Beijing Boyce

China goes red on December 19

-

Give the elves the day off, get out your Christmas best, and strap on a few flasks of eggnog – SantaCon is slated for this Saturday in Beijing. According to the Beijing SantaCon Web site:

SantaCon is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-sensical annual Santa Claus convention celebrating cheer, goodwill, and fun. There is no particular reason to dress up in Santa suits, run around Beijing for hours, give gifts, sing songs, have strangers sit on our laps, and decide who is naughty or nice – but it’s a lot of fun – so Santa does it anyway. Everyone loves Santa and Santa loves everyone! SantaCon is your chance to be Santa, so suit up and be jolly.

Beijing SantaCon starts at noon – the kick-off points are The Brick (map) and Lush (map) Pyro: pick the most convenient – and will encompass a full day of visiting bars about town. Oh, and you need to wear a Santa suit, though I suppose elves would also be welcome.

You can follow the day’s progress on Twitter via the @bjsantacon account.

Check here for Santa’s rules, here for Santa’s advice, and here for info on buying a Santa suit in Beijing. See here for the global SantaCon page.

And let’s hope the Beijing authorities have a different attitude toward Santa than they did toward the Hash House Harriers.

If it's good enough for Nick Nolte...

-

A hat tip to DJ Chunky for passing on this tidbit from China Daily:

A foreigner drank a bottle of liquor at the Beijing Capital International Airport and tried to use an out-of-date visa to get through immigration control on Sunday. He was fined by the border police, the Mirror Evening News reported.

The man, whose name and nationality were not disclosed, said he noticed his visa was not valid and decided to force his way through immigration control. In order to get a little Dutch courage, he drank half a liter of liquor.

After paying the fine, the man was allowed to board the next flight and left China.

Interesting strategy at work here: If I get drunk enough, the authorities might be more concerned with my personal state than that fact I over-stayed. Unfortunately, he forgot the all-important step of throwing up on the relevant page of his passport so no one would touch it. In any case, pity the poor people in the plane seats beside this guy – unless, of course, he was willing to share the rest of his duty-free. (Original post here.)

Also of note is this post on Tea Review Blog of the book “Origins of Chinese Tea and Wine” by Asiapac:

While the drawings and cartoons in this book make it look slightly juvenile the audience is definitely adult. In fact, the publisher specializes in the series of books that explains Chinese culture in a fun way. (We also bought the Origins of Chinese Food which is equally as fascinating.)

Thanks to 8 Songs — who shall some day get his repertoire of KTV songs up to nine — for this write-up about Nasca Cafe (map).

“The south end of Central Park is home to several nice little cafes and restaurants, including Pekotan (map) and Livewell (map). Main Street Café wasn’t one of them, and having opened late last year, closed for two weeks for “renovations.” It never re-opened, which was just as well. Some six months later, locals watched as a new café took its place. It seemed to take months to get into operation, but now that it is open, it’s a regular spot for many in the area.

“Nasca (an unusual name, reminiscent of the NASCAR racing in the USA) offers something for everybody. It has an extensive breakfast menu, and makes a good range of coffee for heart starters. During the day it has a nice offering of foods for lunch, though the range of cakes and pastries is limited. But it is at night when Nasca really shines, especially for local families. The menu offers everything from simple snacks to full meals, pastas, pizzas and a reasonable selection of kids’ meals.

“It also has a bar area for a late-night drink.

“Probably that is its only weakness – it tries to be all things to all people.

“I walk past it every day on my way to and from work, and it always seems to be at least part full. That is saying something, when there are so many choices so close.