American Apparel sticks to its buns and stays racy

In the hyper-sexual fashion world, few ad campaigns build as much controversy as American Apparel’s, but the brand doesn't plan on changing anything for a more conservative Chinese market. The United States’ largest clothing manufacture plans to stick to ... Read more »

Launching your Chinese art collection on a modest budget

China’s art market is now the world's second largest, with paintings like Zhang Xiaogang’s "Bloodline: Big Family No. 3" selling for over US$6 million. For many novice collectors, price tags in Beijing’s chic art districts are ... Read more »

Olympic parties you dream of getting into and how you can

The Olympics are about many things: athleticism, humanity and, most importantly, partying hard for sixteen days straight. And while for many that may mean setting up camp at Paddy O’Shea’s, there are swankier options out there for ... Read more »

One World, Many Friends

So what came first for you—an interest in food or an interest in celebrities? Of course the great food which kept me alive for many, many years, and thanks also to my mum’s home cooking, I was able to learn the way of the ... Read more »

How the Olympic year reshaped the Beijing skyline

Beijing has worked hard to transform itself for the Olympics. Since winning the bid, city officials have commissioned major projects to foreign architects and garnered both the awe and ire of urban designers, artists and onlookers who see the new buildings as ... Read more »

Peek into Beijing's contemporary art boom

For anyone serious about contemporary art, a pilgrimage to Factory 798 (also known as Dashanzi Art District) is a must. Constructed in the 1950s, this compound was a joint venture between East Germany and China, accounting for the Bauhaus aesthetic of its structures ... Read more »

How to party like a Gongti VIP

For as much time Beijing expats devote to learning to speak like a local, few and far between spend any time learning to party like one. Yet, the green tea and Chivas elixirs, the Gongti megaclub with the 4 sq. meter dancefloor, the ... Read more »

Indulge yourself with these relaxing spas

A trip to the spa is a luxury our paychecks only rarely allow us to indulge in back home. Fortunately, that's far from the case in Beijing. The capital's blissful and surprisingly inexpensive spa options allow expats and tourists to spoil themselves ... Read more »

Songzhuang offers respite from 798 commercialism

Part gallery, part garden, part home, Songzhuang Artist Village Gallery is a Beijing rarity, a gallery started by the artists themselves.

In contrast to the ruthless commercialism that drives Chinese contemporary art, the Artist Village Gallery is a natural growth. Artist Yan Yu and ... Read more »

Maybe Mars Records builds a scene to last

Beijing’s music scene has undergone great changes over the past few years, but local record label Maybe Mars isn't satisfied just yet-it's out to transform the entire landscape of Chinese music for good.

“There is no reason Beijing can ... Read more »

Greening the Beige builds environmental awareness

Green activists of all kinds are popping up around Beijing like baby saplings on a corporate tree-planting weekend. Carissa Welton's Greening the Beige (GtB) project unites such activists, artists and environmental policy experts for a week of environment-related events aimed to entertain as ... Read more »

Ullens Foundation Collection arrives in Beijing

With its philanthropic approach and curatorial excellence, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) has made waves in the Beijing art world since its debut last November. In March, Jérôme Sans was appointed the new artistic director, and the urbane Frenchman is make his ... Read more »

Producer Pantha du Prince weds machine and nature

Berlin-based experimental techno producer and all-hardware live act Pantha du Prince admits he would rather spend time in the great outdoors than in a smoky nightclub. Nonetheless, he maintains an affection for the flourishing urban centers that currently dominate the Middle Kingdom ... Read more »

Beijing’s most eligible go up for auction

“How much do you think you’re worth and why? How do you feel about being 'man candy?’ What kind of woman do you think needs to buy a man?” Our questions are meant to test Mauricio Morales’ modesty, but the 29-year-old ... Read more »

soundcapital's vibrant photos capture the local rock scene

Photographer Matthew Niederhauser came to Beijing during Golden Week of 2007 with five cameras, two small bags and a contact at D-22. He didn’t know exactly what kind of work he would be creating here, but as a young photographer ... Read more »

Beijing’s Science of Sounds brings Codec & Flexor

Originally established in Manila as a Spanish DJ collective, artistic management and production agency Science of Sounds (SOS) found a new home base amid the rapidly shifting backdrop of Beijing in early 2008. In only a few short months, SOS has quickly ... Read more »

Beijing adds local flavor to the electric bugaloo

Breakdancing has come a long way since the 1970¡®s, where it began in New York City as a way for gangs to settle territorial disputes by showing off artistic skill rather than by giving in to violence. Three decades later and ... Read more »

Grielsammer brings a slice of Piano aux Jacobins to Beijing

From the darkly gothic cloisters of the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, the Piano aux Jacobins festival returns to Beijing. The annual Piano aux Jacobins series in Beijing emerged during the Cultural Year of China in France, in 2003 ... Read more »

Marc Riboud’s photography of China then and now

Even if you’ve never heard the name, you have seen the works of photojournalist Marc Riboud. From newspapers to museum exhibitions to textbooks, Riboud has produced some of the most iconic photographs of the last six decades. In a perfect ... Read more »

The minimal maestro returns to Beijing

German house producer and Desolat label head Loco Dice cut his teeth as a hip-hop DJ before achieving his current status as one of electronica's luminaries via his legendary residency at Ibiza's DC-10 club. Dice’s set last year at The Bank ... Read more »

Is the Media Wall the future of both media and architecture?

A sleek 180,000 sq. foot facade of blue panels rising from the Haidian skyline, the Zero Energy Media Wall is not meant to blend in with today’s architecture. It is instead a preview of what’s to ... Read more »

The Oprah-endorsed trumpeter plays Beijing

Riding his carefully cultivated wave of fame, complete with a requisite Oprah endorsement, jazz trumpeter Chris Botti swung through Beijing for a private performance at 798's Acoustic House in April, a month ahead of his performance at Forbidden City Concert Hall on May 18 ... Read more »

Choosing the perfect summer camp for your children

Unless you’re escaping Beijing this summer, the advancing days of kid-boredom are probably already giving you heat rash. Happily, the city’s summer camps are offering a great variety for families trapped in a long, clammy headlock.

But with so many ... Read more »