Just in time after the Labor Day Holiday, the tbjkids May issue is out! In our special music issue, discover Beijing’s grandest concert halls, read about a range of music makers in Beijing and tune into the life of a real radio DJ. As the weather heats up, spend an afternoon lounging lakeside and spelunking the caves at Beihai, find the best places for families to explore in Gongti, and make your own rainstick. Also, glimpse the photos from the most recent tbjkids’ pirate hunt and check out the section on how to communicate with your ayi. Plus, discover the traditions of Peking Opera, see the thrill in swing dancing, and find out how toddlers make music in Kindermusik. And, as always, discover the best events happening around town in tbjkids’ top ten things to do.

What ho! We dedicate this month’s issue of that’s Beijing to the top restaurants of 2008, as picked by you, our lovely readers. Nice one. In addition to the 26 winners, Dining Editor Jessica Wang picks her top eateries for each category, as does one of our five Beijing food experts, leaving you with an impossible number of dining options to tuck into over the next few months.

After gorging yourself on our cover feature, check out Rachel Bradsell and Cecily Huang’s interview with dancer Jin Xing who’s in town performing Haishang Tango this month, while Venus Lau chats to Andy Warhol’s personal photographer Christopher Makos about his forthcoming Beijing exhibition and book launch. Also, Diana Kuan finds how to party like Van Gogh in Beijing (keeping her ears intact), Carissa Welton shoots the breeze with Loco Dice, Roy Kesey revisits The Field, Ed Lanfranco plays with fire and Kaiser Kuo tests our Beijing know how. Lastly, there are three new bars and seven new restaurants reviewed - all this and squillions of great events to keep you deprived of sleep and sanity through May. Bonza!

With more bass shops, more pipes, and more robots, Immersion Guides’ Summer 2008 Houhai Area Guide is more useful than ever: There are over 60 new venues, expanded coverage, updated streets, and a sleek design, to help you find that perfect bar or cafe for a summer evening. We keep up to pace with all the changes on streets like Yandai Xiejie and Nanluogu Xiang - you’ll find all the latest restaurants, shops, cafes and cute courtyard hotels. Included for the first time are the neighborhoods around Beiluogu Xiang, parts of Xihai, Deshengmennei and more. As construction and renovation die down, now is the perfect time to grab a map and go walking the hutongs!

“The Insider‘s Guide to Beijing rates as one of the best, new, imaginative and informative guidebooks in a long time.”
—South China Morning Post
“The Insider‘s Guide to Beijing is the guide book every long-term laowai [foreigner] wishes was around when they came to Beijing, and the one anyone new to the city will come to rely on as their Beijing Bible.”
—Beijing Today
“Whether you plan to move to the Middle Kingdom, want to make the most of a weekend getaway or simply impress dinner guests with your knowledge, then you should seek out this book ... [its] scope is much wider than that of Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, et al.”
—Hong Kong Standard Weekend

This is the guidebook other guidebooks wish they could be. We tell you what's happening right here, right now, all over Beijing, because ... we live here. So do our 40 specialist contributors.

With this book, you'll learn which songs will melt hearts in a Beijing karaoke bar, who has the best deal on antique furniture, how to take your landlord to court, and what Mandarin language program is for you. Along with all this wisdom goes the wit that has become the trademark of the Insider's Guide to Beijing over the years.

Fully updated for the countdown to the 2008 Olympics, crammed with listings of hundreds of shops, bars and restaurants, lavishly illustrated with the work of the Chinese capital’s best photographers, the Insider's Guide to Beijing is indispensable for residents and tourists alike.

Stop looking for the key to the city. You’re holding it in your hand.

Selected press attention:
· Two of our editors contributed to this Guardian (UK) article "Tale of Two Cities" on Beijing and Shanghai
· Review on Beijing-Visitor.com (scroll down to the third entry on the page)
· Mentioned in Danwei.org's China Book Roundup of 2007
· Review in China Daily