Beijing parents are always asking “Where can I throw a birthday party for my kid?” Well, we’re here to tackle that big bouncy question as we explore different types of venues all over the city and give you an in-depth look at your kids’ party options. Search #BigBeijingBirthdayPartyList for more recommendations from us.

So you’ve got a kid’s party coming up: You’ve secured a smashing venue that’s got great food, a variety of play spaces, and miraculously, all the decorations you ordered off Taobao made it in time! But wait, neither you nor your partner really want the job of wrangling 10 or more kids to come together for long enough to sing the birthday song, cut the cake, and open presents. Plus, if your kid enjoys magic, bubbles, juggling, and the like, then what you’ll want is a top-notch performer to bring the oomph factor to your party. We scour all our trusted sources to bring you a few tried-and-recommended kids’ party performers, what they offer, and for what price.

*Warning: If you suffer from coulrophobia, that is a fear of clowns, please stop scrolling as there are many images of clowns ahead.

Uncle Clown 小丑叔叔

Introducing himself simply as Uncle Clown, this busy performer does work for local events and corporate shows as well as kids’ parties, where he can also provide balloon sculpture decorations for your needs. Though he only speaks Mandarin, he doesn’t believe it’s a problem for the kids with the use of body language. What’s his specialty? He says, “The clown magic show!” His rates are as follows:

Clown magic balloon RMB600 / hour
Clown Magic Juggling Balloon RMB800 / hour and 20 minutes
Bubble show RMB1000 / hour
Science Show RMB1200 / hour

Scan the QR code to add him on WeChat

Mister Clown 小丑先生

Mister Clown is a service that has been around for over five years, serving over 1,500 birthday parties in that time. They offer up to nine comprehensive party packages, so there’s definitely one to meet your needs. Their top package includes a full set of clown performances (including magic, juggling, bubble show, science experiment show, and balloon art) led by an acting teacher and two clowns (only in Chinese though), for two hours! At RMB3,000, they say it’s absolutely value for money. Their promise? To make your kids feel like the star they are, and experience pure joy on their special day, while parents can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. As an added bonus, there are no extra traveling charges within the 5th Ring Road.

Add them on WeChat for more details of their many packages!

Ah Yi 阿绎 Clown Service  

If face-painting is on your party checklist, then this could be the guy for you. Aside from the usual clown magic balloons, bubbles, and science shows, Ah Yi offers professional face-painting services, as well as sugar-blowing, straw-weaving, and get this, fancy cotton candy! That’s definitely less common than balloons! He conveniently offers videography and photography services as well. *Chinese-speaking only

Add Ah Yi on WeChat (ID: wd1122860) for more information.

中华绝技阿浪 (zhōng huá jué jì ā làng) 

We’re entering the big leagues here with this professional troupe of performers, who boast actual stage performances of their magic and stunt acts. For kids’ parties, Ah Lang 阿浪 specializes in illusions such as escapes, torn (but magically whole again!) newspapers, disappearing (and reappearing!) pigeons, etc, which they offer at RMB600/hour. *Chinese-speaking only

Add them on WeChat (ID: wxid_cmu5y750pr2v12)

Diimiile Kids’ Party 迪米乐派对

Last but not least, we have a full-fledged party planner that is devoted to putting your kids’ party together for you. From bouncy castles to mascots to popcorn machines to lion dancers, plus everything else you’ve read in this article, they have it all. Consider them your one-stop-party shop for kids’ events, and best of all, they provide English-speaking services as well as performers! Eric comes highly recommended by several expat parents in all our WeChat groups, so you know you’re in good hands.

Contact Eric at 18500605170 or scan the QR code below

KEEP READING: An Outdoor Birthday Party That’s More Than Just a Picnic

Images: Pexels, courtesy of the vendors

Walking through the dull and stagnant corridors of the hospital, the sense of sickness, lethargy, and monotony is overwhelming. In the wards lie ill and listless children, holed up in the hospital for weeks and months on end. Many of these children, some as young as two years old, are from families who live far from the hospital (some come from all across China) and cannot afford to take time off work to care for and keep their ill child company.

The hours run tediously together, day after day, procedure after procedure. In the midst of this bleak time, Magic Hospital, a not for profit organization in Beijing, are doing all they can to bring colour, fun, and laughter into the lives of these kids. In a whirl of stripes, pom-poms, red noses, and magic, Magic Hospital has been sending in the clowns to three Beijing children’s hospitals for 15 years, bringing giggles and excitement.

As we all know, laughter is the best medicine. For some of the children it is their first time seeing a clown or professional entertainer, and the children sit entranced, spell-bound by Mr Liu, Magic Hospital’s longest serving clown with the infectious giggle and awesome magic tricks. Clowns and Co is Magic Hospital’s main program, and they send professional clowns to three different hospitals in Beijing every week. Clare Holstein, one of the volunteers, says it is a fantastic way to ease the pain of the patients and break up the boredom that comes with long hospital stays. The clown performs in the ward for about 2.5 hours and does a craft in addition to the show.

In addition to the Clowns, Magic Hospital also has a program called ‘Abracadabra’, modeled after the Make-A-Wish Foundation. If funds allow, they hope to fulfill at least two children’s wishes this year. When the weather allows, Magic Hospital also organizes ‘Outdoorsy Day’ which are seasonal events for the kids and include field trips and mini-summer camps, entirely paid for by Magic Hospital for underprivileged kids.

Playtime also occurs every Saturday with a group of volunteers who visit the children’s ward and play and sing with the children. They love getting visitors and are happy to just play games and see new faces.

Magic Hospital is definitely doing something special here in Beijing, and while they are not short on programs or volunteers, they do need the funds to make it all happen. If you would like to donate, sponsor a field trip, or run any fundraising event, please contact www.magichospital.org.

Photo: magichospital.org

Clowning has a pretty bad reputation these days. This ancient and noble art has almost entirely disappeared from children’s entertainment, and clowns are thought of as sad and seedy at best, horrifying nightmare fuel at worst.

This weekend though you can rediscover why clowns were once so loved. Slava’s Snowshow has been delighting audiences around the world for nearly a quarter of a century, and this weekend it can be seen at Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. The show’s creator Slava Polunin is dedicated to preserving the true art of clowning: mime, mischief and physical comedy as precise and athletic as ballet.

Slava Polunin

There is no story as such, although the show has something of the surreal flow of dreams, or of children’s imaginative play. Everything is soft and malleable; the clowns’ baggy clothes and big feet allow them to shrink and elongate their bodies. But most of all it’s funny. Ridiculously, hilariously funny.

While much of the performance has been polished to perfection over decades of touring, there are aspects which are necessarily improvised, such as the frequent audience participation. If you can, get tickets in the first ten rows – but if you do, be prepared to become part of the entertainment. And don’t wear that designer dress. The show must be a nightmare for the theater management, given the clowns’ anarchic tendencies and the sheer mess they make.

Melancholy is of course an essential color in the clown’s palette, without which he’s just a fool. There are spooky moments, and there’s plenty of sadness and anger in the beautiful sequence leading to the climactic snowstorm, which is a truly breathtaking theatrical tour de force. But parents should have no concerns about taking kids of any age to this show (though the theater insists they need to be at least 1.2m in height). The whole thing is conducted with a perfectly-pitched understanding of a child’s world, and it all ends in a joyous, chaotic balloon party, sending everyone home with a smile on their face.

Which after all is what clowning is all about.

Slava’s Snow Show, August 31 – September 3

All ages (but minimum 1.2m height). RMB 180-680, available from www.tartscenter.com/item/1392.html. 7.30pm (all dates), 2.30pm (September 2-3),. Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, 9 Tianqiao Nandajie, Xicheng District. www.tartscenter.com. 西城区天桥南大街9号楼.

Photos: Andrew Killeen