Christmas trees are up there with Santa, Nativity scenes and snow as the most iconic, traditional aspects of Christmas but getting real trees in Beijing can be tough. Not this year. Local NGO Bethel China Foundation is providing Christmas trees from their farm. Who can turn down the scent of fresh pine especially when it’s for a charitable cause? Here’s how you can get hold of one.
The not-for-profit organization that provides foster care, education and professional training for Chinese orphans who are blind or visually impaired, is selling trees from their farm in Beijing’s southeast Fangshan District. You can either head down to the farm yourself (it’s about an hour and a half drive from the city center) or they will deliver the tree to your door.
Trees come in medium (four to six feet) and large (six feet+) and cost RMB 700 or RMB 1,000 for pick-up and RMB 850 or RMB 1,200 for delivery, respectively. If you want to hold on to your tree for next year, you can also arrange for post-Christmas pickup and replanting of your tree (medium RMB 200, large RMB 300).
Sales began on November 21 and the tentative dates for home delivery are Nov 24, Dec 1 and Dec 8, but those dates are still subject to change depending on amount and location of orders.
If you won’t be in Beijing over the holidays to enjoy a Christmas tree in your home you can sponsor a tree to be placed in the houses and school of Bethel’s children.
To pre-order your Christmas tree, email matthew@bethelchina.org or call 135 223 66 343 for more information.
Photo courtesy of Bethel
This blog post originally appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger. For more Christmas content, stay tuned for our December 2012 issue, due out on December 3.
