Start as you mean to go on
CITY SCENE
GULOUDAJIE // BEST OF THE BLOG // SCENE & HEARD // JOKES
BIG SHOW BLUES
KE$HA (2013, unspecified) JAMES BLAKE (2013, refused entry)
AKON (2014, unspecified)
CELINE DION (2008, illness)
BACKSTREET BOYS (2012, unspecified)
OASIS (2009, refused entry)
KRAFTWERK (2013, refused entry)
BEN FOLDS FIVE (2013, “miscommunication”)
THE ROLLING STONES (2003, SARS)
LINKIN PARK (2008, illness)
As festival season approaches with the return of JUE this month, we got to thinking: Imagine the festival you could make from all the international superstars who have pulled the plug on Beijing shows over the years. Quite the line-up as you can see.
Letter from an Editor
R
easons to enjoy the month of March are many and are not confined to the return of JUE festival. It marks the start of a period when the city slowly stirs from its winter slumber. For all the fun the freeze brings, the city slows to a snail’s pace when the snap sets in. The coming months see sporting societies resuming business as usual, live houses announcing more shows, and perhaps most excitingly, restaurants and bars dusting off their outdoor seating. What was a small, grass-roots festival in JUE has developed into an annual gathering of world-renowned artists from various fields and their Beijing-based appreciators. The festival has gone from strength to strength highlighting the thirst we Beijingers have for every facet of the arts. The city’s literary appetite is fed plump by the start of The Bookworm International Literary Festival, another homegrown gala which draws a stellar line-up of
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belletristic talent, and with it admiring glances towards the capital. Our ode to Beijing culture is carried right through this month’s issue. We experienced some of its heritage with a visit to the city’s oldest and most venerated hutong museum (p54), and our guide to getting yourself inked put us on nodding terms with a growing sub-culture. March also marks the time for a spot of spring cleaning and the Beijinger has had something of a dust down itself. We’ve introduced a new regular feature. Iron Bartender (p46) joins the permanent ranks after a successful trial run last month. And with spring firmly in mind, our Dining Feature (p26) brings you a guide to getting cuts of lamb for the best value.
Paul Ryding Managing Editor
march 2014