Over 1,500 years ago, there ruled one of the largest empires in the world: the mighty Roman Empire. As a civilization, the Romans proved themselves to be untouchable, accomplishing feats in almost every facet of society – language, religion, technology, art, literature, architecture, and engineering – and irrevocably altering the path of mankind. Then came the pizza.

Fast forward to 2019 and we, the Beijinger, look to honor the brave, the enterprising, the at times incredibly debauched men and women of Ancient Rome with our very own toga and pizza party.

As Julius Caesar famously uttered upon emerging victorious from the Battle of Zela in 47 BC, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” – I came, I saw, I conquered. Our motto? Veni, Vidi, Edi – I came, I saw, I ate. Because the 2019 Beijing Pizza Festival will be one to go down in history.

A Beijing toga pizza party – it’s what the Romans would have wanted

To get you in the frame of mind to befit such an occasion, we’re giving each and every one of you the opportunity to buy the entire toga outfit along with your ticket ahead of our 2019 Pizza Festival on Aug 17-18, 11am-8pm. There are several options depending on how deep you want to get (and we all know deep and pizza are a match made in heaven):

1. RMB 20: A ticket to the fest plus an olive branch wreath
2. RMB 60: A ticket to the fest plus a toga, waistband, olive branch wreath (including delivery)
3. RMB 50: A ticket to the fest plus a 2019 Pizza Fest T-shirt and olive branch wreath
4. RMB 60: Three tickets to the fest plus a picnic blanket

To avoid disappointment,
buy your tickets for this year’s Pizza Fest here!

Picnic blanket, you say? If the promise of you, your friends, and family slamming slices in the finest of historical garb wasn’t enough to get you hot and ready, then our new venue will. That’s because we’ve managed to secure what may be one of the best-kept secrets out there: Dongfeng International Sports Park. Located directly northeast of Tuanjiehu Subway station, this sprawling oasis is ripe for a day out, lazing in the sun. Just take a look at this beauty:

Just imagine this but with endless ‘za

On top of all of that, we’ll have the usual collection of the city’s top pizza vendors, drinks providers, live music performers, and entertainment galore. Better yet, the entire party will move to Sanlitun’s primo hip-hop club PH Global on Saturday, where all Pizza Fest guests will get free entry and discounts on drinks all night long. Much more on all of that in the coming days!

Pizza Fest cometh!

So, save the date, grab your tickets, and start learning how to wrap the perfect toga!

Images: Ray Town Studio, the Beijinger

If you’ve lived in the Sanlitun or the greater Chaoyang area for any length of time, then you might be well aware that going to Tuanjiehu Water Park is often a harrowing experience for many families. As it’s one of the most well-attended pools in the city, consisting of plenty of fun amenities such as slides and a wave pool, we can totally understand why it gets so busy. While a visit on the weekends should be avoided like the plague, during the week, it’s not so bad, especially recently as many local schools have yet to break for summer.

Many parents in our extended WeChat network have communicated to us that the pool has been a somewhat relaxing experience lately. This definitely won’t be the case later in the summer, and could also partially be explained by the fact that there is a little bit of renovating going on at the moment and there are no onsite bathrooms or toilet facilities. So, be sure to come ready to make a splash.

We recommend taking advantage of this opportunity, and some of those gorgeous and oppressively hot days we’ve been having. Also, it’s very likely that this oasis in the middle of Chaoyang District won’t be empty again till the end of the season. As the saying goes; “the last one in is a rotten egg!”

Tuanjiehu Pool
RMB 80 (July/August), RMB 100 (weekends). 10.30am-7pm. 16 Tuajiehu Nanlu (inside Tuajiehu Park), Chaoyang District. (8597 3603) 朝阳区团结湖公园内

Photo: refoxrelocation.com

Modern life is so convenient; you can shop online, order food from apps, and someone will deliver it all directly to your door. But a few Tuanjiehu residents, and the police cavalry subsequently assigned to save them, got a less than convenient and all the more scary experience this weekend.

On Sunday, June 26, three girls ordered food to their place on Tuanjiehu Lu, and just after noon a 20-something-year-old delivery man turned up. Upon opening the door, one of the three girls was taken as hostage at knifepoint by the delivery man, but luckily the other two girls were able to call the police immediately. That being said, the police got to the scene around 20 minutes after the calls and were able to rescue the hostage and subdue the suspect. Two policemen were injured during the scuffle, China Daily reports.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, the criminal suspect is a 23-year-old from Baoding, and it is believed that he had attempted to rob the girls because of a previous car accident that he had had with a Mercedes-Benz, which he was deemed responsible for. He was ordered to pay more than RMB 10,000 in compensation to the owner of the Benz. The suspect said that upon remembering the news about a criminal who was shot dead by the police during an attempt to take hostages, he had basically entered the apartment with a death wish.

It goes to show that despite the convenience of ordering food in Beijing, you can never be too careful when it turns up.

This story originally appeared on the website of our sister publication, The Beijinger.

Photos: ifeng, Beijing Youth Daily, Global Times