork. Our Dining Feature falls fowl of the festive spirit as we pick Beijing’s 12 best ducks, we share a 1000-kilometer tuk-tuk ride with two intrepid adventurers in our Explore Feature and we try to join the city’s artisanal brewers in Party Like A ...

We've also got an Ecology Feature on the artists turning Beijing’s garbage into art, we take on krav maga with Eatalia’s Mario in Playdate and the Peking Man gives us his Guide To Getting A Seat on the Subway.

As ever we've got all the content that matters. The best in events, new bars, restaurants and shops and more prizes than ever, including tickets to The Cut’s New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner.

You can download the November issue of the Beijinger here (you'll need to sign in to download the PDF) or you can read it below.