5 Things to Taste, Smell, Touch, Hear, and See This Weekend

Beijing can be overstimulating, to say the least. Let’s be real: Sometimes even our sixth sense gets a decent workout, the one where you know that stick of chuan'r will get you sick for the next two days (but you gobble it up anyway). With such a wide variety of events, restaurants, and gigs to attend, we suggest bathing each of your five senses into one, if not all, of the nourishing goings-on below.
 

Taste

The Halloween spirits have abandoned our fair city already, but we are still holding onto Autumn treats. The great thing about Beijing is that fall season is long and, more often than not, quite pleasant. If you've already exhausted your scary movie collection, and holding onto the autumnal vibes is getting harder and harder with Christmas decorations sneaking in, get a mouthful of pumpkin breath in Great Leap's Imperial Pumpkin Ale, that will probably not make you into an Autumn-themed blanket burrito but it may make you want to roll in a pile of leaves with its 7.5 percent ABV. For the rest of your drinking needs, check our What's Up in Beer column for the week.
 

Smell

It may sometimes seem that the Beijinger crew favors alcoholic drinks over those other ones. While it is not a complete misinformation, let's look at another familiar drink with a twist. What do we drink more than anything in winter? Tea, mostly. Tea is the whenever, however, wherever kind of friend that everyone can always turn to that in the moment of need. With ginger, lemon, honey or any other trimmings you deem fit, tea will satisfy any drinker. To chase away all the colds and sniffles though, what can be better than steam from a freshly brewed Hot Toddy (which is basically a pot of tea with whiskey)? Talking from recent personal experience, having a mug of Hot Toddy will make the cold seem more fun. A squeeze and a slice of lemon, a piece of ginger, a spoonful of countryside honey, a cinnamon stick, and a teabag in the pot with hot water and a generous pour of dark liqueur of your choice. 
 

Touch

VSP at Rumble in the Jumble
Go rumble all you want, for the jumble of Modernista is back. While artists may give you a suspicious look if you go putting your hands on everything on display without actually buying, you can still give it a try. Just be nice. However, the third thing in life that I touch the most after my phone screen and laptop keyboard is my face (I know, bad habits die hard). The witchy-sounding Velvetine Secret Potions vow to make that face even more touchable with their pollution- and age-fighting products on display at the Rumble in the Jumble. If you can't commit to a long-term skin care, opt-in for their RMB 50 facial on offer during the market. 2-5pm. RMB 50. Modernista.
 

Hear

Storm Xu at The Great Outdoors
After some Imperial Pumpkin Ale and a mug of Hot Toddy (both mentioned above), what is a safe way to have a fun Sunday night and still make it to work in the morning fresh as a cucumber? Comedy, of course. With Beijing not shying away from open-mic nights and stand-up comedy, The Great Outdoors is bringing in a guest from the south. Storm Xu, from Shanghai, will be cracking up Beijingers' northern souls with his lighthearted, slightly political, and laowai stereotype-flavored lines. Laugh your Sunday night away while listening to Storm share his observations on locals and foreigners in China. 8.30pm. RMB 80-100. The Great Outdoors.
 

See

Tao Dance Theatre
"You don't have to understand the lyrics to enjoy music, you don't have to be made out of more than one stiff bone to enjoy a dance performance." So the saying goes (or so it should), since the spectacle of humans actually in control of their bodies does not require a deep understanding of anatomy, biology, or even art. The Beijing-based dance theatre will be performing two of their plays; 8 and 9 on stage. Body is the center of Tao Dance Theatre performances. Using little props, they explore senses and boundaries. The storytelling and expression are done purely through the language of the body. Nov 3-4, 7.40pm. RMB 100-500. NCPA.

Images: My Cocktail Master Class, Dance Tabs