My son, John (13) was impressed with the big red Porsche hanging on the wall when he, my husband, Kevin, and daughter, Julia (10) walked into U-Speed Kart Event Center in Chaoyang District. They were all anxious to get into their own cars, or go-karts, but it was a Saturday afternoon and they had to wait 40 minutes to get out on the track. While they waited they played foosball (RMB 60) in the game room and sucked down Cokes. From the second floor, they gazed down from the glass windows onto the 350m track to watch people drive, and crash. That proved to be very entertaining.
When it was their turn to drive, Julia, who was wearing flip-flops, had to change into slippers that the center provided. She told Kevin that next time she’ll remember to bring her running shoes because the center didn’t have her size (the slippers were too big). Some of the women customers, who were wearing high-heels, had to change into the slippers too. When Julia climbed into her kart she could reach the pedals but an employee from U-Speed put a pillow behind her back to make her ride more comfortable.
On the track, Kevin and the kids had a blast racing. “The coolest part was racing each other and then comparing times,” John said.
When they were done racing the center gave them a printed time sheet showing them how many laps they did and how fast they went. The kids took the time sheets home as souvenirs. “It was kind of expensive,” Kevin said, “but it was a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids.”
RMB 110 for 6min (non-members), RMB 77 for 6min (members), RMB 200 (yearly membership), RMB 1,280 (14 rounds with one membership card and a pair of gloves). Mon-Fri 1pm-1am, Sat-Sun 11am-1am. 1 Siyuan Bridge, Jingshun Lu (near Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Northeast Hotel), Chaoyang District (8472 9399, 136 0128 1318, rockqoffroad@yahoo.com.cn) www.u-speed.com 朝阳区四元桥一号(京密路进京方向辅路四元桥旁）
