Small Talk With... Visa Vagabond

In the face of new visa restrictions, teachers, translators and other freelancers among Beijing's expat “floating population” are heading home. One of them, Ivy Goldstein, talks to us about her visa experience.

How did you first find out about the new visa restrictions? When ... Read more »

Small Talk With... A Helping Hand

Kara Waddell, managing director of Operation Blessing, gives us an eyewitness account of the situation in Sichuan and what’s being done to help.

What’s the situation on the ground in Sichuan? When I landed what surprised me after having lived in China ... Read more »

Small Talk With... Adam’s AppleKro’s Nest’s Gongti garden may not be Eden, but after Midi’s implosion, it may be the last bastion of outdoor rock in the Jing.

Kro’s Nest Circus concert organizer Adam Gaier clues us in on how it's all going ... Read more »

Small Talk With... Captain BB

The Boat was the bar Beijing forgot until DJs BB and Allen turned it into what may be the venue of the summer. BB talks about how they weighed anchor.How’d you first find the boat? Two years ago I was looking to open ... Read more »

Small Talk With ...Midi’s Evil Genius

FYI: This issue went to print before the announcement that the 2008 Midi Fest may be delayed or canceled. Read all about it here

Midi Fest's ninth installment gives Beijingers a reason to stay this May Holiday. Festival organizer Zhang Fan talks ... Read more »

BEIJINGology

Small Talk With ...The Green Lady

With 22 years of eco-friendly experience, Jin Jiamen, Executive Director of Beijing's Global Environmental Institute (GEI), has been green in China since before it was trendy. She told us how she'll spend Earth Day.

How did you first get interested in ... Read more »

BEIJINGology

Small Talk With ...The Tour Guru

April 4, Beijingers hit a three-day weekend. Not long enough to scale Everest, but perfect for a trip to Beijing's burbs. We asked Feng Cheng, founder of the Chinese Culture Club, just where to go.

So, the Chinese Culture Club, how did ... Read more »

Small Talk With ...Hip-Hop Granny

70 year-old Wu Ying is the creator and head of Beijing's Hip-Hop Granny Dance Team, which won the 2007 National Fitness and Dance Competition.

How did you get started in hip-hop? Why not tai-chi? A few years ago, I saw youngsters dancing hip-hop on ... Read more »

Since October the folks at The Bookworm have worked like maniacs putting together this year’s Bookworm Beijing International Literary Festival (BBILF). We chatted up head organizer and self-described “behind-the-scenes lass” Jenny Niven to get the beef on BBILF

Small Talk With ...A Book Fiend

How does it feel going ... Read more »

Small Talk With ...A Migrant’s Man

Jonathan Hursh directs Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC), which aids Beijing's migrant children, whose population is estimated at five hundred thousand and expected to grow after Spring Festival.

There are several hundred unlicensed schools in Beijing teaching migrant children. Why can’t ... Read more »

Explosive Rewards

This year Beijing authorities are promising rewards of up to ¥20,000 for reports of anyone buying illegal firecrackers, up from a rather measly ¥5,000. Since Beijing lifted the fireworks ban, illegally-produced fireworks have been all the rage, with the police seizing over 1,000 cases since ... Read more »

Olympic tickets will include photos and numbers to prevent unlawful ticket sales

With countdown clocks, new subway cars and the too-cute faces of the fuwa everywhere we go, it’s starting to dawn on us that the Olympics really are coming. And soon. Instead of worrying about waiting in long ... Read more »

Clown Captain Bai Yunfeng dresses up each day as a clown to deliver flowers for Clown Flower Shop, where he'll be very busy through Chun Jie and Valentine's Day

So how does one become a clown?

I was a fishing gear salesman before, which was a dull life ... Read more »

Fire on the Dancefloor

Block 8's New Year's Party got hot. So hot it was on fire ... or almost. When the fireworks went off at midnight, the smoke set off the sprinklers. Meanwhile the Indie Night DJs (pictured above) are still on fire. Luckily there are no sprinklers ... Read more »

10 Dos and Dont's

It's not quite Charlton Heston coming down Mount Sinai with a majestic head of white hair and two stone tablets to find the Israelites prostrated before a golden idol, but Beijing's new 10 commandments–posted on thousands of billboards around town–do have ... Read more »