There are very few things in this world that have the capability of inducing a glee-laced squeal from me, all of which involve animals. In particular, puppies. I am an animal lover, and as such, it is sacrilege to publicly declare favor for one furry species over another, but I will admit there is something about the readily available adoration, kisses and fawning of a happy pup that just wins it for me. I am the weirdo that will peer into a car just to engage in a full-blown baby talk goo-goo ga-ga conversation with a dog that doesn’t know me from a sack of potatoes. But it is always worth it.

Such love however comes at a price. There is seldom as heartbreaking a sight as an abandoned puppy fending for itself on the cold streets. It is heart-wrenching to see such adorable little creatures knowing you might not have the resources to take them all home and give them the protection they all deserve. Luckily, there are organizations in Beijing that take that mandate to heart, giving otherwise abandoned and neglected pups a second chance, and a new lease on life. Lost Puppies is one such organization, constantly striving to provide these lost little angels homes, rehabilitate them, and facilitate adoptions for as many of their little puppies as they can.

This year, their fundraising and awareness campaign has taken a rather sexy turn, as Lost Puppies has enlisted the help of several Beijing based hunks to create a hunk and pup calendar. Let’s just say this spread puts ‘snack’ into puppy snacks.

To find out more about Lost Puppies of Beijing and the work they do, check out our interview with volunteer, and former beijingkids staffer, Auna Harris.

And to get a sneak peek of this year’s calendar, scroll below.

Photos: Courtesy of Lost Puppies of Beijing

All set and looking forward to your May Day holiday? Not so fast, young pioneers! The government recently announced, via WeChat of course, that the original holiday dates of Apr 29-May 1 (with preceding make-up days on Saturday and Sunday, Apr 27-28) have now been changed to May 1-4, giving us an extra holiday day in the process.

In turn, that means that we’re left with odd make-up days: one remains on Sunday, Apr 28, while the other moves to Sunday, May 5. Our new annual calendar looks like this:

Previously, May Labor Day was preceded with a full seven days of work. Now it’s flanked by two six-day work weeks plus two awkward days of work in the lead-up. One bonus: if you haven’t already booked your time off, it could be a good bet to take Apr 29-30 off and lap up a six-day holiday.

No official reason for the adjustment of the holiday has been given but one thing is for sure: it’s not a good look for the government to have made the switch a mere five weeks before the May break. Many people will have already booked tickets to travel during one of the year’s biggest holidays and likely means headaches for employees, employers, and train station attendants alike. Still, it would be rude of us to balk at extra government-mandated time off!

The remainder of the year (barring any future changes) looks like this:

Qing Ming Festival: The three-day Tomb Sweeping Fest kicks off on Friday, Apr 5 and finishes Sunday, April 7. No make-up days.

May Labor Day: One make-up day on Sunday, Apr 28 and one on Sunday, May 5 now flank the four-day holiday of Wednesday, May 1 to Saturday, May 4.

Dragon Boat Festival: This three-day festival is effectively reduced to one day off Friday, Jun 7 as the following two days fall on the weekend anyway. No make-up days.

Mid-Autumn Festival: The same situation applies to the 2019 Mid-Autumn Festival: the three-day holiday begins on Friday, Sep 13 and ends Sunday, Sep 15. No make-up days.

October National Day: The second Golden Week of 2019 runs from Tuesday, Oct 1 from Monday, Oct 7 for a total of seven days off. Two make-up days: Saturday, Sep 29 and Saturday, Oct 12.

Photo: the Beijinger

The day that we all love to dread is finally here; love because who doesn’t love a holiday? And dread because every single one of China’s 1.3 billion citizens certainly do love a holiday. It also means the hard realization of those Sunday work days, which if there truly was a god, would never exist. Best yet, 2018’s calendar has been announced a full three weeks ahead of last year’s release – someone in the Bureau of Time Management and Arbitrary Holiday Allowance is getting a promotion this year!

New Year’s Day 2018: New Year’s comes early this year, with our three-day holiday starting on Dec 30 and riding through to Jan 1, back to work on Tuesday. No make-up days.

Spring Festival/Chinese New Year: The usual seven-day affair of travel hell is this year accented with not just a pre-Sunday (Feb 11) but also a post-Saturday (Feb 24) make-up day for good measure.

Qing Ming Festival: The three-day Tomb Sweeping Fest kicks off on Apr 5 and finishes with a lovely makeup Sunday, Apr 8.

May Labor Day: Start the three-day May holiday with a nice Saturday workday (Apr 28) and then ride it out till the following Tuesday (May 1).

Dragon Boat Festival: 2018’s Dragon Boat Festival falls a whole month and a half later than 2017’s, and makes for a relaxing three-day holiday Jun 16-18, with no make-up day in sight.

Mid-Autumn Festival: Mid-Autumn Festival is not quite so forgiving, with a weekend and a Monday off (Sep 22-24) masked as a three-day holiday.

October National Day: Then comes the year’s second Golden Week but not before you’ve toiled through a six-day work week, Sep 29 and 30 acting as a make-up buffer before the long run of Oct 1-7, a total of seven days off.

And with that, it’s best to get planning your holidays and booking your tickets before they disappear before your very eyes. Roll on 2018!

Image: the Beijinger

It’s official, there are six weekend makeup days to be expected in 2016. The two week long holidays are still to be expected and three day weekends without holidays are there as well. Time to consult you travel agent (mom and dad travel agency) get booking your tickets are those long weekends such as May will be sold out pretty quickly.

All Play and No Work
On the months of January (Jan 1), April (April 4) and May (May 1), there are extra day off just before the weekend to make these months the holy grail of holiday bliss.

Play then Work
On the other months of February (Feb 7-13 -work days Feb 6 & 14), June (Jun 9-11 – work day Feb 12) , September (Sep 15-17 – work day Sep 18), and October (Oct 1-7 – work day Oct 8-9) the norm of rest then get back to work on a weekend are right on schedule. This will make some travel plans tricky to execute but not impossible.

Happy times all round as those days of every holiday then a make is finally, slowly coming to a better comprise.

Photo: cutearoo.com, the Beijinger

The 2016 unofficial holiday calendar is out. Am not sure about most people but I hate those weekend makeup days. The 2015 year wasn’t so bad, it meant people had to be creative with their leave days. This glimpse on what is yet to come might take some time to wrap your head around but the norm that international schools follow is scheduling mid-term breaks to make it a win-win situation. Here’s the break down:

January
Well, New Year is a day off and no make up so that counts for everything meaning Hong Kong, Taiwan, or other nearby destinations might be best for that extended weekend.

February
The Chinese New Year, the first of the two week long holidays in China. On February 6, that happens to be on Saturday, is a weekend makeup day then from 7-13 are holidays followed by a make up day on Sunday, February 14. Yup, Valentine’s day is a work day.

May
Another three day weekend is up and there isn’t going to be a make up. Now this is more like it.

June
Well all good things must come to an end. From June 9-11 is a holiday then Sunday, June 12 is a make up day. Better make plans to spend that Dragon Boat festival in a nice cabin in the outskirts of Beijing’s CBD.

September
Another three day holiday with a makeup on Sunday, September 18 after enjoying zongzi during the mid-autumn festival. A staycation might work then.

October
Golden week for sure also has a working weekend. The holiday week starts from the October 1, which happens to be on a Saturday. Yup, that means that the following weekend is a work weekend that’s definitely time to take those two days off and swim with the dolphins.

All this is just speculation at this point. Let’s wait and see what the official holiday looks like.

Photo: cutearoo.com, the Beijinger