While the weather gradually cools down and we get more of those delicious blue sky days, Autumn is the ideal time for outdoor activity. Luckily for new moms, this hot New York exercise program, PROnatal Fitness, is also easy to do in Beijing. PROnatal Fitness is a workout system created by women’s health experts, physical therapists, and fitness pros that focuses on the benefits of exercise both during and after pregnancy.

This particular stroller workout guide primarily uses your baby stroller, along with a towel and optional resistance bands. Just head to your favorite park with good footpaths and benches. (Chaoyang park, for example.) You’ll be needing those benches for stability as well, along with your stroller, for parts of the exercise itself. This is basically low impact, full body, mommy parkour.  

This full body workout covers a brief warm up and stretch with a focus on core engagement, both upper and lower body, aerobic routines, and stretches. A detailed explanation of the entire routine, including links to instructional videos from warm-up to cool down, can be found here.

Remember, keeping fit isn’t simply good for our bodies, but also our mental health. According to Reuters, a recent Spanish study stated that exercise can both prevent and minimize the effects of postpartum depression. Similar studies at the University of Minnesota came to similar conclusions. Simply put, moving our bodies is essential for well-being.

While there are a number mommy focused fitness classes here in Beijing, there are currently no PROnatal Fitness classes, but they have a wealth of useful and free resources online. The entire routine can be found on a PDF. Just print it, stuff it in your diaper bag, and start doing park bench lunges!

Photos: cloudfront.net, startribune.com

Beijing has no shortage of rock climbing gyms where one can climb, boulder, or just plain dangle around, but it was the opening of Rock Hour gym last month that showed us just how a professional rock climbing gym should look and feel.

While it helps that Rock Hour is clean and brand spanking new, it will hopefully remain this way because there is a no shoe policy inside so outside muck won’t dirty up the climbing wall with whatever icky stuff your shoes may have encountered on the way there.

There’s lots of wall space here featuring climbing routes (this is the path of the various climbing holds) with varying degrees of difficulty. These were created by a Japanese man with years of experience , who they brought in to design this portion of the gym. At the intermediate section of the gym’s climbing wall, there is also an automatic belaying contraption that allows everyone there to climb without the need of a professional at the bottom holding the rope. It sounds scary, but it looked pretty safe as people of all ages conquered the wall an were gracefully let down by this contraption.

Other than that, they communicated to us that they are planning on doing some group and individual climbing classes for kids. We will make sure to update you on any developments regarding this in the future. But, so far they have done a great job at building a classy gym that equally caters to the needs of both serious climbers and beginners.

Admission is RMB 100 for the day, RMB 80 for children between the ages of 6-14, and free for kids under 6. There is an extra fee for equipment rentals for things like climbing harnesses, shoes, or anything extra you may need. One of the downsides to Rock Hour is that it can be a little hard to find as it is hidden by a bit of construction currently going on. We recommend giving them a call or asking folks in the area for directions if you get lost. The staff are all friendly and speak English, which should help if you need some directions finding the place.

Rock Hour:
Daily 10am-10pm. RMB 80-100 (plus additional equipment rental fees). Building 74, No.27 yard, Xidawanglu, Chaoyang. 西大望路27号院74栋岩时攀岩馆 (185 1916 6168)

Photos: Kipp Whittaker

The Beijinger  2017 Pizza Festival is rapidly approaching, which means two things. You must, of course, begin crash dieting so that you can taste as many pizza slices as possible to be better informed when voting begins, and also prepare yourselves for an afternoon filled with fun activities for the whole family.

This massive event, which marks the launch of this year’s Pizza Cup, is now only two weeks away (Sept 16-17) and will feature two full days of pizza appreciation at Wangjing Soho. This will no doubt go down in history as the biggest celebration of pizza that China has ever seen in its 5,000-year-long history.

With over 30 pizza vendors, 20 breweries, and more cheesy fun than you can shake your crust at, the Beijinger‘s Pizza Festival will unite some of the city’s best F&B outlets, giving you the opportunity to try them all at one convenient location!

Also, this year’s fest will be taking on a carnival theme to bring a splash of color and spice to the occasion. There will be music from some of the city’s best live performers, including The Hunters, The Mac Daddies, as well as Cousin Kippy (that’s me!) on decks supplying a variety of pizza-friendly music to keep the party going throughout the day. For the youngsters, there will be carnival games, DIY pizza making, and a dough toss performance courtesy of Tube Station.

If our previous Pizza and Burger Cup Launch events are any indication as to how many people we will be in attendance, then we recommend that you pick up your tickets in advance. Otherwise, you may need to wait in a queue that will ultimately delay your pizza pleasures for more than a moment. Advance tickets (RMB 20) will also get you a free picnic blanket for the event. Tickets can also be purchased at the entrance (RMB 25), and kids under 1.2 m tall get in for free. Use the QR code below to pick yours up today, and you will be well on your way to having all of your cheesy pizza fantasies come true. Check out the Beijinger for more details.

Well, 2017’s humid, languid, and especially hot summer is finally drawing to a close. As the nighttime temperatures start to feel more “autumn-y,” is your child getting the back to school sads? Well, a really cute new schoolbag might be the ideal retail therapy needed to get your kid in the right mood to hit the books. Check out these funny and downright outrageous bags available on your favorite Chinese retail sites.

Kitty Bag (RMB 69)
In a country full to the brim of cute kitty knapsacks, we find this one to be the cutest of all. Maybe it’s the simple line drawing making up it’s front paws, or it’s nonplussed expression, or it’s tiny, afterthought of a tail. It’s actually a three part combo move. A total cuteness knockout.

Forlorn Hippos (RMB 132) 
SUPERLOVER makes a great deal of hilarious back to school book bags, but we were especially charmed by this forlorn hippo. The front zippered pouch doubles as his mouth. Luckily for us, his favorite food is pencil cases. Check out their shop on Tmall.

Cool Kid Gear From Yizi (RMB 95)
“Tasteful” isn’t a word we frequently use for fast food motifs, but this bag from Yizi is somehow just that. Maybe it’s the restrained burger and fries combo on a black background? Yizi also offers the same print as a button down shirt (RMB 119), for those who dig that “matchy matchy” just-stepped-out-of-a-Tumblr-blog look.

Popcorn Bookbag (RMB 249) 
Popcorn! Need we say more? Bromen makes a whole line of popcorn themed accessories with a strong pop art feel and look. How about a popcorn purse? Or clutch? The bleary eyed horse mascot brings the ridiculous level up a thousand percent. 

Bag Within Bags (RMB 78) 
For those storage obsessed kids, this “bags on bags” backpack is pretty appropriate. Perfect to color coordinate every possible object you own, especially when coupled with a label maker. Otherwise you’ll be constantly asking: “is my eraser in the pink, grey or brown pouch?”

Photos: Taobao, Tmall, ncbtmb.org

WeChat, although first released in 2011, took a couple of years to slowly became omnipresent. It’s almost hard to believe that it’s just been on the radar for less than five years. We’ve weaved it completely into our daily lives; from buying school supplies on JD, talking to fam back home, sending a few RMB to family via wallet, or scanning a QR code at your local Sichuan noodle shop. It’s one of the world’s truly indispensable “super apps,” especially for living in China. But besides these myriad social and financial uses, can WeChat also be used by governmental agencies or the court system? Apparently, yes.

According to China Daily, a trial held in Fuquan, Guizhou province was conducted entirely using WeChat to legalize the divorce between a long unrequited couple. The couple, who were married in 1989, had been living in different cities for seven years for various job opportunities. Eventually, they separated their lives completely in all ways except actual divorce. Since the couple had been living separately for so long, the trial was simple. Using Judge Deng Chao as a mediator, the couple communicated via voice messages, photos, and video calls. Because of the clarity of the evidence and the couple’s cooperation, the actual trial took just twenty minutes.

This case could open the floodgates. Divorce rates in China have been rapidly rising, especially amongst younger couples pressured into marriages by meddling family members. It’s possible that unhappy, tech savvy young couples living in separate cities, or simply being unable to stand being in the same room with one another, would opt to use WeChat to speed up court cases and reduce costs.

According to website Yibada, The presiding Judge on the Guizhou case, Deng Chao, said “We’ll continue to try to hear simple cases via video. But for complicated ones, couples will still be asked to show up in court.”

Photo: guardian.ng