The capital has no shortage of things to do. It can actually be quite overwhelming. Also, when you throw in the mix the ease of using public transport or bike-sharing, then you have almost the entire city conveniently at your fingertips. The following are just a couple suggestions to get your feet wet, featuring a little bit of everything, including art appreciation, shopping, and kid-friendly dining. Hopefully, when the weekend arrives, you’ll never have to utter those words “I’m bored” ever again.
The Art Zone
798 Art District is a place where you can go to relax and enjoy all the fantastic types of art Beijing has to offer. I have been there quite a few times, and still, haven’t fully explored the whole area. You can easily spend a day getting lost down one of the many alleyways that lead to cool cafes and unique shops filled with one-of-a-kind collectibles. There are also many sculptures scattered around the area that make it enjoyable for taking photos with friends.
798 Art District
My favorite place to hang out is ACE Café. It is a very family-friendly place, and the menu is designed for all palates. I also enjoyed shopping for unusual souvenirs and sifting through trinkets at art stalls, as well as visiting one of the many art exhibitions. The 798 district is pretty big, so a good starting point is key- if you want to tackle the challenge of exploring it all in one day. Even if you are not an art-lover, there is something here that will capture your interest.
Creepy Snacking and High Street Shopping
Wangfujing
Wangfujing is an exciting place for strange culinary adventures and great shopping with family and friends who are new to Beijing. The snack street is filled with unusual food choices such as scorpions, tarantulas, and other weird insects that you can’t find in the hutongs or more traditional Chinese restaurants. Actually, they are probably just here to trick visitors into eating bugs thinking that it’s some sort of local delicacy. Some stalls serve lamb and beef skewers for RMB 10 a stick, large French fries (seriously like 10cm long), and candied hawthorn apple or other fruits are available if you aren’t interested in chowing down on a couple of predatory arachnids. There are also plenty of shopping malls in the area where you can find everything from designer to teen-chic. My go-to restaurant in the area is the Cheesecake Factory. The food here is delicious, but the portions are enormous, so watch out!
Read or Watch
There are so many cinemas to choose from in Beijing. Unlike England, where you have to pay a minimum of 15 GBP for a ticket, here it is surprisingly affordable, sometimes starting as low as RMB 25. A small selection of western movies are usually being screened, and you can order both your tickets and snacks on the Meituan app (쳄考). Not only are there many cinemas within a short distance of my apartment, but there are also many different types of viewing experiences such as IMAX, 3D, 4D, and even dinner theaters.
If you are more of the bookish type like me, then you need to check out some of the western book shops that Beijing has to offer. Both the Bookworm and Page One are my top choices; as they are the most likely to have the books you are searching for and also have comfy areas to sit and read. The Bookworm has quite an easy-going atmosphere and a cafe where you can easily spend a day flicking through the pages of a new novel while sampling their tasty menu of casual eats.
The Great Escape
Check out Mr. X if you looking to, quite literally, escape for a couple of hours. It is both a board game café and more importantly, a set of escape rooms. The different escape rooms they have on offer will test your patience; either with the puzzles or your friends, depending on the location. I have been here with my friends on a couple occasions, and I’ve had so much fun taking part in the various challenges these spaces create. When you start a room, you will usually have an experienced guide that helps you to kick off your first challenge. It would be ideal if you could bring someone along that speaks Chinese, so that you can all enjoy the experience to the fullest. After completing your room, you have an option to roll dice. If the dice lands on a double six, you get to participate in another room for free! There are many different themed rooms to choose from, such as an immersive Area 51 experience or even Alcatraz.
Beijing’s Super Shopping Centers
Solana is one of my favorite shopping malls, due to the full range of restaurants and shops, and the fact that it is both indoor and outdoor. This makes it the perfect place during the warmer months. Again, you could easily spend a day here, and the shops aren’t that expensive. My favorite restaurant in Solana has to be Space Lab, because of the cool way that food is served. It gets shot down from the kitchen on a roller coaster type slide, right to your table! The food is also really affordable.
Space Lab
Indigo is my second go-to place to shop. With a cinema on the top floor, a food court, the luxurious East Hotel, and a supermarket in the basement, it is an ideal place to take friends. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s super easy to get to as it’s connected to the subway station. Indigo is also home to many famous brands that suit the needs of young people’s back to school shopping. These include Muji for school supplies, H&M for clothing that’s both economical and fashionable, Adidas for top-notch trainers, and Starbucks for caffeine!
This article appeared in the beijingkids July-August 2019 Teen Takeover issue
