5 Things To Do Before Spring Semester Starts

Though most companies are headed back to work, some schools are still on vacation. Here are a few things you can do while you wait for the fireworks to completely fizzle out and for the spring to bring back a sense of normalcy.

Check out the snow

There are a few snow parks available in Beijing, and our family events group on WeChat mentioned the snow parks at Gongti, Longtan Park (at the north entrance), and Yizhuangqiao snowpark. The benefit of Gongti snowpark is that it’s close to most in the city, but it’s crowded and can be pricey. If you’re willing to travel, head south to Yizhangqiao snow park and stop by the neighboring Decathlon on your way out from a long day. It’s RMB 30 per person to enter the park, but only RMB 100 to rent a tube for a few hours to slide down those hills.

If you’re not shy toward fastfood, there’s a McDonald’s at Yizhuang Culture Park station. If you’re looking for something more refined, The Roots is an Yizhuang favorite of everyone in the suburb with taste buds.

Getting there:

Yizhuangqiao Snowpark: Type in 亦庄桥 to Didi for a taxi, or take line 10 or 5 to Yizhuang Line then get off at Yizhuangqiao station. Once exiting the station, use the picture below as a guide. McDonald’s is one stop down at Yizhuang Culture Park and across the bridge. The Roots is at the Yizhuang Sam’s Club on the 3rd floor. We suggest taking a taxi there and typing in 亦庄创意生活广场.

The red is the station, the purple is Decathlon, and the blue is the snow park with the line explaining how to get there.

Go ice skating

Thankfully malls are still open and running even when schools are not. Remember when our sister publication, theBeijinger, rounded up this list of their favorite places to ice skate? There’s also this mall that has virtual reality games, a trampoline area, a major kids’ land, and an ice skating rink.

Check out kidsteam locations

Did you know if you buy a membership card, you could visit any of the locations in Beijing? Kidsteam just opened a brand new location in Yizhuang. That’s a perk to me since my family frequently visits friends who live in the areas around the 4 locations, making this play chain a great option for us. This Saturday we’re heading into downtown to get our haircut and we’ll be close to one of the locations, so we’re meeting up with friends to have a play date!

The drawback is that prices are steep, as with most play lands, but this one averages out to RMB 80 per kid per entry day if a parent were to buy the RMB 2,500 card that lasts a year. Otherwise, it’s RMB 150 per head. You are able to leave and come back within the same day. I would recommend this for parents who prefer indoor play to playing in a mask on bad AQI days. My kids played for hours and didn’t want to leave (they’re 4 and 5 years old).

Go watch a movie

I’m always a sucker for a good movie at the cinemas, though I do miss salty, buttery popcorn over the sweet kind found at many Beijing cinemas. Kubo and the Two Strings has been rated well for kids ages 8 and above. And don’t forget Rogue One, I mean, as though you could forget.

Don’t forget events

There are a couple of events you could check out this weekend, and we rounded up this coming week’s events too. I’d personally suggest checking out Our Little Library Opening and the Children’s Drama, Malan Flower.

Photos: Vanessa Jencks