An estimated death toll of 10,000, and hundreds of thousands displaced in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, which devasted the coastal areas of the Phillipines last Friday, has relief groups around the world scrambling to bring aid to the country. The Guardian’s last reports from Monday stated there is a serious shortage of secure shelter. Hundreds are being buried in mass graves and bodies still litter the streets and flooded areas. Two point five million people are in need of food according to the World Food Program.

Founder of Beijing-based charity Bethel China, Guillaume Gauvain, was in Bohol on the southern tip of Cebu island in the Phillipines when the typhoon struck, setting up a therapy center for disabled children. He and his team are currently on the ground in the badly affected regions of northern Cebu, doing what they can to distribute food and clear roads. They are using construction equipment to clear power lines, distributing rice and even handing out lollipops. Bethel has arranged for donations to be made through Bethel’s donation page on their website.

To donate, specify ‘other’ and write ‘Cebu relief’ in the box. Expenses will be tracked and reports written weekly. The fund will be fully separated from Bethel China’s usual operating costs.

The Guardian has also provided a list of international organizations that you can support.

A video documenting the disaster and Gauvain’s journey to the north of Cebu is available on YouTube. Below is a written account from Gauvain about what he has witnessed so far, what can be done and his appeal for aid:

"We came back late last night from our trip to the north of Cebu. It took seven hours for a trip that usually takes two. The more north we went, the more damage there is, until we saw all houses leveled, all trees beheaded and all telephone and electric lines are on the ground. Most wooden houses are destroyed. You could really tell where the gusts of winds passed, because you could have a house standing next to the same house that was flattened to the ground.

"We went with our friend John and his family. He owns a construction business so he had some power tools and a truck, we rode in the back of the truck.

Find out more here.

 This post first appeared in the beijinger on November 12.

Photos courtesy of Bethel China

Prepare for the ultimate Beijing time travel experience. Beijing Sideways and Bespoke Beijing have teamed up to bring you a thrilling scavenger hunt in none other than a vintage sidecar motorbike. Racers will rely on speed, wit and strategy as they race through various epoques of the capital, solve clues and compete to win awesome prizes.

The day will end with a party at The Big Smoke Bistro, which will include free-flow food and booze. Anyone, including families and their kids, can participate. But before we give everything away, Gael Thoreau of Beijing Sideways was kind enough to answer some questions and give the lowdown on what’s promising to be an epic adventure.

How does a scavenger hunt in motorcycle sidecars work?

We provide the motorcycle sidecar and a fully qualified driver, as well as clue sheets and maps. Teams of two ‘time chasers’ per bike (one in the sidecar, one behind the driver) tell the driver which clue they want to head to on the map, and the driver takes you there and waits while you hop out and find the answer to the clue. The drivers will be briefed on the clue locations scattered around town, but choosing the order of where to go (and solving the clues, of course) is down to the participants! So there is a strategy element too.

Find out more here

This excerpt first appeared on the beijinger on October 15.

Photo courtesy of Tom O’Malley

In the August cover feature of the Beijinger, we went back to the Great Wall and explored it anew: alongside, underneath and overhead. Here are some of the activities we thought you’d enjoy most:

Mutianyu Slide

Besides the usual cable cars and “I Walked the Wall” T-shirts (not the cool ones from Plastered with the woman on them), the renovated section of Mutianyu has one tourist attraction worth giving a whirl. Wheeled toboggans can be driven down a 723-meter chute that spirals down from the Wall. A nice climax to a day of sightseeing, this attraction certainly helps this section stand out from other tourist traps, when you have no choice but to play guide to visiting friends or family.

Mutinayu is a picturesque albeit touristy piece of Wall that was crucial to the defense of the city. It is 22 kilometers long with 22 watchtowers. You can take the cable car up and slide down for RMB 60, or do a return slide journey for RMB 80. A direct bus, the 867, leaves from Dongzhimen at 7am and 8am everyday and departs back to the city at 2pm and 4pm. Alternatively, you can take the 916, which leaves from Dongzhimen every 15 minutes, to Huairou and cab it to the Wall from there.

A version of this article appeared in the August 2013 edition of the Beijinger

This post first appeared on the beijinger on September 25.

Photo by Mitchell Pe Masilun

In the August cover feature of the Beijinger, we went back to the Great Wall and explored it anew: alongside, underneath, overhead… Here are some of the activities we thought you’d enjoy most:

Helicopter Rides

This is the closest you’ll get to see the Wall from space. Helicopters taking off from Badaling Airport will give you breathtaking bird’s-eye views. Flying over the peaks and valleys of the Badaling Scenic Area, see the main section of the Wall snaking its way through the hills. Then, if you’re lucky, a pass over Guanting Reservoir may reveal flocks of migrating birds, 150 different species of which make home every year in this, the largest wetland of Northern China. The last piece of scenery this flight offers is the majestic plains of the Kangxi Grasslands. Try to spot herds of sheep cattle and the odd fox or two before your ride tilts and swooshes around to takes you back for a safe landing.

Run by Beijing Capital Helicopter, a member of Hainan Airlines Group, these tours are one of a kind. The company is the only one in Beijing fully-certified for aerial tourism and their tour helicopters, the AS350B3 Squirrel and EC135 Eurocopter, are stable and plush. Be sure to arrive 40 minutes in advance, fasten your seatbelt, stay away from spinning rotors and prepare for some brisk winds – ladies, watch your skirts. Prices range from RMB 1500 to 3000 for flight times varying between 10 and 30 minutes. Call or email for more details.

Hainan Air Beijing Capital Helicopter: 591 56745, 133 5201 5985, pangrui@hnair.com

This post first appeared in the beijinger on September 16.

A version of this article appeared in the August 2013 edition of the Beijinger

Photo courtesy of Hainan Air Beijing Capital Helicopter

A truly healthy and community-spirited Mid-Autumn festival celebration is not that hard to find. Green T. House Living is organizing a day of organic produce, moon cake making and fun activities this Thursday and from the sounds of it, this is the spot to enjoy the harvest and get into the mid-autumn spirit.

Related: Five Ways to Stay Healthy in Beijing

Beijing Farmers Market will be present with a full troop of local farmers and food producers who are against using pesticides and chemicals. A tasty array of fresh, organic and sustainably produced products made by this earth-friendly crew will be available for purchase.

For lunch, you’re invited to try the restaurant’s modern twist on Chinese dishes. Save room though because, in the afternoon, a full lesson on how to make mooncakes will be given, ingredients and tools included.

And what’s a holiday celebration without gaggles of rug rats running around playing games and singing songs? Daystar Academy will be on site with plenty of kid’s activities to keep the tikes busy and the atmosphere lively.

Related: Beijing Farmers Market, Eat and Shop Local at Country Fair

Admittance is free, but it is recommended to make reservations and register soon at Green T. House Living’s website.

Make Your Own Mooncakes
If you can’t make it to the farmer’s market, follow our step by step guide to making mooncakes here.

Post has been modified from an original post by Nick Richards which first appeared in the beijinger on September,18th.

Photo courtesy of food-travel.com

This city just won’t stop running! Bethel China is looking for 10 runners to accompany a group of visually-impaired orphans on a marathon next month. The children are running to help raise money for their education fees. This your chance to help these little tikes get a better chance at finding jobs in the future.

Adult participants will have the opportunity to better understand the work Bethel is doing to help blind orphans and how the kids lead their day-to-day lives. The marathon is intended to raise public awareness for more support in programs that will help Bethel’s children fully integrate into society.

The fee to run is RMB 2000. All of this money will go to Bethel’s educational programs at the Beijing School for the Blind. Runners will also get a T-shirt, a painting from one of the children and the opportunity to join the kids in other activities. The marathon takes place October 20.

Contact Bethel China for registration and more details: www.bethelchina.org, Tel: 6079, 3312, Email:biyue@bethelchina.org

Photo courtesy of Bethel China

This blog first appeared in the beijinger on September 5.

The giant Rubber Duck will most likely be floated on Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace before migrating to the Yongding River at the International Garden Expo, according to a report by Beijing Youth Daily from this morning. The Duck made a viral sensation last spring when it appeared in Hong Kong harbor.

Read more on Beijing’s lakes and rivers

In June, it was announced that the art piece would come to Beijing as part of Beijing Design Week 2013 at the end of September and speculation rose over which body of water the duck would nest on. According to Beijing Youth Daily, planners wanted to display the duck somewhere within the third ring road.

Watch: Videos Setup Beijing Design Week

Further consideration led to fear over the traffic issues the giant yellow novelty might create and it was decided to move the duck further out of the city. More details will be released today by Beijing Design Week’s organizing committee at a press conference, according to the newspaper.

This post first appeared in the beijinger on August,8th.

Photo courtesy of Florentijin Hofman, Flickr

Cybertron 2013 will not take place August 15-19 at the China Millennium Monument as previously announced but the related expo will continue as planned at Guosuiyuan.

According to this July 13 forum post by AC Toys, on web portal Xici Hutong, the planned venue kept changing their requirements and the Guosuiyuan Exhibition Hall was booked instead. Then, organizers decided they wanted to wait to align the Cybertron convention with Transformers’ 30th anniversary and the release of Transformers 4 next year.

On the same day, AC Toys only posted on their website that a Transformers Expo would take place at Guosuiyuan with no mention of the convention’s cancellation or move from China Millennium Monument. Hasbro.com.cn, where AC Toys claims the cancellation was originally announced, was not live at the time of writing this post.

A Transformers Expo committee member who gave only his surname, Zhou, confirmed the cancellation and venue change via telephone Wednesday, and stated only that the cancellation was due to "complicated reasons." China Millennium Monument also confirmed the cancellation.

This information came to our attention Wednesday after readers were inquiring about tickets for the event and we began investigating beyond the announcements that were made at the end of May by Hasbro.

Unfortunately we became aware of this change only after the event was featured in the August issue of the Beijinger. We apologize for the inconvenience and the inevitable disappointment this has caused any reader.

According to AC toys, the Transformers Expo will still take place as planned early this fall with still no confirmed dates times or prices, and the Cybertron convention will be rescheduled to a “more suitable date.”

Mr. Zhou has made his contact available to the public for further inquiry. Email: actoys@163.com

This post first appeared in the beijinger on August, 8th.

Photo courtesy of BotCon 2011, Flickr

We received an email yesterday from charity organization Roundabout pleading for help. Five-year-old Yang Bing suffers from neutrophilic leukemia. He is currently in hospital in Beijing awaiting a bone marrow transplant. While suitable donors can be notoriously difficult to find, the dilemma here is not about finding a bone marrow match. The boy’s parents are, miraculously, both matches. So what’s the problem? The transplant operation costs RMB 300,000 but Yang Bing’s family has no means to raise the money.

As Roundabout struggles to raise funds, the situation is getting more urgent. Yang Bing’s next chemotherapy treatment is scheduled for this coming Thursday – and every additional session of radiation therapy reduces the chances that a bone marrow transplant would succeed. Another RMB 210,000 needs to be raised by Thursday to give this boy a better chance of surviving.  

Roundabout collects items like clothing and furniture for redistribution to unfortunate communities in China. In cases like this, they would usually make a bank transfer from abroad to obtain the initial funds. The money would then be made back later through events with local schools. But for Yang Bing’s situation, there is no time to make the transfer. They felt that had no choice but to make this appeal to the public.

The charity has already received an overwhelming response from the community. You too can help this boy. A hospital account is being opened for donations. If you would like to make a contribution, please contact the founder of Roundabout, Leslie Simpson, by telephone (137 1877 7761) or by emailing RoundaboutChina@gmail.com.

And if you have the time, please make a visit to the Roundabout store. All revenue earned by the store this month will go to Yang Bing’s cause.

Photos: Roundabout