The Chi family has been a fixture on the Beijing expat scene for seven years. Dad Alex is one of the pastors at the Beijing International Christian Fellowship and mom Eunice is a librarian at Yew Chung International School, where both Angela (16) and Ariena (14) are students. Before Beijing, this Chinese-American family lived in Philadelphia; now they make their home in Chaoyang District. Here are some of the Chi family favorites.
Restaurant for a School Night:
Our family particularly enjoys trying out different restaurants and food from different countries. Beijing is so big and diverse that you never run out of options! Our favorites include Nyonya (Malaysian), Banana Leaf (Thai), Muse (Vietnamese), and 1001 Nights (Middle Eastern).
Birthday Celebration
We like to go to the bowling center at the Lido, and then the LeCool skating rink at China World. Usually we’ll also go see a movie at the theater in New Oriental Plaza.
Splurge
Our family loves electronics. Recently we bought two Dell laptops and Sony Cybershots for the girls at the Zhongguancun Shopping Mall. Zhongguancun is really the Silicon Valley of Beijing!
Shopping Spree
We love the Beijing Zoo market. It’s cheaper than Yaxiu and Silk Street – in fact, it’s the wholesale market that the stall owners at major tourist markets get their clothes from! You can find some amazing deals there, and the fashions are great as well.
Way to Charm Visitors
Besides the usual tourist attractions, we also like to introduce them to Beijing life. When our relatives visited, we took them shopping at Silk Street and the Pearl Market (Hongqiao), letting them bargain to their hearts’ content. Angela and Ariena’s cousins also loved Happy Valley amusement park.
