Living in Beijing can get a bit much at times. Maybe it's the traffic jams that get to you, maybe it's the crowds; but no matter the cause, the cure is the same; head for the mountains! Read More>>
Children in YCIS Beijing Primary School have the opportunity to explore Beijing with their teachers, discovering different aspects of traditional Chinese culture through field trips to cultural sites around Beijing that align with what they’re studying in ... Read More>>
Few people like to exercise in winter time: the ground is slippery, the air burns your throat, and in Beijing it sometimes feels like you have to fight your way through the dense smog that blankets the city. Going to the gym gets monotonous. Nonetheless, ... Read More>>
Making heads or tails of Beijing can be a daunting task. The city proper is about 1,300 sq km (502 sq mi) which makes it about the same size as Los Angeles but with three or four times as many people and a significantly longer history. The Beijing ... Read More>>
Yet again a taxi driver takes the longer way to your house; yet again the fruit seller charges you 10 RMB extra for those bananas; yet again you pay 100 RMB more for that skirt you were looking at the other day. It seems that for anyone living in Beijing as ... Read More>>
No one doubts that autumn is Beijing's best season. The leaves turn beautiful shades of orange and red and the autumn air is fresh (relatively speaking) with a subtle crispness, hinting at the fast approach of the winter season. If you're looking to get out ... Read More>>
Whether you are just visiting Beijing for a few days, or Beijing is your “laojia” (old home), it is of the utmost importance that you know how to get around the city quickly and cheaply. While you could take a cab from point A to B every time, this gets ... Read More>>
During his tenure at Yew Chung International School, Dr. Wickham has shared his passion for insects through both hands-on demonstrations and interactive experiments, some of which you can even conduct at home with your own children. The easiest and least ... Read More>>
With many people tired of the meat market atmosphere of Beijing’s many bars and the pop-oriented dance scene, a game of pool is an often forgotten but very viable alternative to going out on the razzle. If you are tired of shouting into the ears of people ... Read More>>
This winter Beijing’s Bird’s Nest will be playing host to a high stakes snowboarding competition and will be transformed into a Disney princess snow castle among other highlights in what is, to date, the most active month for the venue. Read More>>
What’s not to love about pampering yourself with manicures, pedicures and wax treatments? The Chinese are known around the world for their precise and meticulous manicure/pedicure and waxing abilities, so it goes without saying that Beijing is fantastic ... Read More>>
Is bungee jumping something extreme you have always wanted to do? Now there are no more excuses as we have laid out three of Beijing’s best bungee jumping facilities for you to choose from. Read More>>
For those who enjoy peaceful waterside settings, no spot is better than Beijing’s Shichahai. This area was once the home to the rich and powerful of the Old Beijing elite. Since the Yuan Dynasty, Shichahai has been the right in the middle of the most ... Read More>>
Dashilan’er (also known as Dazhalan West Street), one of Beijing’s oldest commercial streets has re-opened following intensive renovations that lasted for over one year and cost 93 million RMB. Dashilan’er is located in the Qianmen area, south of ... Read More>>
If you are opting to stay at home for National Week, Tianjin may be the perfect day-trip to get out of the city and clear your head. Here are our suggestions for a perfect city break in Tianjin. Read More>>
With spring well and truly on its way, many people will be thinking about coming out of hibernation, casting their DVD box-sets and take away pizza boxes aside and taking a weekend break. Echinacities brings you some of the best getaway locations around ... Read More>>
If you are tired of the maddening hordes of tourists on the most popular stretches of the Great Wall like Badaling or Juyonguan, then maybe it is time to try out some less crowded alternatives. The mountains surrounding our fair city of Beijing contain a ... Read More>>
Beijing traffic may get hostile on the surface sometimes, but deep down there's a subway system that always loves us, and it's one of the cheapest and most convenient in the world. You can hardly toss a cat without hitting one of the 192 stations in ... Read More>>
What’s the point of cold weather and dirty snow mounds piled up on the pavements when there’s absolutely nothing fun about it? Why do we even bother enduring the random snow showers that scare away taxi drivers and cripple public transport? Why do we even ... Read More>>
In our ongoing series looking at Beijing’s best parks – check out the first installment here – we highlight some of the best green stretches in the north of the city. Liuyin Park柳荫公园 Liuyin is one of Beijing’s less visited parks, ... Read More>>
Beijing's temperature can soar above 40 C in summer so what better way to beat the blistering heat than to take a cool dip? Read More>>
Yanxi Lake (雁栖湖) is a huge pristine body of water that finds itself the setting of some of the best water bound adventures in the whole of Beijing in spring, early summer and into the autumn. Surrounded on three sides by mountains, visitors are treated ... Read More>>