Music News

2007 Beijing Pop Fest Line up Announced

This just in: Nine Inch Nails (left), Public Enemy, The Ramones and The New York Dolls have been announced as the headlining acts for the 2007 Beijing Pop Festival to be held September 8-9 in Chaoyang Park. Thin Man, The Honeys, Joyside and Brain Failure represent the local side. You heard it here first, people. Tel: 400-818-3333. Buy tickets at www.piaowutong.cn

Club Culture

Cigar Legends

Beijing has plenty of millionaires, but only a handful of lounges catering exclusively to the cigar chomping set. Cigar Legends, decked out in wood paneling and red leather, is first class all the way. Cigars range from ¥98-2,000 while ¥78 cocktails keep out the riff-raff.

Love View

The cat’s out of the bag. Beijing Boyce broke the news that the China Doll people are working on their second venue, taking over the Nhu Lounge space in Lido. Ai Wan adds that the new space, to be called Love View, will be a high end lunch spot during the day and a chill club space at night.

Bar News

Scooter Giveaway

Rickshaw has teamed up with Stella Artois to give away a brand new, shiny scooter. Buy a Stella at Rickshaw and a Hoegaarden at The Saddle, get your ticket stamped and enter into the big draw scheduled for September 1.

Food News

Peach Season

Changping peaches are hitting the city. Famous throughout China, these juicy morsels of tender goodness are big, round, perfect and incredibly cheap.

Where's Rumi?

Don’t panic. Beijing’s favorite Persian grill is still around, it has just moved to a bigger and better location near Gongti.

Expat Taxes

Get Out While You Can

A new law states that any foreigner who has lived in China for five consecutive years can have all of their income, not just that earned in China, taxed, unless they have left the country for 30 consecutive or 90 cumulative days during any one of those five years.

Water Safety

Drink up

Beijing’s tap water passed all 106 tests and has been declared safe to drink. That is, before it leaves the plant and gets slugged through 7,000 km of old piping, where it’s introduced to the secondary pollution that shows up as floaties in your cup.