What You Actually Want to Know About Chaoyang Park

Over the weekend our sister publication, the Beijinger, published an article titled Everything You Need to Know About Chaoyang Park. It was a good start, but as someone who’s gotten lost in Chaoyang Park on more than one occasion, we thought we could expand some more to truly explore this sprawling green space, especially as the weather finally becomes warm again! Urban nature lovers, dust off your wagons and get ready for park season at one of Beijing’s most iconic springtime leisure spots!

The practical stuff

Name: Chaoyang Park 朝阳公园 Zhāoyáng gōngyuán
Address: 1 Nongzhan South Road, Chaoyang District 朝阳区农展馆南路1号
Opening hours: Daily 6am-10pm, last entry 8pm
Price: Free
Amenities: Restrooms, snack stalls, vending machines, easy subway access
Known for: 5km running track, public football pitches and ping pong tables, amusement park, multiple lakes, boating, open-air stage, lots of usable grass

What’s not allowed

Before you pack your wagon full of stuff to entertain the family for the day, Chaoyang Park does have a list of banned items.

Kites
Bikes (though I’ve seen some kids sneak smaller ones in)
Tents for camping (blankets are allowed, but tents that zip up are not)
Drones
Electric scooters
Hoverboards

What you can do there

Glamping – What’s glamping you ask? Glamor + camping! It’s essentially camping in a really, really nice tent. So while you’re not allowed to bring your own tent into the park, there is a beautiful section towards its east side where you can book a glamping site.

Moncy Club – This place looks awesome! It’s located on the park’s west side and does require a separate entry fee of about RMB 320. However, inside Moncy there are plenty of climbing walls, suspension bridges, and zip lines. They also have a laser tag arena that’s open to kids and adults. If you’ve got a big group, you can book the entire place out for RMB 150/person for two and a half hours. If you want to join an existing game, the price is RMB 160 for two hours.

Sports courts – I’ve seen basketball, soccer, and tennis courts close to the east side of the park. Plenty of camps for both grown-ups and kids run their programs out of Chaoyang Park. If you’re looking for a sport for your kid, a quick stroll around the park will give you plenty of ideas.

Workout areas – They have little monkey bars inside the park, but there’s a big area with open-air workout equipment and ping pong tables by the entrance of West Gate 4.

Water activities – There are at least two docks that rent out paddle boats, canoes, and stand-up paddleboats when the weather gets a bit warmer. One sits right around the corner from where the aerial adventure course is, across the bridge and to the left. The other is north, close to Solana Mall on the west side of the park. Both are operated by Whale Sports and offer a 30-minute canoeing experience starting from RMB 109 for one person, to RMB 199 for a three-seater canoe.

Jogging trails – Clearly marked jogging trails snake throughout the park, and on occasion, I’ve seen big jogging groups go by.

Bikes and electric carts – You can’t bring in your own bikes but you can rent a family bike and electric cart to explore the park. There’s probably a name for those four-seater pedal bikes but I don’t know it. The bikes are available in two, four, and four + a kid seat in the front. The electric carts can only fit two people and they go pretty slow – as well they should since the park gets packed with families. Prices start from RMB 80 per hour.

Amusement park – Don’t expect Universal Studios level rides. This is more akin to a local carnival. Individual ride tickets start from RMB 20 but an all-access pass might be a smarter move if you’ve got an, “I wanna try everything” kid like my colleague Vivienne Tseng-Rush. RMB 88 will buy you a ticket that allows you to choose six out of 18 ride categories. Aside from carnival-esque rides, the park also offers a Dinosaur City, an indoor playground for younger kids, and the Sony Science Center for inquiring minds.