The kids are back in school and life in Beijing as we know it returns to normal. Let’s play Bingo – the Beijing Parent’s Summer Vacation Edition!

How many did you get? Share your results in the comment section below and treat yourself to one of the happy hour deals around town!

Hulu

Daily happy hour from 4-7pm. Enjoy BOGO deals on their cocktails and dine on your favorite dishes.

Find it:
3/F, Taikoo Li South, Sanlitun, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯太古里南区三楼

Find it:
No.8, Laiguangying East Road F2, Chaoyang District
朝阳区来广营东路8号二楼

Find it:
1F Indigo Mall, Chaoyang District
朝阳区颐题港1层

InterContinental Hotel

Daily happy hour from 3pm onwards. RMB 99 and BOGO deals on wines, bubbles, beers, cocktails, and mixed drinks.

Find it:
1 Sanlitun Nanlu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯南路1号

Brotzeit Beijing

Daily happy hour from 4-7pm. BGO on selected beers, cocktails and wines by the glass.

Find it:
Grand Summit, No.19 Dongfang Donglu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区东方东路19号楼一层F109

Find it:
NL7006, 7/F, China World Mall, 1 Jianguomen Waidajie, Chaoyang District
建国门外大街1号国贸商城北区7层NL7006

Side Street

Daily from 3-7pm. Get RMB10 off your first Money’s Fist IPA.

Find it:
113-02 Jiaodaokou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District
东城区交道口东大街113-02

Find it:
Bldg N28 2/101-102 17 Jianguomenwai Dajie (behind Nola), Chaoyang District
朝阳区建国门外大街17号楼2/102-102 (Nola后面）

O’Steak

Daily from 3-7pm, enjoy BOGO on cold pints of Monkey’s Fist IPA.

Find it:
55 Xingfucun Zhonglu (opposite April Gourmet), Chaoyang District
朝阳区幸福村中路55号

And if you’re looking for a game to play at happy hour. How about a round of Never Have I Ever – Parents’ Edition?

Images: Jingkids, Courtesy of restaurants, Pexels

After hours of combing through our archives, we feature some places worth a visit over the holiday period to get the most out of Beijing before the cold has us shuddering at the thought of having to go outside. These places are action packed and hopefully the weather and air quality index permit a day out. Avoid the crowds at places like Tiananmen as even walking 200 meters will take an eternity.

In Wangfujing, you can purchase anything from writhing, skewered scorpions to glowing ivory tusks carved into fine, silky ribbons of light. Here, Buddhist monks walk in clusters past poetic logos in French and Italian. Among shops like Gucci and Cartier, sink your teeth into candied hawthorn. Though shopping is clearly the main attraction here, Wangfujing is also rich in history, culture, and fun things to do.

Wangfujing has its own subway stop at the southern end of Wangfujing Dajie by the Malls at the Oriental Plaza. From the subway stop, head north along Wangfujing Dajie until you reach St. Joseph’s Cathedral (1) between Baishu and Ganyu Hutong. This beautiful church has been torn down and rebuilt countless times, and it is one of the few rare historic churches that remain in Beijing. Its small outdoor square is often an unofficial stage for aspiring hip-hop dancers and skateboarders; kids are certainly free to join in the fun. At night, visitors can also admire the floodlights that bathe the church in a soft glow.

Further south on Wangfujing Dajie is the Foreign Bookstore (2), not to be confused with the Wangfujing Bookstore, located on the southern end of the Wangfujing Dajie. Both have an extensive collection of books in English. You can spend hours meandering through the pages of fine literature, children’s classics, picture books, and even music.

At the corner of Wangfujing Dajie and Jinyu Hutong is the Beijing APM mall, which houses clothing stores like Gap, Zara, and Forever 21. If you are interested in browsing the latest computers, tablets, or other glorious technological tools, it is also definitely worth a visit to the Apple Store. At 4,000sqm, this Apple Store is not only the largest in Beijing; it’s supposedly the biggest in all of Asia. Apple fans and techies of all ages will love testing out the latest versions of Apple computers, iPods, iPads, and iPhones.

What to find out more? Here is the full version.

Photos: Lova Li, blogspot.com

Amy Zhao, a client relationship manager from China Construction Bank (CCB), visited with a very curious and impressed group of kids at the International Montessori School of Beijing. From Qinghai province in western china, Zhao moved to Shandong province to study at the age of 15. She then moved to Beijing in 2002 for further studies and decided to stay on to work in Beijing. CCB is headquartered in Beijing, and Amy works in the asset custody division of the bank. She explained the workings of a bank to the children and talked about how client relationship managers help investors. The kids were very inquisitive and had lots of questions that Amy effortlessly answered, while shedding light on the entire banking industry from a high level for kids to understand. Read on to find out what kids think of banking in general and what their concerns are.

Roman, 11, Canada
 What is investment risk or risk appetite and is it like gambling?
It is the degree of risk you are comfortable with, when you invest. It is a little like gambling, but less so, if you educate yourself about market trends.

Sally, 11, China
Can banks fail? Do banks invest our money that we deposit and lend it out?
There are government bodies that regulate markets to ensure banks don’t go bankrupt and they also have insurances to avoid such issues. Investing your money is every bank’s basic business. That is what they primarily do. They do have other avenues to generate income too, though.

Ben, 10, Canada
What is the average age to open an account and how can one start a bank?
The average age to start an account in China is 18 years. To start a bank, you need a license, you need to register with the government, get a location, and have enough funds to begin.

Alex, 11, Singapore
How do they decide the rate of conversion for currency?
That changes every day so it’s different and all websites have that info. It’s something that depends on the market and a lot of other factors. Each bank will then offer their rate for a day based on their calculations. They’ll all be a little different.

Erik, 12, USA
What are the various kinds of investment products?
There are three dominant ones. Stocks, which are high risk and need a lot of knowledge, bonds (government bonds, with lower risk probability of losing money is low, financial institution bonds, and corporate bonds), and funds. They all offer different options to get a higher rate of return than what a bank might directly offer.

Jennifer, 12, USA
What is a personal investor?
A person or individual who banks directly and is a personal client, as opposed to corporate investor for a big company.

Sissi, 12, China
Can we lose a line of credit?
If we all deposit our money and then withdraw it for our expenses too, will the bank have no money and go bankrupt?  Yes, it’s based on your credit or track record. Credit cards mean that you’ve borrowed for a month. If you don’t pay back on time you’ll lose your credit line. Banks rarely go bankrupt if deposits equal withdrawals, because while that is their primary source of income, banks have other investments and avenues that bring in revenue.

Ashley, 11, Singapore
What do I need to do in college to work in a bank?
Most people need math, economics in college. Majors in finance, market and asset management are also quite popular for those seeking a career in finance.

Florina, 11, USA

Can kids have Credit Cards?
They can get add-on cards on their parents’ credit cards, but not of their own.

Tina, 12, Hong Kong
What are the risks of credit card usage?
People may steal it. We might use it more than needed and create financial problems for ourselves. Identity theft using different techniques is a huge problem too. However, banks have things in place like text messages for transactions, passwords on accounts, and freezing the account in case it’s stolen.

Roxie, 11, China
What is the limit of the amount for withdrawal?
That depends on where you withdraw. ATM machines in China have RMB 20,000 per day limit. At the teller inside a bank though, you can withdraw your entire balance.

Charlie, 11, China
Stock risks are high but why do people still invest?
Because those people have enough knowledge to make a calculated risk, they are open to taking a chance. The fact is that the higher the risk, the higher the return too, if it goes well.

Calvin, 11, USA

What are the different jobs in banks?

Client relationship manager, like me, account manager, bank tellers, accountants, management positions are a few examples.

This article originally appeared on pages 30-31 of the September 2016 Issue of beijingkids magazine. Click here for your free online copy. To find out how you can obtain a hard copy, contact distribution@truerun.com.

PHOTOS: DAVE’S STUDIO

The Eiffel Tower and the Egyptian Sphinx, the Taj Mahal and the Big Ben are landmarks that inspire backpackers to leave comfy armchairs and start crossing oceans. Although if for your family that world tour is still on the “to do” list, Beijing has a great option: the World Park.

It opened back in 1993, and since then it’s said to attract up to 1.5 million visitors annually. However the place is usually not that crowded, and is an alternative to walks in parks and by lakes that unfortunately often have too many visitors.

The World Park is in the top 100 of Beijing’s best places to go, according to TripAdvisor (out of more than 1,500), and is described as worth visiting in many reviews. However, this is not the place to experience traditional Chinese culture for newcomers, which makes it even better for families already living here with some extra time to spare and willing to take a day off from historic sites. The World Park has about a hundred replicas of famous sights all over the world. For those who don’t feel like taking two or three hour walks, there is an opportunity to rent a small car.

The park is highly recommended for a visit with kids – young explorers will definitely enjoy scampering from replica to replica all around the globe. One special feature of The World Park is the accuracy in the details. For example, the copy of Moscow Red Square has thousands of miniature bricks copying the real ones. However, some replicas are not well cared for and may disappoint adults coming with high expectations.

The Park is a great place for a small family photo session! The kids (and, we believe, many adults as well) would love the idea of dressing up in traditional clothes to take photos – there are special booths that can help with costumes for RMB 10. And of course you’ll get more time to take that perfect shot with this Leaning Tower, than with the real one. This is also a popular place among Chinese couples for wedding photo shoots.

There is an animal show every day starting at 2.30pm. Young kids will be just overjoyed with the idea of sitting on an elephant’s trunk. If you’re not that much of a risk-taker, you can ride in comfort on an elephant or a camel. The Park also has several cafés, although many of them are closed. And one tip we got from tourist reviews—pack some snacks on the go.

World Park
Admission is RMB 100 for adults and RMB 65 for kids, which will make it a bit expensive for big families. Hiring a buggy will cost an extra RMB 100 for 1 hour, RMB 150 for two hours, and RMB 200 for any additional time, plus a deposit of RMB 200. Daily 9am-9pm. No.158 Fengbaotai Road, Hua Country, Fengtai District, Beijing, China; 北京世界公园: 丰台区花乡丰葆路158号.

Photos: mybeijingchina.com; synotrip.com; nileguide.com; tour-beijing.com; romthebaytobeijing.com

Spend an afternoon navigating the hutong maze on August 23, 2.30 – 6.30pm with friends and/or family trying to decode clues to the 7th Hidden City Games. Home to World and Olympic champions, Shichahai Sports School Beijing is the start and finish point of the games and the reason for the sports theme this time round. Teams of 2, 3, or 4 people will get their set of instructions and questionnaires with activities based on sports, photographs, and whatever the organizers can think of. Think a very local version of the Amazing Race that your family can take part in.

Competing teams have 2 and a half hours to finish to be eligible for a trophy and prizes that will be handed out once time and scoring is tallied back at the school. Non-competing teams will have 2 to 4 hours to explore without the competitive pressure. Preregistration is via WeChat and payment can also be done using WeChat Wallet and getting 20% discount on the RMB 60 per person entry fee. Add the WeChat ID paulitt. 

Here are a couple of reasons to sign up today

1. Fun: This is a nice way to spend time getting to know the city’s hutongs areas and have the courage to interact with the locals who will be rooting for you. The teams can be the whole family making it even more special to have that one memory of Beijing.
2. Experience: It’s a unique way to experience the city’s rich history and culture; for the new comers this is a short and sweet way to know the hutongs and for the long time residents, the hutongs are ever changing therefore this makes it easier to familiar yourself with the new and old.

Like every game, there’s a code of conduct that has to be maintained at all times and here’s what the organizers have to say:

The event is designed to be safe, even for families and children. We collect the phone number of the team leader. Participants must agree to follow the following rules (give in advance via Wechat and also written on instruction sheet):

• No cheating – Teams interacting with other teams during the competition are ineligible for prizes.

• No dividing – A team must walk within 10 metres of each other and not use faster transport or movement other than walking.

• Other conduct – High levels of team and personal conduct are required always.

• Teams must walk between locations with courtesy to other pedestrians.

• Breaches may result in elimination.

Sign up today for an afternoon of laughing at yourself!

Photos: Hidden City Games

As the holiday period draws to a close, try out some near places that are bound to have fewer people and hopefully have some last minute fun before the hectic working and school days resume.

Tiantan Park, also known as the Temple of Heaven. This peaceful park can be splendid as long as you come prepared. The immensity of the grounds demands a battle plan, especially if little legs are on the march. Allot for about four hours, dividing your time equally among absorbing Chinese history, snacking on delightful baked goods and shopping for new clothes and toys.

Start your day at the South Gate of Tiantan Park. From this point, you’ll be entering the site just as China’s emperors did in times past. Once in, the chaos of Beijing evanesces and serenity sets in. You’ll be greeted by the Circular Mound Altar of Heaven (1), a three-tiered platform upon which emperors would meditate before proceeding to pray to the gods for good harvest. The view from the top is impressive, making it a great photo spot for your own little emperors.

Walking down the other side of the altar, continue through the imperial-red gates towards the north. The next stop is the Imperial Vault of Heaven (2), where the ceremonial tablets were stored. A faint whispering can be heard on along the ground’s circular wall. Nicknamed "The Echo Wall," its shape allows for sound to travel much farther than is normal. Stand at each end facing opposite directions and talk politics (okay, you can pick your own subject).

Find out what other places you can explore here.

Photos: star5112, Keith Roper, Travelourplanet (flickr)