Beijing Entertainment

This diverse and vibrant city is not short of things to do to keep you amused, no matter what you enjoy doing. As well as having most usual activities such as cinemas, and theatres, there are also many traditional Chinese forms of entertainment such as Chinese drama and acrobatics.

The Beijing Opera is a popular place for residents and tourists alike. The performances are a very different style to what Westerners may be used to. It is an exciting combination of martial arts, acrobatics, singing, literature, and dance. The story lines of most performances at the Beijing Opera are based around political and military struggle of a historical theme. The storylines are often taken from old Chinese novels.

There are dozens of theaters and concert halls in Beijing, and there are regular shows varying from impressive Chinese acrobatics, to story telling. Storytelling is a popular past time for the residents of Beijing, and it usually involves one person on stage standing behind a table with a block on it and holding a fan to their face. The block is used to summon the listener's attention when arriving at the showdown of the story. Stories are generally in Chinese so may not be of interest to Westerners with no knowledge of the Chinese language.

The Laoshe Teahouse near Tiananmen Square is one of the best venues in Beijing for acrobatics, and folk music. Whereas the Capital Theatre is a popular spot for Chinese drama. If you enjoy watching ballet, the Tianqiao Theatre and the Poly Theatre hold many international standard performances throughout the year.

For something a little different, a Chinese puppet show can always be an interesting trip, and is a great place to take small children to immerse them in Chinese culture whilst keeping them entertained. The China Puppet Theatre is one of the best locations for puppet shows, and is situated in the Chaoyang District, but for children specific shows, the China National Children's Art Theatre has a range of performances designed with kids in mind.

Many people may have heard of the traditional tea ceremonies that are a large part of Beijing's culture and history. Despite the name, teahouses do not only serve tea, and many provide snacks or food as well. Many are aimed specifically at the tourist market and stage traditional tea ceremonies regularly. Two of the best known ones are the Laoshe Teahouse and Tianqiaole Teahouse. The Laoshe Teahouse in Tiananmen Square not only serves tea but has acrobatics, opera, and folk music performances. No trip to Beijing is complete without a visit to one of the tea houses as it gives a great insight into ancient Chinese culture.

Karaoke TV in Beijing is a big deal, and is one of the most popular past-times of the younger population of the city. Most of the Karaoke TV venues are open 24/7, keeping the city alive throughout the day and night. People often choose to go to a Karaoke TV venue when they have a get together with friends, and they come along to sing along to back up songs with the lyrics scrolled across a television screen. You can hire a room in one of the venues, and they charge for the length of usage as opposed to the amount of people. The fees are generally higher during the evening than in the day. Some of the larger ones also offer free snacks and drinks - including Cashbox Party World in Tiananmen Square and Cashbox Party World opposite the Capital Stadium.

For the more active of you, there are numerous sporting activities available in Beijing, ranging from spectator sports to extreme sports. Nearly every sport you can think of is accommodated for in Beijing, and since the 2008 Beijing Olympics the facilities are of a world-class standard and there is no shortage of venues if you are looking to either view or play a game such as basketball, football, or squash. There are also hundreds of gymnasiums and classes for yoga, ballet, pilates and others available around the city at affordable prices. For those that enjoy extreme sports, you can go diving, rock-climbing and even bungee jumping if you're brave.

Some of the best sports centers are the Julong Garden Fitness Club and the Yuetan Stadium. Julon Garden is situated in the Dongcheng District and offers a range of sports such as badminton, bowling, fitness, ping-pong, swimming, squash and tennis. The Yuetan Stadium is in the Xicheng District and offers all the same activities as well as volleyball. Capital Club in the Chaoyang District also offers billiards, bowling and several forms of martial arts such as taek-wondo.

During the evenings, there are over 400 bars and nightclubs around the city and there will always be somewhere that suits you. The most popular area for nightlife is the Sanlitun Bar Street that has dozens of bars playing a variety of music and with a range of atmospheres and styles.