Free beginner-level Chinese courses at Carnegie Library - East Liberty, Saturdays through November 16.

via Khun Hans Photography (Creative Commons)

The Carnegie Library in East Liberty will host "We Learn: Beginner-Level Chinese Language" courses Saturdays through November 16. (The classes actually started on September 28).

Welcome to the Chinese language learning circle! This is a beginner-level class, so you do not need to have any prior experience with the language. We will be learning basic spoken Mandarin and possibly some very basic written Chinese if there is enough interest.

My name is Kevin and I will be facilitating this language circle. I am not a native Chinese speaker but I have been studying the language for several years so I am familiar with the difficulties that learners face. Chinese is not an easy language, so you should not expect to become an expert after just a few weeks, but I hope this learning circle will provide a good foundation that you can continue to build on if you choose to continue studying.

Registration can be completed online. The classes start at 3:00 pm and the library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration at Pitt, September 18.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Cener and Global Hub will host a Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration on September 18 from 1:00 pm.

Join the Asian Studies Center for a celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Global Hub! Snacks and a themed activity will be provided! So, come ready to enjoy yourself and eat good food!

It will be held at the Global Hub, located on the 1st floor of Posvar Hall (map).

2024 Hong Kong film Crisis Negotiators (談判專家) in Pittsburgh from June 21.

The 2024 Hong Kong film Crisis Negotiators (談判專家), starring Sean Lau and Francis Ng, will play in Pittsburgh from June 21.

Senior Negotiator Cheuk Man Wai accidentally becomes the number one suspect in a murder case. He is forced to occupy the police station and take the police hostage. He also appoints former negotiator Tse Ka Chun to talk to him.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Progress on Hong Kong Dim Sum, coming soon to Pittsburgh.

There has been some progress inside Hong Kong Dim Sum, coming soon to North Oakland. The development team sent this photo of framing inside the Centre Ave. ground floor of One On Centre (map). The new dim sum restaurant was announced for this spot back in September.

Signage up at Pittsburgh's first Tiger Sugar, Mango Mango locations.

Signage has recently gone up at Pittsburgh's first Tiger Sugar and Mango Mango locations, which will be sharing a storefront in Squirrel Hill. The two dessert chains have been working on the spot that was most recently a beer distributor at 5847-5849 Forbes Ave. (map) since May 2023.

Progress begins on Hong Kong Dim Sum in North Oakland.

Progress in the way of brown paper bags over the windows has begun on the Hong Kong Dim Sum coming to North Oakland. It will open on the ground floor of the newish apartment complex, One On Centre (map), and will be run---or at least financed---by the team that recently opened Mi Fan in East Liberty. (Ownership did not respond to requests for comment.)

Lunar New Year Celebration for Children, February 10 at Monroeville Public Library.

The Monroeville Public Library will host a Lunar New Year Celebration on February 10.

A new year does not start for all people around the world at the same time. Learn about Lunar New Year with stories, games, crafts, and activities. No registration is needed for this free event.

The free event runs from 10:30 to 11:30, and no registration is required. The Monroeville Public Library is located at 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd. (map).

No parade this year, but Squirrel Hill Lunar New Year event planned for February 24.

The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition will be hosting a Lunar New Year event on February 24, featuring a Lion Dance at 2:30 pm at the Post Office parklet.

Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition and Uncover Squirrel Hill will be celebrating the Year of the Dragon, year 4721, at the Post Office Parklet! After the Dragon Enters the Gate at 2:30, the lion will visit local businesses to exchange Hong Bao (red envelope). It will be an afternoon of prosperity and good fortune! We hope to see you there.

There will be no parade up Murray Ave. this year, but organizers hope for a return in 2025.

In the Mood for Love (花樣年華), Past Lives at Row House Lawrenceville, February 9 through 15.

The 2000 Wong Kar-wai film In the Mood for Love (花樣年華) and the 2023 Celine Song movie Past Lives will play at the Row House Lawrenceville from February 9 through 15, part of the Love Languages film series.

A summary of the former:

Wong Kar-wai’s vibrant romantic drama starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai explores the limits of morality, the passing of time, and courage as it follows neighbors drawn together by their spouses’ extramarital affairs in overcrowded 1960s Hong Kong.

And the latter:

Subtle and moving, Greta Lee stars in Celine Song’s deeply human story of two childhood friends who are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Lunar New Year Celebration, February 10 at Cooper-Siegel Community Library in Fox Chapel.

The Cooper-Siegel Community Library will host a Lunar New Year Celebration on February 10.

Celebrate and learn about the Lunar New Year! This annual celebration with a wide variety of different festival activities is organized by the Asian community of the Fox Chapel area. Enjoy traditional Chinese music performed by Dorseyville Middle School students, taekwondo performed by the Young Brothers Taekwondo School students, a dragon parade, storytelling, crafts, as well as treats and gifts.

All ages are welcome.

The event runs from 2:00 to 3:30 pm. Registration is required and can be completed online. The Cooper-Siegel Community Library is located at 403 Fox Chapel Rd. (map).

Wei Lai coming soon to North Hills in old Ting's Kitchen spot, serving dim sum, bubble tea, and other Chinese dishes.

A new Chinese restaurant and bubble tea place, Wei Lai, will open soon in McIntyre Square in the North Hills, in the spot formerly occupied by Ting's Kitchen (map). Translating to "future" in Chinese, menu includes dim sum, bubble tea, and other Chinese dishes, and ownership is aiming for a March opening. 

 Exciting News for Foodies!  WEI LAI is coming soon to the North side near Ross Park Mall! 

At WEI LAI, where Cantonese dim sum meets Taiwanese noodles and boba milk tea. Opening in early March, we'll have dine-in and take-out options for everyone around Pittsburgh!

Stay tuned for delicious updates! 

In the Mood for Love (花樣年華), Past Lives at Row House Lawrenceville, February 9 through 15.

The 2000 Wong Kar-wai film In the Mood for Love (花樣年華) and the 2023 Celine Song movie Past Lives will play at the Row House Lawrenceville from February 9 through 15, part of the Love Languages film series.

A summary of the former:

Wong Kar-wai’s vibrant romantic drama starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai explores the limits of morality, the passing of time, and courage as it follows neighbors drawn together by their spouses’ extramarital affairs in overcrowded 1960s Hong Kong.

And the latter:

Subtle and moving, Greta Lee stars in Celine Song’s deeply human story of two childhood friends who are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

21 Asian restaurants and eateries coming soon, or maybe not quite so soon, to Pittsburgh.

via @parisbaguetteus

Since 2011, PennsylvAsia has documented the Asian restaurant openings (and closings) in the Pittsburgh area. In August, we looked at the 15 biggest names coming soon (or not-so-soon) to the area, taking a page from the local news outlets that seemed to find success posting lists from PennsylvAsia scoops. Now, at the start of 2024, let's take a look at a list of the 21 biggest Asian restaurants coming in the near or distant future. Some of these are repeats from the summer, if progress has been slow, while others are recently new developments. The additions will certainly be welcome in the area: new bakeries and dessert spots, more dim sum, five Korean BBQ places this year, for example, and of course more bubble tea. We are also attracting a number of national and international chains, which is a testament to the growing power of Pittsburgh's food scene, since these places were content with overlooking Pittsburgh over the last decade or two. Let's dig in . .

1994 Hong Kong film Chung King Express (重慶森林) at Row House Lawrenceville, from December 26.

The 1994 Hong Kong film Chung King Express (重慶森林) will play at the Row House Lawrenceville from December 26 through January 4.

Kar-wai’s break out film employs his signature crossing storylines to follow two police officers who fall into ill-fated love in a film brimming with raw humanity and irresistible energy.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler St. (map).

New Hong Kong film The Goldfinger (金手指) in Pittsburgh, from December 29.

The upcoming Hong Kong film The Goldfinger (金手指) will play in Pittsburgh from December 29.

Set in the 1980s, the film depicts cut-throat machinations between Hong Kong's jostling business elites amidst the backdrop of the tail end of British colonial rule.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

1994 Hong Kong film Chung King Express (重慶森林) at Row House Lawrenceville, from December 26.

The 1994 Hong Kong film Chung King Express (重慶森林) will play at the Row House Lawrenceville from December 26 through January 4.

Kar-wai’s break out film employs his signature crossing storylines to follow two police officers who fall into ill-fated love in a film brimming with raw humanity and irresistible energy.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler St. (map).

1993 Chinese movie Farewell my Concubine (霸王别姬) in Pittsburgh for film's 30th anniversary, October 15 - 19.

The 1993 Chinese movie Farewell my Concubine (霸王别姬) will play at the Harris Theater from October 15 - 19.

Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features, assumes the female roles while Xiaolou plays masculine warlords. Their dramatic identities become real for Dieyi when he falls in love with Xiaolou, who fails to fully reciprocate his affections and marries a courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li), creating a dangerous, jealousy-filled romantic triangle.

Hailed as a “cultural achievement” (The New York Times) and widely considered one of the most important motion pictures ever made, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is a “gorgeous, intoxicating epic” (Los Angeles Times) that is both “visually spectacular” and “sumptuous in every respect” (Time Out). Spanning 50 years from the early 20th century to the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, Chen Kaige's passionate, exquisitely shot film captures the vast historical scope of a changing country while revealing the intimate and touching details of a unique, tender, heartrending love story. Based on the bestselling novel by Lillian Lee, it was selected as one of the “100 Best Films in Global History” by TIME Magazine, was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and remains the only Chinese-language film to ever win the Palme d’Or.

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Film Movement Classics is proud to bring the recently restored 4K version of this masterwork to North American theaters, where audiences in the U.S. and Canada will be able to see the complete, uncut film (20 minutes longer than its original Miramax theatrical release) on screen for the first time ever.

Tickets are available online. The Harris Theater is located at 809 Liberty Ave. in downtown's Cultural District (map).

Squirrel Hill (im)patiently awaits Tiger Sugar and Mango Mango.

Work has yet to progress on Tiger Sugar and Mango Mango, which will share a large storefront in Squirrel Hill. Signage first went up in May advertising the first Pittsburgh locations for the Taiwanese bubble tea chain Tiger Sugar and the Hong Kong-style dessert chain Mango Mango. They will occupy 5853 Forbes Ave. (map), which was most recently a beer distributor; Tiger Sugar will have Suite A and Mango Mango will have Suite B.

1993 Chinese movie Farewell my Concubine (霸王别姬) in Pittsburgh for film's 30th anniversary, October 15 - 19.

The 1993 Chinese movie Farewell my Concubine (霸王别姬) will play at the Harris Theater from October 15 - 19.

Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features, assumes the female roles while Xiaolou plays masculine warlords. Their dramatic identities become real for Dieyi when he falls in love with Xiaolou, who fails to fully reciprocate his affections and marries a courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li), creating a dangerous, jealousy-filled romantic triangle.

Hailed as a “cultural achievement” (The New York Times) and widely considered one of the most important motion pictures ever made, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is a “gorgeous, intoxicating epic” (Los Angeles Times) that is both “visually spectacular” and “sumptuous in every respect” (Time Out). Spanning 50 years from the early 20th century to the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, Chen Kaige's passionate, exquisitely shot film captures the vast historical scope of a changing country while revealing the intimate and touching details of a unique, tender, heartrending love story. Based on the bestselling novel by Lillian Lee, it was selected as one of the “100 Best Films in Global History” by TIME Magazine, was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and remains the only Chinese-language film to ever win the Palme d’Or.

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Film Movement Classics is proud to bring the recently restored 4K version of this masterwork to North American theaters, where audiences in the U.S. and Canada will be able to see the complete, uncut film (20 minutes longer than its original Miramax theatrical release) on screen for the first time ever.

Tickets are available online. The Harris Theater is located at 809 Liberty Ave. in downtown's Cultural District (map).

Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration at Pitt, September 28.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Cener and Global Hub will host a Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration on September 28 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm.

Join the Asian Studies Center for our Mid-Autumn Festival. We'll enjoy Mooncakes, tea and a lantern craft.

It will be held at the Global Hub, located on the 1st floor of Posvar Hall (map), from 12:00 to 2:00 pm.