Do you feel like no one hears your voice? Despite that, do you still think and speak passionately? Worst of all, do you need an activity for college applications but secretly dread it?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then welcome to Unit-E. 

Unit-E is a professional, non-profit, student run magazine across all international schools in Beijing. Yes, it is an activity for college applications and character development and CAS – but our true purpose is to amplify the voices of Beijing students. In the spring of 2010, two students from Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) and International School Beijing (ISB) gave birth to Unit E, and grew it to all international schools in Beijing. Students participated as artists, writers, designers, entrepreneurs, and leaders.

Students, teachers, and parents agree on their favorite part of Unit E – its community. We build a community of readers and writers that inspire and empower each other through art and writing, learn from each other’s experiences and mistakes, and network, socialize, or gain new perspectives. Every year a team graduates, and every year a team begins a new journey within and without Unit-E.

In 2022, Unit-E have daily articles on WeChat and Instagram accounts as well as paper print issues every two months. Our funding comes from associated schools in Beijing, for whom we advertise in print. We have student representatives in Beijing City International School (BCIS), ISB, DCB, Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Harrow, Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS), Pakistan Embassy College Beijing (PECB), and more, webbing a diverse social network of multiple languages, cultures, and aesthetic sensibilities.

We have five columns to cover every bit of creativity, fun, love, talent, niche, and argument possible: Creative, Academics, Chillax, Student Opinion, and Happenings.

The Creative column includes art, music, photography, dance, poetry, short stories, diaries, personal essays, memoirs, and journals. We help you gain inspiration from and learn about adolescent artistic expression.

The Academics column is every student’s handbook. How to excel in school? How to study for IB/AP/A-level exams? How to study for SSAT and SAT? How and where to intern, become leaders, and do charity work? How to choose universities, agents, and counselors? We have valedictorians and progressing students to answer you. 

The Chillax column is fashionable, fabulous, and fun. We provide a reliable firsthand guide for students in Beijing on where to have a girl’s night out, a romantic date, a shopping spree, what to wear, how to relax, where to eat… it goes on. 

The Student Opinion column is of course, opinionated, and therefore encourages students to be bold and confident. We argue for ourselves in respectful and beneficial ways about relevant issues within Beijing and the international community. 

The Happenings column reflects the wider context——how we students fit in a world that’s ever-changing. From law to economy to movies to galas to royal families, we have everything——do you want to know the latest gossip? Yes, but first, tea at Unit-E.

We are also absolutely thrilled to announce our current recruitment!

Anyone in Beijing with passion and curiosity can join. Based on your interest, you can be an editor, designer, marketing representative, writer, artist, or musician!

Submit your applications to Editor In Chief 2015053040@mybcis.cn, and work to be published through the QR code below——we already have many members, so be quick or give the opportunity to someone else.

 We look forward to hearing from you!

Images: Unit-E

With Universal Studios Beijing’s grand opening a few weeks behind us, people have been buzzing about the new amusement park left and right. And for what it’s worth, it’s safe to say that the hype is totally worth it.

My visit to Universal Studios happened just two days prior to the official opening and it was mind-blowing, to say the least. My sister and I spent the entire day there, arriving around 9am and leaving at 7.30pm.

Unfortunately, for an entire hour and a half, we took a seemingly endless stream of photos in front of the rotating Universal Globe. One useful tip – allocate a specific amount of time to take photos in there, because spending nearly two hours just taking pictures was the last thing we had anticipated.

As for the park itself, however, we started off strong with the rides and decided to try the infamous Decepticoaster in Transformers Metrobase first. All the stories are true. This ride is for devout thrill-seekers, a group I’m proud to count myself among.

It was definitely the best ride to kick off the day and boost my adrenaline, which got me excited about the rest of the rides. Unfortunately for my sister, the Decepticoaster converted her from a thrill-seeker to a person in deep need of therapy.

The entire day, she was reluctant to try other rides, so to slow things down a little, we headed to the Raptor Encounter located in Jurassic World. Although watching the showman interact with the dinosaur was a lot less frantic than the previous ride, the diversion served its purpose.

Still thoroughly traumatized and hesitant to try another ride, I was finally able to convince my sister to go on the Flight of the Hippogriff at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Personally, the ride was an eight out of ten. Nothing too extreme but still fun and exciting, in its own right.

Next, we headed to Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness and tried all sorts of rides, from the Carousel of Heroes to the multifaceted Journey of the Dragon Warrior. The entire place really lives up to its name. There is so much to do and so much to see there.

And again, be warned, the iridescent lights and soothing background music will force you to indulge in another endless photo and video shoot. Do not fall victim to this! Unless you plan on visiting the theme park a second time, taking pictures at one spot for much too long is not the best idea.

Our next stop was to Minion Land, where we went on the Loop-Dee Doop-Dee three times in a row. Although the name sounds quite silly, it was short and lovely, and definitely made it to my list of top five rides. Another ride that I really enjoyed was the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. As a huge fan of virtual reality, the ride unquestionably did it for me. Unfortunately, the wait time was half an hour so doing it a second time was a no-go.

Sing on Tour was our last stop. If you loved the movie, then you’ll doubtlessly love the musical performance. Some of the songs were mashups of other popular songs like Shake it Off by Taylor Swift and all the choreography was impressively synchronized.

After the live performance, my sister and I were famished. On our way out, we headed to Mel’s Drive-In where we ate cheeseburgers and French fries for dinner. Although the food was incredibly overpriced, we enjoyed our time at Universal Studios, and hope you do too!

KEEP READING: Universal Studios’ Hotels: Which Is the More Family-Friendly Choice?

Images: Courtesy of Jenny Andrea

Jingkids intern Jenny Andrea shares her childhood in milestones.

Age 8

Traveling without a parent or guardian for the first time was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Although the flight was only three hours, my twin sister and I did not dare leave each other’s side for a split second. We were traveling to visit our grandma – who lives in a distant city – for about a month. Our mom couldn’t accompany us and our dad was in Beijing at the time. Two 8-year-olds sitting alone on a plane with terrified facial expressions was the last thing you’d expect. In the end, we made it through the flight by each other’s side and found ways to kill time by playing word games and storytelling.

Age 9

Attending a school here in Beijing for the first time was equal parts terrifying and exciting. I remember it like it was yesterday. 9-year-old me saw the experience of stepping into a new school as the beginning of a new adventure. The adrenaline rush of encountering new students and teachers, the excitement of wearing a suit for the first time, and the feeling of perhaps, having to deal with a strict principal were all daunting but thrilling prospects. 4th grade was packed with the most diverse group of 9 and 10-year-olds I had ever seen in my life. The teachers were strict but extremely delightful and continuously went the extra mile to make my sister and I feel like we belonged. Overall, everyone turned out to be really friendly and inviting.

Age 12

Hanging out with my friends, outside of school, without having my dad drive me around or boss me about curfew was a lot more challenging than it sounded, initially. But at the time, I was 12 and thought I could do anything. Boy, was I wrong.

The pressure of finding a way home to make it in time for dinner weighed heavily on my mind. Thankfully, I was not alone. Although my sister and I struggled to stop a taxi, the real battle was communicating our address to the taxi driver in Chinese. Any expat’s worst nightmare. It took us a few minutes of arguing and disagreement to finally be able to pronounce it right. And in no time, we were on our way home in fresh, comfortable seats and a well-functioning air conditioner.

“Take that, Dad!” I remember thinking the entire way home.

Age 13

Living away from my parents for the first time had its good and bad sides. You’d expect me to return home way past my usual curfew and hang outside more. Well, that part is true. That’s what I did for some time while my parents were both in Cameroon for an entire month, attending my grandmother’s funeral. However, I quickly found that the more time I spent outside, the more money I spent on unnecessary and expensive things. After realizing this, I decided to dedicate more time to watching TV shows and movies indoors. One TV show in particular that kept 13-year old me busy for an entire month was The Vampire Diaries, which was eight seasons long. My sister and I were not entirely on our own. We had babysitters that were staying with us the whole time and they decided to have a movie marathon every night. Obviously, both my sister and I loved the idea. We watched all types of movies from the Wrong Turn series to White Chicks, a classic. In this case, I definitely think the good times spent without our parents at home outweighed the bad.

Age 14

At 14, I was given the biggest responsibility of my life: cooking dinner for a family of four. My parents took my sister to the dentist for an entire afternoon and expected to return home to a dinner table fully set with a three-course meal. Well, maybe not a three-course meal but certainly something to eat at the end of the day. I was 14 at the time and had spent almost an entire month helping my mom out in the kitchen because she’s hands-down, the best cook I know. I remember scanning our kitchen pantry and choosing the easiest option: pasta and tomato sauce. Initially, I thought it would be a piece of cake. Unfortunately, it did not turn out to be as easy as I had imagined. Cutting the vegetables for the sauce was perhaps the hardest part. Although I had done it before, this time was different, because my mom wasn’t there to correct me nor scold me for any little mistake I made. Eventually, I was able to make a pretty decent sauce, and with no injuries to boot!

This article appeared in the jingkids 2021 July-August issue

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you might have heard about the whirlwind controversy of the sexual harassment allegations made against Kris Wu, a 30-year-old Chinese-Canadian pop singer and actor. The controversy began when Du Meizhu, a 19-year-old Chinese college student and social media influencer, came forward and claimed that Wu had allegedly coerced her to consume alcohol and proceeded to have sex with her while she was unconscious. 

In one interview, Du claims that she wasn’t the only victim of Wu’s, and was paid hush money (RMB 500,000) by Wu, which she returned. On July 19, Wu made a post on his Weibo account, the Chinese version of Twitter, firmly denying the accusations and standing his ground. He ended his post by saying, “If there have been such actions, please don’t worry, I’ll go to prison myself!! I take legal responsibility for my words above!!”

This is rather ironic as it was announced last Saturday, Jul 31 that Wu has been detained by Beijing police for suspected rape.

Despite the serious allegations Du had made, many were unconvinced or skeptical about her claims because of her appearance and profession as a social media influencer. In this day and age, it has become really easy to question people’s sincerity, especially when it comes to sexual assault claims, just because of their appearance and social status.

It’s all too easy to make assumptions about someone. If you’re too poor? You’re doing it for money. Too pretty? You probably deserved it. Your job is a social media influencer? Of course, you would want to grow your audience and gain some attention by defaming someone famous! But would one really resort to scandal and infamy for that? Some might. But far more do not. It is saddening that in this case, many people are using her profession as a means of discrediting her and invalidating the allegations she has made against Wu as many claim that she’s seeking attention by stepping forward with her sexual assault story is a depiction of society’s patriarchal system that continually judges and silences women. 

Another example of women not being taken seriously because of their appearance and profession was apparent when American actress and model Megan Fox who went on the Jimmy Kimmel‘s live talk show in 2009 and related the story of how she was sexualized by Michael Bay, an American film director, at the mere age of 15.

Fox started to describe the time she was shooting a scene in a club as an extra in Bad Boys 2. She mentioned that the people shooting the film told Bay that since she was 15, they couldn’t film her sitting at the bar and holding a drink in her hand. “So his solution to that problem,” she stated, “was to then have me dancing underneath the waterfall, getting soaking wet.” Immediately, the live audience burst into laughter. 

Fox went on to explain how it was “sort of a microcosm of how Bay’s mind worked.” However, before she could finish her sentence, Kimmel interrupted Fox and said, “Yeah, well that’s really a microcosm of how all our minds work.” *Cue more laughter from his audience*

God forbid, if we were ever in the victims’ shoes, we would feel completely powerless going up against these well-known and highly praised celebrities. They not only have a comfy bed of cash to back them up but also have the power to ruin our lives via their associates and fanbase, who put them on a pedestal and could never imagine their idols possibly committing such an indecent act. In the case of Wu, his fanbase as gone as far as publicly declaring that they will break him out of prison. To which, multiple lawyers have gone on Douyin to try to reach Wu’s massive fanbase to inform them that their plan would land each and every one of them at least 10 years in prison themselves.

Thus, reporting the assault might not make a difference at all, which we imagine is how the actual victims would feel. According to the University of Oregon, for each reported case of sexual assault, more than 80 cases are not brought to light. 

With this statistic in mind, Du coming forward with her story and making it public shows bravery and courage that has paved the way for other victims to share their own stories. 

On the other hand, it’s important not to overlook false claims of sexual assault and/or abuse made with the intention of gaining some kind of reward. Although these occurrences are very rare, we cannot be completely oblivious to them. As stated by Schweitzer and Davidian’s law firm, “no one agrees on the percentage of rape allegations that prove to be false, but estimates range from 2 to 10 percent.” 

We applaud the speed with which the local authorities in China have taken action against Wu. In comparison to any Western or European country, reports of sexual assault made against a recognizable figure usually drag out for months, or years even. However, for Wu, more is yet to come and justice shall be served.

KEEP READING: How To Have a Civil Family Discussion Without Arguments or Even Agreement

Images: Weibo

Juan Manuel Delgado, an artist and native of Costa Rica, swears by acupuncture and credits the therapy with allowing him to walk again, even after countless doctors were all but assured of his lifelong immobility.

Delgado’s love of art began early in life. Born in Costa Rica, his family moved to Canada when he was 3 years old. There, he studied with Peter Schwartzman, a renowned Russian artist and architect. Following in his mentor’s footsteps, Delgado pursued an architecture degree and later returned to Costa Rica where he continued practicing art, refining his skill under the tutelage of a master portrait artist.

Delgado presenting Pope Francis with a portrait

A couple of months before coming to China, Delgado was diagnosed with a serious condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis, a rare type of arthritis that causes pain and stiffness in the spine. It’s a life-long condition that generally begins in the lower back and gradually makes its way towards the neck, often damaging joints in other parts of the body. Due to this condition, Delgado was told he would never be able to walk again and would have to rely on a wheelchair.

“Crimson Lips”

Unable to move, or so much as pick up a paintbrush, Delgado was in agony, and the thought of being wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life weighed heavily. Determined not to be defined by the disease, he began researching a well-known staple of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture. Incidentally, this wasn’t Delgado’s first foray into the treatment, having used it earlier in his life.

“Interlaced Fingers”

After deciding that acupuncture outweighed the side effects of all the medications prescribed by his doctors, Delgado sought out treatment in China where his father still lives and works as the ambassador for Costa Rica. Needless to say, his recovery wasn’t easy, however, Delgado is living proof that the power of the mind is greater than we think.

Portrait of Keylor Navas

I had the opportunity to interview Delgado. His story is fascinating and his artwork breathtaking, to say the least.

How do you think acupuncture has helped your recovery?
The beauty of acupuncture is that it focuses on the radiance of the human body as a whole. For example, if you have shoulder pain, the doctor will not inject your shoulder. The doctor might go for your hip or some other body part in order for the body to line up to itself whereas Western medicine only focuses on the individual part of the body. And the beauty of it all is that acupuncture is one of the best techniques that has been practiced for thousands of years here in China to alleviate pain, inflammation, and so many other factors. I opted towards that because I felt it was less harmful in terms of taking the harsh medication for my body, and to be able to have a long life, and I guess following my intuition played a big part.

Would you say that your art served as a coping mechanism during the pandemic?
During the pandemic, for me as an artist, it didn’t affect me that greatly because I’m always working at home or the studio and so I’m not someone who needs to go to the office. So I think for any artist, there weren’t many difficulties stuck at home because the beauty of the pandemic in one way, is that it blossomed much more artists to explore that inner talent or passion that they had but were never able to express it. I think a lot more artists or musicians or poets came to the world because of the pandemic which urged them to focus on their inner worlds.

Portrait of astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang

What would you say to young artists that aspire to make their work known, as you have with yours?
As an artist, you have to be true to yourself. Some artists might try to paint what people want, just to sell their work but I think it’s more important to find what brings happiness towards you, be it landscapes or flowers or portraits. And that is your own representation of how you see the world and how you’re going to express that world to other people for them to enjoy. So the most important thing is to be true to yourself. Do not give up, continue working hard and being patient, and remain positive because it is a slow career and you learn as you grow.

Images: Juan Manuel

After seven years in China, you’d think that navigating the streets of Beijing should be a piece of cake. Unfortunately, it’s anything but. Just yesterday, I was trying to get to my school for some editorial work and spontaneously decided to take public transport for the first time in a long time, because I’m just that adventurous (and my phone was out of service so ordering a Didi was a no-go).

I thought I knew my way around the city pretty well. Boy, was I wrong. I couldn’t seem to find a bus station anywhere in the area. After walking for what felt like an eternity, I finally spotted my golden goose: the Jintai Lu subway station. I’m much more familiar with subway routes, which is why I was relieved to have seen a station on the horizon. Before I knew it, I was darting through the busy streets and running down the escalator to buy a subway ticket, so that I could reach school as fast as my little legs would allow.

I’m not entirely fluent in Chinese which is why I was not able to ask around for guidance or direction. Even if I had, I would not have understood a single word and would have probably hit them with a good old “Duì!” or “Shénme?” Worst of all, I couldn’t rely on my best friend Google Translate (nor Google Maps) either. Tell me you’re having a bad day without telling me you’re having a bad day.

Living in a foreign country and not being able to speak the language is a struggle on the whole, and not just here in Beijing. The language barrier often sets us back and restricts us in countless ways: whether we’re ordering food, trying to find our way around town, or even something as simple as buying groceries from the local jingkelong. All of it requires some sort of communication and verbal interaction, which is one of the many reasons I’ve decided to stop taking Chinese for granted and really learn the language (a decision that is seven years late, but better late than never, am I right?). And honestly, I encourage everyone living in China who can’t speak Chinese yet, to do the same.

Learning the language will not only keep you open-minded but also allow you to get the most out of your stay here in China. Becoming entirely fluent certainly won’t happen overnight. However, it’s a great first step towards autonomy and having to rely less on the same three Chinese words you learned the first week you got to Beijing.

KEEP READING: Mind Your (Text) Language: Texting and Teen Literacy

Images: Unsplash