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 in one, if not all, of the nourishing goings-on below.
 

Taste

Hot Chili Peppers
Is spice a flavor or a feeling? Either way, it will be flowing at the Hot Chili Pepper Eating Competition at Punjabi on Dec 2. Competitors from around the world will compete to determine, once and for the 17th time, which country can most 吃辣的. We're sure you can sneak a pepper or two to try your hand at this masochistic fight for honor, but you'll also have the chance to taste the slightly more enjoyable Indian fare on Punjabi's all-you-can-eat buffet, as well as brews from our beloved Slow boat. It'll be a total work out for your taste buds. RMB 100. 6.30pm. Punjabi.

Touch

"Velvefication Session" at Modernista
Beijing's winter wind is savage and it's here to stay. If you couldn't tell from it stinging your face as you walk to the subway, take a look at your pink, dry, cracked hands, which take a beating this season. Modernista will have a very handy Rumble in the Jumble "velvefication session" starting at noon on Dec 2. Feel the warmth of a cup of Kenyan coffee, and then treat your self and your hands to the luxurious creams and balms of Velveteen's Secret Potions to "show your hands the love they deserve." Enjoy a free butter scrub for hand exfoliation, Lahasuna oil for nails and cuticles, and Abehita hand cream and leave with fresh-feeling hands with which to touch the world. Free. 12pm. Modernista

Hear

Higher Brothers' Album "Black Cab"
I have a confession: I'm an 88Rising Stan, and shamelessly so. Three of the Asian hip-hop promoters' best – Higher Brothers (China), Rich Chigga (Indonesia), and Joji (Japan) – will descend upon Tango this weekend as part of the 88Rising Asia tour. Unfortunately, it seems the show may have been sold out before it was even announced, which broke my heart. But regardless of our inability to bask in their glory face-to-face this Friday, take some time to acquaint yourself with what is probably China's most successful hip-hop ensemble. Listen to Higher Brothers' "Black Cab" here.

See

Poverty and Experience by Wang Bing at Magician Space
Do you like films? Do you like them enough to watch two seven-and-a-half-hour films back-to-back? Poverty and Experience (Nov 18 - Dec 31), a Wang Bing solo exhibition at Magician Space provides fodder for a few contemplative sessions – the gallery space has been turned into a sober yet dense cinema experience with a few installations and a screening room in which the visitors can watch three works by the Chinese documentary filmmaker: "Traces," "Mrs. Fang," and "15 Hours." The latter, as its name suggests, is a 15-hour piece divided into two screening sessions, both seven and a half hours long (screening times are available at the space), following the hectic rhythm of production in a sewing workshop. Whether you have the time or the attention span to follow the lengthy film, the filmmaker’s assertive and ascetic film language, and the subjects he chooses to make visible – those in the margins, struggling to make ends meet in China's big cities, making it a relevant experience considering recent events in cities like Beijing like the aggressive measures taken to control and dispel its immigrant population.

Smell

Chao PM Workshop: Finding Your Signature Scent
Finding the perfect perfume can be a daunting task, and one that is likely to stick with you for long after you settle on a scent. Shorten the search and make your fragrance uniquely and exclusively your own with Chao's scent workshop on Saturday. Guests will be able to "learn about the culture and history of fragrance, test out twenty aromas, and understand their roles in creating a signature scent and finally create your own fragrance." If nothing else, it'll be an interesting foray into an underappreciated art form. RMB 600. 2pm. Chao Hotel.

Photos: papermag.com, the organizers