A good friend of mine asked me how we were getting on in Beijing, this time back in the motherland with two young kids in tow. My answer to her: “Parks. Playgrounds. Parks. Playgrounds”.
Yes, in an age-old city that was built for emperors and administration, children sure isn’t a priority category that falls in the scope of planning for Beijing’s civil servants. I don’t blame them, not when the policy for the past 30 years for the nation was strictly focused on reduce its swelling young demographic, not growing it. However, things are changing – China now permits more than one baby per family. And with that, the landscape, a very idyllic picture of grandparents and parents with little ‘uns in parks is starting to quite a common sight across the capital.
As I brace myself for the long winter months ahead, juggling maternal duties for a rambunctious 4yo and a clueless 1yo becomes a very serious task. I am coming to grips with the fast-paced landscape before me as the layers come on, at the same time acutely aware of the growing probability for things to go wrong. These include: leaving behind a possible valuable winter wear like a piece of glove or beanie when its -5degC; not being able to get a cab while waiting out in the cold with two in tow; toddler poops and badly needs to be changed while we are in a traffic jam. All of which have of course happened before, so every parent reading this can be assured it will happen to you… somewhere down the road. 🙂
However, China’s services and systems have vastly improved since our time in 2012. The apps I rely on greatly to get me by (i read Chinese, so I admit it is significantly easier!):
- Dianping 点评 – For any resource on playgrounds, rates, quality, reviews. Search for 儿童娱乐场 (kids’ playgrounds) and you will get plenty, even sifted by location. Also, 团购 to get a better deal on services. Endless possibilities!
- Zhuan Zhuan 转转 – Literally turning like a carousel – this is the app for which you can buy and sell stuff with people in your vicinity. Thanks to Wechat, you can also get transfer cash and arrange for logistics pretty easily.
- Wechat – No-brainer for anyone living in China. Endless expat groups and support systems all in one single app. I also realise quickly how any of your kids’ services (sports, gyms etc) are also arranged directly through Wechat – took me a while to get used to such informal arrangements, but hey, it works! However, I found that if you want to track your expenses and have them categorized automatically, Alipay 支付宝 works better than Wechat.
Indoor playgrounds aside (which are all commercially run, and some good some shitty), I absolutely love the parks in Beijing. I haven’t even scratched the surface. If you searched on Baidu, you will quickly realise there are the Big Eight Beijing Parks (八大公园), but run through the list and you’ll probably realise the ones you are familiar with aren’t even in the big 8. Search somemore and you’ll find probably 40 parks all across the city.
Bottom line of course, is to keep exploring! Every park has its own characteristic design, its own little history. However, the most intriguing thing about the parks is the draw it has with the older folk, who can usually be heard before you see them. Prime time to witness them in action (during winter at lease) is 10am – all busy with their respective activity, even if one loudspeaker is blaring louder than the other placed 10m away.
This is only good news for urbanites like us seeking a dose of green. Here are three parks which I found to be beautiful, and also have a little dedicated kids amusement park:
- Chaoyang Park 朝阳公园
- Olympic Forest Park 奥林森林公园
- Ritan Park 日坛公园
Another beautiful park that deserves mention (even though it doesn’t have a kids area) is Ditan Park 地坛公园 – pigeons seem to come in droves everyday at around 9.30am. Really an amazing sight to behold. There are stalls selling bird feed, if your kid wants to get some action as well.
Anyone with more parks to recommend with decent kids facilities, please do send it across! I’d love to receive more recommendations!
Little Roots in China 