Events

Women's Day variety show

Penghao Theater will host short dramas, music and dance, even Thai boxing, to celebrate International Women's Day.

All proceeds will go to the Wokai Foundation to help female entrepreneurs from rural China to start their own businesses. The actors, dancers, martial artists, singers and organizers are all collaborating on this for free. The show is not advisable for children due to occasional strong language.

Mar 10-13, 7:30 pm, 100 yuan (presale 80 yuan). Penghao Theater, 35 Dongmianhua Hutong (off Nanluoguxiang), 6400-6472 or 6400-6452.

东棉花胡同35号蓬蒿剧场 (中央戏剧学院东侧)

Bookworm International Literary Festival

The Bookworm International Literary Festival takes place in Beijing, Suzhou and Chengdu until March 18.

Paolo Giordano, Italy's most talked-about young novelist and winner of its most prestigious literary award will discuss his novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers, which examines the messiness of life versus the orderliness of numbers and is a beautiful allegory on isolation and loneliness.

Mar 8, 8 pm, 50 yuan, The Bookworm, Sanlitun Nanjie, 6586-9507

三里屯南街4号楼书虫

Three Clarinets Concert

Dulwich College is proud to present Three Clarinets, a clarinet tour of Beijing and Seoul. Linda Merrick, vice-principal of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, He Yi, Chair Woodwind Studies of the China Conservatoire, and Joseph Lim, former Dulwich student, will perform at Legend Garden.

Mar 9, 7:30 pm, 40 to 60 yuan. Legend Garden Campus, Dulwich College Beijing, 6454-9000.

首都机场路89号丽京花园北京德威学校

Twelve Girls Band

Comprised of 12 young female musicians, Twelve Girls Band is renowned for their creative interpretations of traditional Chinese songs.

The musicians use traditional Chinese instruments to play both traditional Chinese and Western music. Formed in 2001, the musicians were selected by audition from more than 4,000 hopefuls. Each is classically trained and the band members come from various conservatories in China, including the China Academy of Music, the Chinese National Orchestra, and the Central Conservatory of Music.

Mar 8, 7:30 pm, 180 to 1,280 yuan. Forbidden City Concert Hall Beijing, inside Zhongshan Park, northwest of Tian'anmen Square, 6559-8285.

中山音乐堂

Movie: Oyster Girl

Everybody loves Ah Lan. She's the belle of the ball but deep inside she's got a dark secret and just how long before this secret starts to show? This Taiwan movie classic has mad melodrama, crazy catfights and despicable delinquents, all in bold, spectacular color. Directed by Lee Hsing and Lee Chia, Oyster Girl was Taiwan's first feature film produced in color and one of the first films to depict the lives of Taiwanese fishermen and the fishing villages of the 1960s. In Chinese with English subtitles.

March 8, movie starts 7 pm . Free. The World of Chinese Movies at Jianghu Livehouse Bar, 7 Dongmianhua Hutong, Jiadaokou Nandajie, Dongcheng district, 158-1124-3464.

北京交道口南大街东棉花胡同7号江湖酒吧

Ballet: Raise the Red Lantern

Figure-hugging Chinese cheongsams, a pallet of gorgeous colors, breathtaking melodies, artistic settings and stunning choreography have made Raise the Red Lantern a worldwide success.

Since its world premiere in May 2, 2001, the National Ballet of China has presented the full-length ballet in more than 20 major cities in China as well as in Singapore, Italy, France, the UK, USA, Australia, Mexico and Russia.

Mar 13-14, 7:30 pm, 100-150 yuan, National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Dajie, Xicheng district, 6655-0000.

国家大剧院

The Eagles are coming

This is big news for Beijing. The Eagles are coming to town. No matter how short or long your stay in China is, you are likely to have heard a rendition of Hotel California wafting through the open window of a bar - perhaps sung by a cover band or an intoxicated KTV customer. Here's the chance to hear the real thing live.

Mar 12, 7:30 pm, 350 to 2,080 yuan. Mastercard Center (formally the Wukersong Arena), 69 Fuxing Lu, Haidian district, 6828-6386.

复兴路69号

Bars + Clubs

Mademoiselle et Son Orchestre

A staple of the jazz circuit, Beijing-based Mademoiselle and her live band serenade the crowd at Vanguard with their toe-tapping French gypsy jazz.

Mar 11, 9:45 pm, 30 yuan. Vanguard, 13 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District, 5844-3638.

五道营胡同13号

Female bands show

Beijing's loudest female-fronted bands assemble to celebrate International Women's Day with a heart-thumping night of rockabilly, swing, punk-rock and indie. The bands include Bigger Bang, DH and Chinese Hellcats and Bye Bye, Thanks for Your Fish. It's free for the ladies.

Mar 8, 9 pm, 50 yuan (30 pre-sale). Yugong Yishan, Zhang Zizhong Lu 3-2, Dongcheng district, 6404-2711.

张自忠路3-2号

Scarlett Mojito Night

Enjoy two-for-one Mojitos at Hotel G's funky wine bar, while guest DJs spin into the night.

Mar 12, 9 pm, free. Hotel G, 7 Gongti Xilu, Chaoyang district, 6552-3600.

工体西路甲7号

China Daily