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September Top 10
An Apple for Teacher
September 10 is a lucky day for teachers, or laoshi in China. Instead of a single apple, present your teacher with a whole hand-picked bushel! Fenghuangling in Haidian is a national park full of apples, pears and red dates perfect for plucking in September and October. To get there by bus, take No. 346 from the Summer Palace to the Fenghuangling stop. If you're traveling by car, take the Badaling Expressway to the Beiqinglu exit, then head west on Beiqing Lu until the road ends. Turn right and then follow the signs to Fenghuangling. Entrance fee: RMB 25 for adults, RMB 13 for students and ages 70 and up, free for children under 1.2m. Call ahead. (6245 5933/9492) www.bjfhl.com凤凰岭,海淀区
The Happy Hills
Canadian Sharon Hill is the client relations manager at Beijing United Family Hospital and her husband Eric Hill is an engineer at Beijing Oilfield Services. The Hills have been living in Beijing for the past three years with their daughterKristen (4) and son Joshua (2). With baby number three on the way, Sharon and her family took time out of their hectic day to let us in on their favorite family spots.
Favorite Snack
McDonald's ice cream!
Family Ritual
On weekend mornings Kristen and I have a Mommy-daughterouting. We usually get our nails done at Yashow and go shopping or explore new shops. Last week, we went to Boulangerie Nanda Bakery. Meanwhile, Eric will usually bring Joshua to the pool in our complex or to the park.
The Girl From Snowy River
Despite my strong, and I mean strong, preference for inner-city living and all that comes with it, my childhood was not that of your typical city-dweller. My first birthday was spent in a combi van in the northern rainforests of Australia. My holidays included trips to remote Buddhist monasteries and visits to my dad's hippy friends - who were then living a totally vegan lifestyle in a self-sustaining cottage hours away from anywhere.
Perfectly Professional
Beijing-born Nancy Ding divides herself between two very important roles: a business manager at Microsoft and a mother to her son Andy (3). A self-professed "workaholic," Nancy admits she finds juggling the two to be rather difficult. "It's very challenging - I don't have a work/life balance," she confesses. When Nancy's not taking 1am conference calls, she's devoting her time and energy to her son who attends Ivy International Kindergarten. It's high time this mom took a break from her hectic schedule to relax and unwind. Thankfully, London-trained stylist Tom from The Cut Culture was on-hand to pamper Nancy and force her to put her feet up for a whole afternoon.
The Blissful Bryants in Sanya
The Travelers
Colleen and Gregory Bryant, their daughter Cole (7) and son Cian (4).
The Plan
The Bryants booked their flight on China Southern Airlines through BJS Travel Service (www.bjs.com.cn). Flight fares for economy tickets were RMB 2,400 for adults and RMB 1,180 for children. They stayed in a villa at Mandarin Oriental Sanya, which can be booked online (www.mandarinoriental.com/sanya) for four nights.
