Best bets

Cavalia in Shanghai

Date: July 18-26

Venue: Shanghai Expo

Price: 280-2,000 yuan

Cavalia, the first production of the Canadian company, began its world tour in the summer of 2003. Conceived by Normand Latourelle, one of the co-founders of famed Cirque du Soleil, Cavalia is a fresh mix of equestrian and performing arts, multimedia and special effects, innovatively integrating acrobatics, dance, aerial stunts and live music. Enjoyed by more than 4 million spectators across North America, Europe, Australia, The Middle East and Asia, Cavalia is a lavish production involving 40 magnificent horses and featuring 40 riders, aerialists, acrobats, dancers and musicians from all over the world. A show unlike any other, Cavalia celebrates the relationship between humans and horses, virtually reinventing the equestrian arts.

International Champions Cup China

Date: July 25 - 8 pm

Venue: Longgang Sports Center, Shenzhen

Price: 380-1,680 yuan

The International Champions Cup (ICC) is an annual club association football friendly exhibition competition. It predominantly features club teams from Europe playing matches in the United States and occasionally Canada, with a wider roll-out to further countries beginning in 2015 with an expansion to China and Australia. The ICC was founded by Relevant Sports, a division of RSE ventures, a sports promotion company founded in 2012 by billionaire real estate magnate and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Matt Higgins, a former executive with the New York Jets. It replaced the World Football Challenge, which had featured a more even distribution of European-and American-based sides. One match during the 2014 tournament set the all-time record for attendance at a soccer game in the United States. The new record of 109,318 spectators was set August 2, 2014 at the match between Manchester United and Real Madrid in University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Zhangbei Music Festival in Hebei

Date: July 24-28 - 1 pm

Venue: Zhangbei Zhongdu Grassland

Price: 160-500 yuan

Zhangbei Music Festival can't be missed. Held between July 24 and 26, this three-day extravaganza will take part in the grasslands of Zhangbei, about 250km from Beijing. The lineup is looking strong with veteran rocker Xie Tianxiao leading the bill, Pg.lost (Switzerland), Maximillian Hecker (Germany), MONO (Japan) and Matzka (Taiwan) also making appearances among a packed list of local Chinese acts.