Imogen Kandel
A Mother’s Mission
It is no secret that services, facilities and therapists for special needs children in Beijing are woefully thin on the ground. Sitting opposite Jacqueline Chen at a Sanlitun café, you get a sense of just how desperate the situation really is. Chen is the mother of 4-year-old Eliott and 2-year-old Elizabeth. Although cognitively
on-target, Eliott was born prematurely with cerebral palsy at Beijing United Family Hospital.
Each time Chen described her disappointment at the neglected state of special needs care in Beijing (which was regularly) she rapped her fingers on the tabletop. While it’s obvious that Chen has had her share of roadblocks, her finger tapping punctuations were loudest when talking about how, with a small team of dedicated parents and therapists, she was going to succeed where others had failed.
The Bloomer-Skip-Run Method
Where I come from, big girls serve one purpose in primary school: To play on the basketball team. My height and weight made me the best player in the under 10 league. But it’s easy to crush your opponents when, if given half the chance, you literally could crush them.
Helping Hands
The following article is excerpted from beijingkids Home and Relocation Guide 2011. Download a PDF copy here or visit this page to order a free print copy for home delivery.
In a country where the language, culture and environment present endless challenges, it's nice to know that help is out there. Having a driver and a nanny (ayi) to help in the home gives you more time to adjust to new environs and do the things you want to do, like spending quality time with your kids. But as living costs in Beijing continue to rise and cheap housing is demolished to make way for shiny new apartment complexes, the number of domestic workers has dwindled, making it increasingly difficult to find qualified people. To help you with your search, we've compiled a list of reputable driver and ayi agencies, as well as some important questions you should ask before signing on the dotted line.
Playtime SOS
Star Trooper Laser Tag
Indulge trigger-happy children with a game or five of laser tag. Think dark mazes, strobe lights and lots of excitement. This is a great option for birthdays or large groups (kids must be taller than 1.3m). Each game lasts 15 minutes. Groups of six or more can rent the entire venue for RMB 1,680 per hour.
RMB 40 (first game), RMB 30 (additional games). Wed-Fri 2-8pm, Sat-Sun 9am-8pm. B1/F, 316 Wangjing Xiyuan Sanqu, Chaoyang District (6475 8329, info@startrooper.net) www.startrooper.net 朝阳区望京西园三区316号楼，地下1层
Coast to Coast
Inner Mongolia
The flowing grasslands and desert expanses of this exotic land are a far cry from the concrete jungle that is Beijing. While organized tours are available in and around the capital of Hohhot, families with older children may want to bust out of their safety zone and visit more remote towns and villages. Spend a night in a traditional nomadic yurt and visit the mausoleum of Genghis Khan. Culture-seekers can soak up traditional Mongolian singing and dancing, while adventurers can try horse and camel riding. The harsh winter climate in this part of the country makes summer the perfect time to plan a trip.
Keepin' It Country
Mutianyu
What: Explore the Great Wall
Ages: 3 and up
Cost: RMB 1,000 for family of four (includes parking, tickets, lunch). Overnight stay at The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu: RMB 1,800-5,000 per night.
Transportation: Car
Good to know: Not pram-friendly. Parking is no problem. Sturdy shoes are a must. For families staying overnight at The Schoolhouse who want to cook their own meals, it's best to bring all of your food with you from Beijing.
Address: The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu. Daily 9am-9pm. Mutianyu Village, Huairou District 怀柔区慕田峪 (具体路线请查看网站信息)
Contact: 6162 6506, www.theschoolhouseatmutianyu.com
Make A Splash
Tuanjiehu Park
Ages: All
Cost: Park: free. Pool: Mon-Fri RMB 40, Sat-Sun RMB 50.Transportation: Taxi, car or bus
Good to know: It's best to visit the pool at the start of the summer season, before it gets too crowded and the "sand" gets too dirty.
Park: Daily 10.30am-9.30pm.
Pool: Open June 1 to August 31. Daily 10.30am-8.30pm.
Address: 16 Tuanjiehu Nanli, Chaoyang District 团结湖公园, 朝阳区团结湖南里16号Contact: 8597 3603 (park), 8597 4677 (pool)
This secluded faux beach is a secret no more. Packed on the weekends, the pool has two super-fun (but small) slides, a deep-end swimming pool, a play area for toddlers, and a large beach pool. Inside, there is a snack bar with Chinese snacks, chuan'r and even beer, but we suggest packing your own picnic. There are lockers available for rent (RMB 10 with a RMB 20 deposit). Aside from the pool, Tuanjiehu Park is home to a roller skating rink (RMB 5 entrance, RMB 10 skate rental) and a large Koi pond complete with electric and paddle boats (RMB 30-60/hour, RMB 50-200 deposit). Summer visitors will also find locals dancing with fans, painting water calligraphy and indulging in other community-based activities. Step outside the park and complete the day with a meal at Cantonese favorite Jin Ding Xuan.
Pasta By the Park
New kid on the Chaoyang Park block, Alio Olio is more than a convenientlylocated restaurant. With atmospheric lighting, a roaring pizza oven and a menu that includes all of the usual suspects at prices even Annie's can't match - this place ticks all the right boxes. A funky spiral staircaseseparates the well-lit first floor from the smokers on the second floor. Their thin-crust pizzas are a steal with prices starting from RMB 36 for a large margherita. Salads, soups, antipasti and mains are all served in generous portions, but we recommend the lamb chops (RMB 78) or the marinara spaghetti with a pizza bread top (RMB 52). To keep the kids amused and seated, the restaurant supplies highchairs, colored pens and a small selection of toys. If little mouths find the large portions a tad daunting, you can request smaller portion sizes (select dishes only).
Finding Good Fortune
Susan Conley had grand plans for her life in China. She would write a book and her husband Tony would devote himself to his flourishing career. Meanwhile, their boys Aidan (then age 4, now age 8) and Thorne (then age 6, now age 10) would attend school and pick up some Mandarin. Then Conley was diagnosed with breast cancer. Rather than return to the States, Conley stayed in Beijing and wrote an ambitious memoir encompassing both her time in China and her struggle with cancer. The Foremost Good Fortune was recommended in O Magazine's Reading Room and excerpts have been published in The New York Times. Leading up to her return to Beijing, Conley spoke with beijingkids about her book, her time in China and surviving cancer.
Make a Wish on Tara
Most parents take their kids to the beach for summer holidays. Maybe they go camping if they're particularly adventurous. However, I am yet to meet anyone who spent a childhood vacation at a Buddhist commune in the middle of a rainforest.
A practicing Buddhist, my grandmother was responsible for the clan packing up their meditation beads and heading off to spend their vacation sitting surrounded by poisonous bugs in a zen-like state.
If you're wondering what happened at this Buddhist commune, I'm here to tell you: nothing much. The adults meditated and ate a lot of vegetarian food. The monks (called Geshe according to my grandmother's specific Buddhist leanings) smiled a lot and went to painstaking efforts to ignore my younger brother Huw and I when we waltzed into the temple and proceeded to throw their neatly stacked meditation cushions around the room.
