Years ago, I was biking home in the hutong and got caught in traffic just as elementary school was being let out.  Throngs of parents and grandparents had arrived to pick up their kids in a variety of vehicles: motos, shiny new cars, and bicycles. I was right behind a yeye and his young grandson, who was teetering on a simple plastic pallet strapped to the back of a Flying Pigeon, no seatbelt, when suddenly the boy lost his balance and tumbled headfirst onto the concrete.

He was fine; he got right up without a single tear and plopped back on, but that image stuck with me. Now I cringe whenever I see some of the more “creative” child transport options in our fair city.  And where’s the best place to buy dangerously unregulated products? Taobao!

Baby’s First Bike Seat (RMB 73-85)

Although it seems more secure to have your child directly in your line of vision, we are less than reassured with this option. Especially for e-bikes, since it seems like there is only one load bearing spot.  But seriously, who needs stabilization when there are so many awesome colors to choose from?

Vroom Vroom Scooter Stroller (RMB 4999, or save RMB 1000 if you buy now)

Got to admit, I kind of love this one.  It’s the riding lawnmower of strollers.  Seems insane on the open road with such minimal protection for your precious cargo up front, but downright pleasant if you just want to zip around a nice spacious park with your girlfriends. Install a cup holder and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Family Triple Seater Bike (RMB 820)

Have a surly teenager?  We’re sure she’ll put aside angst for a lovely bike ride with the family on this tandem (or tri-tandem?) bike.  Seriously though, arguments will be virtually guaranteed as you all wrestle for control.  And the chances of you all toppling directly into oncoming traffic are probably less than causing other drivers to crash as they stare at your ridiculousness. Just make sure the heaviest person isn’t directly in the middle, as this embarrassment will likely snap in half.

Just a Stool & Strap (RMB 69)

We’ve saved the most egregious for last. How about just a straight up stool with a single strap on the bottom?   Just make sure not to make any sudden turns. We also suggest you opt for the option with a generic blue cartoon animal on it.  Safe driving!

photos: tmall.com, taobao.com/, item.taobao.com/, detail.tmall.com

Bike Battle Hits Beijing Streets

(Featured image) After last year’s car-hailing wars, in which Didi Chuxing comprehensively defeated American rival Uber, the latest battle for Beijing’s streets is being fought by the bike-sharing companies. In the yellow corner, local start-up Ofo currently has the most cycles on the street, but Mobike, its rival in orange, boasts a smart app which lets you find nearby bikes and has an English interface. Bluegogo is the plucky underdog. While they struggle for supremacy there are plenty of bargains for the user, but there are also rumors of dirty tricks, with rivals’ bikes being vandalized or dumped in canals. Still, whichever one you use, it’s a handy and healthy way to get home from the subway station.

Cook for Hope

Beijing’s favorite charity cook-off returns on April 27, as Cook For Hope takes place at the Green T House. Money raised will go toward vital heart surgery for nine-month-old baby Han, and one of the judges is our very own Pauline van Hasselt, who’s a trained chef as well as an intrepid reporter for beijingkids! Check our website for information about tickets and other ways you can get involved.

We Don’t Hate Peppa Pig, Beijing Insists

Confusion reigns over rumored controls on the publication in China of foreign picture books for children. In March South China Morning Post reported publishers as saying they had been told to reduce the number of translated books they published, although the order was not made public. Perhaps officals were stung by the international furor that followed, because denials quickly followed. Two articles in Global Times, often used as a mouthpiece for government policy, claimed the rumors had been invented by foreign media to make China look bad. However, it’s certainly true that Taobao has banned the sale of imported books, DVDs, and video games without permits. So if your little ones are addicted to Peppa Pig, it might be a good idea to stock up now.

Pinterest Pinned by the Great Firewall of China

Our eyes have been turned to many WeChat moments and chat flurries of outrage after Pinterest, the never-ending well of creativity, hits the dust in the recent blocking tirade in China. We don’t know why exactly Pinterest has been blocked, since it’s been an unscathed source of inspiration for many, including us here at beijingkids. But our guess is that it has to do with Pinterest’s recent acquisition of Jelly Industries, a search-engine company. Jelly was co-founded by Biz Stone, who happened to also co-found Twitter and Medium. These platforms are also blocked in a sort of Chinese government boycott against Biz Stone’s belief that Chinese laws are “antithetical to [Twitter’s] whole way of doing things.”

Babytree and Fisher-Price to Create Early Learning Platform

Beijing-based parenting website Babytree has signed a deal with American toymaking giants Mattel, to develop an early childhood online learning platform. Babytree was founded ten years ago by a former Google executive, and has become known as “the Facebook for Chinese parents,” with over nine million registered users. They will team up with the Fisher-Price brand, which produces toys including “Thomas and Friends,” to create a platform which “will host a wealth of resources for families, including child development assessment tools and customized parenting content and development curriculum, to enable many parenting styles and address the unique development paths of their child.”

Harmony and Steve
by Jin Chan Yum Wai

Photos: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, US China News, and Courtesy of Weber Shandwick, Cook for Hope, and Vanessa Jencks

 

This is an updated version of the article that originally appeared on p. 6 of beijingkids April Issue.

Download the digital copy here.

We had a fun afternoon despite the blazing heat at the BCIS Spring in the City Fair – as we were leaving we ran into this dapper dad and his nifty Bakfiets Dutch Cargo Bike.

I’d never seen one of these before but was instantly struck with “Gear Envy.”

This family’s bike was purchased in Holland for about 700 Euro – and unfortunately does not appear to be available in Beijing (the closest you’ll find is this) – it’s probably only a matter of time before a shanzhai version comes out.

I’ve been pondering a recent paradox in my life (rant warning). I’ve heard from multiple sources here in Beijing (usually cyclists) that Beijing is a safe city in which to ride a bike. People are telling me this because I have been contemplating buying a bike. Truth is, I miss cycling. But here’s the sticking point and the paradox to the “Beijing roads are safe” notion: In the past two months, I’ve witnessed two dead cyclists on Beijing streets.

In over 20 years as an adult (I use the term adult loosely here), I have never witnessed a bicycle-related fatality on a street outside of Beijing, and to be honest, I’m not out and about in the city all that much. So my own experience with bicycle road fatalities makes me wary of cycling on Beijing streets.

Since I previously lived in Portland, Oregon, one of the most bike-friendly cities in the US, I thought I would do some statistical comparisons. On 27 January 2011, the Portland Bureau of Transportation issued a press release indicating, “There were zero bicyclists recorded as traffic fatalities last year.” So in two months, I witnessed two more cyclist fatalities than in all of Portland, in the year 2010.

Though Portland is much smaller than Beijing (what US city isn’t?), I compared it to New York City. A New York Times article dated 6 February 2011, reported that “deaths related to bicycle crashes rose last year to 18, up from 12 in 2009….” The reporter went on to speculate that the rise in fatalities might be attributed to an increase in the overall number of cyclists. Not zero, but still low relative to the overall population.

Realizing that my two eyewitness accounts are likely a fraction of Beijing’s annual total, I did some searching for relevant Beijing statistics online (not that I expected to find any) and I came up with no reliable information (as expected). So, I checked with some friends and found out that many people have witnessed fatalities in Beijing. One friend in particular said she witnesses one or two per month (she’s on the road daily) and reminded me that there is even a street in Shunyi with the dubious nickname of Dead Ayi Road.

Okay, so Beijing is not the safest place in the world to ride a bike, and I may still buy a new bike, but I certainly will wear a bike helmet when I do. I see countless expats, let alone local residents, riding the streets of Beijng as if it were inconceivable that they could be involved in an accident. Unfortunately, accidents on bikes happen and if it involves a car, the car usually wins (that’s double for buses and trucks). I’ve been hit by a car while I was riding a bike in Puerto Rico and no doubt had the car been over another inch, I would have lost my life or been much more seriously injured. My brother (an avid cyclist) recently had a nasty spill in Forest Park in bike-friendly Portland. It was an accident that didn’t even involve a car, but he still ended up with a fractured collar bone and a gash above his eyebrow. In both instances we were wearing helmets and the helmets did the job of protecting our heads (and gloves saved the skin on our hands). It is true that bike helmets are not the most stylish thing you could wear on your head, but then again, it sure beats wearing your brains on the outside of your head, even if it is almost Halloween.