We visited Alfa last night to sample their brand new menu cooked up by a French chef and featuring some really delicious seafood, as well as other dishes.

We started off with some bruschetta and tapas, which should hopefully become the centerpiece of some upcoming evening events and promotions at ... Read more »

Parkson in Fuxingmen

US luxury men and women’s outerwear brand London Fog is offering 60-90 percent off in a storewide sale. The store is located on the seventh floor of the north building of Parkson Fuxingmen. Until July 8

Gucci at Shin Kong Place

Gucci rarely holds sales in ... Read more »

If Beijing’s summer’s just not hot enough for you, spice it up a bit at South Beauty, one of Beijing’s largest Sichuan chains. Branches are conveniently located throughout the CBD, with the latest in the newly-opened Gemdale Plaza. Those hungry for a fabulous food-making show should start ... Read more »

If anyone was thinking about hitting up Caribbean Lagoon Water Park, you’re out of luck for now and maybe for ever. We’ve just learned that if they even open this year they are not opening until mid-July. There is a strong possibility they won’t open at all ... Read more »

We thought we might want to start your day in tiao pi, or silly, mode. And here it is — a classic Line 13 shot of — two arrows for one direction — that's Dongzhimen.

Given, the Beijing Subway does seem to throw some of the craziest signage around. But most likely ... Read more »

Microphone mania today — the top bidder of Wang Minglu crosstalk works got the media in a frenzy — and ended up on the front cover of the Wanbao. On the front page in big headlines, though, is bad news: 7 cases of H1N1 was found in one primary school. That's ... Read more »

Someone on the Great Big Internet Out There spilt the beans — on the as-yet "State Secret"-ish Subway Line 4 announcements. We've had a listen — and we bloody like it.

Bloody — because that's a sorta-strictly British English term. And that's precisely what it is — Received Pronunciation glory ... Read more »

FRIDAY

Don't Stop: Official Michael Jackson Tribute Night at Club LA: Club LA celebrates the life of Michael Jackson with a night of MJ dance-off competitions, look-alike contests, costumes and, of course, four decades of music from the Gloved One.

Bodycode at White Rabbit: Itinerant producer Bodycode (aka Alan ... Read more »

Shanghai's world-class Metro (yep, despite the recent Line 8 delays) is set to expand to 400 km — giving London a little run for the money. And just to show that Shanghai's in Beijing Mode (Pre-Games), the city's also getting its hands warmed up for — that's right ... Read more »

It's not all that — shall we say — "un-often" that we lump the words "crappy service" with "post office" together in one word — but we don't bother putting a negative in the whole thing because, well, service at times can be — something to whine about at length. But your ... Read more »

What is the best way for an expat to finance a property in Beijing?

Now there are very few people who are willing to purchase a property because of the relatively poor state of the economy. However, for those that are willing, I highly recommend that the person pay for ... Read more »

The future is looking brighter than ever as China considers introducing subsidies for solar power production beginning the second half of 2009, according to the South China Morning Post. Doing so would encourage widespread adoption of photovoltaic technology, which has lagged in China due to its high cost. Currently, as ... Read more »

Paris-based Chinese artist Shen Yuan is known for installations that use theirf spatial power to involve the viewer. “Hurried Words” combines two works that draw the viewer into her exploration of language, dialogue and object association.

Entering the room, the viewer is confronted by a tangle of hair dryers hanging ... Read more »

This poster for Luga's Villa 4th of July party came around today and made everyone in the office burst out laughing. Luga as Uncle Sam. It's so good we just felt compelled to share it with everyone else in Beijing. It's got this strangely hypnotic power. If ... Read more »

Starting July 2, all five Zara locations across Beijing are offering summer sale discounts on clothing and accessories. Get up to 50 percent off on Zara products, and Zara's sister brands Bershka and Pull and Bear. Selected bracelets and purses are on sale for as low as RMB49, bags ... Read more »

A well spoken young man from a small town just outside Preston in the UK, Sean Gallagher studied Zoology at Newcastle before beginning an internship at Magnum Photos in London. It was during this year in London in which he developed his passion for photography. “The internship finished and left ... Read more »

Skies are sure — well, you know — blue as heaven, if your Beijingologist's making any sense at all. The big pic in today's Wanbao: we've the best air quality in 10 years. You might not believe that if you've just been stunk up by the random passing ... Read more »

Our Beijingologist's reason for existance — aka the Beijing Subway — turns 40 this year, and lately they've been handing out (against a pretty steep fee of CNY 280 a pop) collections of tickets from years gone by.

We thought we'd might let you take a look at this ... Read more »

It'll be a while before you catch your Beijingologist in subterranean mode again. Here's what happened:

At 09:30 yesterday (a Sunday, of all days), the Beijing Subway decided to go into Explosion Mode when what appears to be scrap metal touched the high-voltage (750V!) third rail, which ... Read more »

Get ready for a very brutal Wanbao. Jeepers. Our hands are trembling as we're typing this... first off, that's the wreckage of two trains slamming right into Chenzhou Railway Station. 3 died and 80 were injured. This sure seems to be a sucky start to the new week ... Read more »

Song Zuying, an ethnic Miao singer who has performed at the Sydney Opera House, Vienna’s Golden Hall and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, returns to the Olympic grounds for a concert that fuses pop, opera and classical music. Song joins an all-star cast that also includes Spanish tenor ... Read more »

Bad, bad news right at the bottom of the Wanbao today: MJ (Michael Jackson) has died at "just" the age of 50. Best known for his signature songs, including Bad, Beat It and Black or White, the King of Pop's death stretched Twitter to the limit and was in ... Read more »

The first farewell party to Michael Jackson in Beijing has been announced, and it takes place tonight at Fez Bar:

Moonwalks from Morocco: Farewell to Michael

How is everyone else saying farewell to the Gloved One?

Leave your thoughts about MJ and ideas for how Beijing should bid adieu in ... Read more »