Hutong dwellers will surely do double takes this weekend, as Beijing’s hockey lovers skate and stick handle their way across Houhai lake. 

"Many Chinese come by to check out the festivities. When you mix music, beer and food with a bunch of foreigners skating around, it’s a pretty cool sight,” says Curtis Dracz, the general manager of Center Ice Asia, which is coordinating its third annual Houhai Pond Hockey Tournament on Friday evening and all day Saturday. 

Greg MacIsaac – a longtime participant in the tournament who is both playing and refereeing this year – agrees that the event is a unique spectacle for Chinese attendees. 

“The Chinese already know that Canadians love winter sports, especially hockey,” MacIsaac says. “They see, in our Houhai tournament, our desire to showcase the sport that we love to them. I’ve had some Chinese come up to me later and thank us for playing. They genuinely seem appreciative to see it first hand.”

And while local Beijingers – along with the throngs of expat fans that show up to cheer the players on every year – may be intrigued to see Canada’s favorite pastime juxtaposed with a backdrop of Chinese hutong rooftops, Dracz says the community’s leaders were not so easily impressed.

"Negotiating ice time and fees with the local municipality on a famous lake was a bit of a challenge,” Dracz says, adding: "I don’t think they knew what to expect the first year, but each year seems to become a little easier. We’ve now developed a strong relationship.”  

The tournament will be comprised of 120 players on 16 teams from the Center Ice Asia affiliated Beijing International Ice Hockey League (Center Ice also organizes toddler skating programs, children’s skating lessons, figure skating lessons, and more throughout the winter at its Haotai Ice Sports Centers on Xinglong Gongyuan Chaoyang Lu and at the Quanfa Garden North Gate). 

Dracz says even the Chinese spectators who are somewhat familiar with the sport may be surprised by pond hockey’s unique variations. Hyper competitive elements like checking and slap shots are barred (in part because of a lack of professional protective equipment), and a typically small nets are used with no goalie to safeguard them. 

“Our tournament is recreational, so it’s more about the experience of playing on a famous lake in the middle of Beijing,” Dracz says, adding this relaxed format can be very refreshing for the players and the fans. He adds: ”Having fun and meeting new people is key.”

MacIsaac says this more causal approach is actually the sport’s purest form, adding: "Pond hockey is very popular in Canada, and it is where most Canadians learned how to skate and play. It’s really a chance to enjoy the true roots of the game. It harks back to every player’s boyhood."

Although Canadians make up the bulk of the participants, the tournament also features many other hockey savvy players from Finland, the US, Japan, Mongolia and other locales, along with a growing, albeit still small, number of Chinese players. 

"Not too many Chinese people compete in the tournament, although we will have a team made up of Chinese nationals this year,”  Dracz says, adding that he hopes more and more Chinese players will continue to join.

Dracz says such events allow locals to partake in an exotic pastime, while also helping expats settle into their new home. "The tournament has become an event for foreigners to relive their pond hockey memories from back home. Pond hockey, as well as our league, is a home away from home. It’s kept a lot of guys in China way past their anticipated time frame.” 

The Houhai Pond Hockey Tournament will begin on Friday (Jan 23) at 7pm at Shichahai (the portion of Houhai lake, near the Starbucks), followed by an after party at The Hockey Bar. Saturday’s first games begin at 8am near the Dongming Hutong entrance, and continue all afternoon, followed by a banquet at Lodora Station and an 8pm after party at The Hockey Bar. For more information, contact Center Ice Asia here.

This post first appeared on theBeijinger.com on January 20, 2015

The rate-board above the ticket counter calls it an “ice-sleigh”, which in the cold month of January, still conjures up images of Santa’s sleigh. But that is too fancy a word for what we rode yesterday –school-kid sized metal chairs welded to L-shaped metal angles serving as runners to skate on ice with no brakes and no steering. These contraptions, best referred to as chair-sleds, typically had a smaller metal stool welded a little in front of the chair making the sled a two-seater. A mock steering wheel up front made of a small metal ring gave something to hold on to. The adornment included chipped paint in primary colors and seats covered with patches of office carpet. Screwdrivers welded to pointy iron bars served as steering poles, enabling the riders to propel these wonderful contraptions with great glee!

Chair-sledding is a quintessential Beijing experience. People can be seen enjoying sledding, as well as skating and playing ice hockey, or simply walking to school, on frozen canals in many parts of Beijing. But nothing can top the chair-sledding experience at Lake HouHai.

Lake HouHai — a centuries old lake located close to the Drum Tower (Gu Lou) in central Beijing — is anyway worth a visit at any time of the year. Dating back to the 11th century, it’s a long lake with a narrow ‘waist’ at the center that is just wide enough for two paddle boats to pass each other without too many bumps. This lake center is spanned by an old arched pedestrian bridge in stone and is the hub of activity at Lake HouHai.

All around the bridge, and really going all around the lake in either direction, the streets are chock-full of bars, shops, and restaurants that are lit up by a million lights at night and are a favored hangout of youngsters and expats. The streets are mainly pedestrian except for the occasional car that gets in mysteriously, and the not-infrequent red pedicabs that are another quintessential Beijing feature. Walking on the stone-paved streets under the willow trees that line the lake, eating gigantic cotton candy while jostling with hundreds of fellow visitors, it’s an experience not to be missed.

Getting to Lake HouHai is an experience in itself. You can’t drive up and park next to it. The only way to get to it is by walking through one of the historical old hutong neighborhoods with tightly-built courtyard-homes surrounding the lake. My favorite way to get there is by parking close to the Drum Tower (GuLou) and walking along YanDai XieJie (skewed tobacco pouch street). Apparently, there were many smoking pipe stores along the street in the Qing Dynasty (17th to early 20th century), hence the name. This street leads straight to the central bridge over the lake. It was redeveloped in 2007 to preserve its historical character and, although not original, it has a great atmosphere with street hawkers and shops selling antiques, unique Chinese and Beijing gifts, handicrafts, and of course, smoking pipes. There is even an old post office with a lovely brass statue in front of a child posting a letter – a favorite prop in many visitors’ pictures. Unique restaurants and snack shops line the street.

Find out more here Footwalker

This post first appeared in the author’s blog Footwalker on December 14, 2013.

The author, Smita Chandra Thomas, is a wanderer and wonderer seeking truth, and magic. Her lens gravitates to the enriching, the bemusing, art and architecture, efficiency, and natural beauty. Her day job brings much of this together in sustainability projects that save energy in buildings and reduce impact on the environment. She is also the delighted and distracted mother of a 3-year-old.

Photos by Smita Chandra Thomas

As the winter approaches maximum chill, ice skating returns as a favorite winter pastime and Beijing has plenty of indoor and outdoor rinks to glide on.

Weather permitting, for a fun physical outing with friends, try one of the city’s many lakes. Be sure to follow directions regarding which areas are frozen solid, usually indicated by poles or flags. Shichahai skating rink is one of Beijing’s more popular outdoor skating areas, located on Houhai Lake. Prices of admission range from RMB 5 on weekdays to RMB 10 on weekends and another RMB 10-15 for skate rental depending on duration of use.

Another favorite outdoor rink is at Beihai Park, which offers the same style of old-school skating but is much less crowded than Houhai Lake. Be careful,though: these outdoor lakes are rigid and bumpy and the rental skates are not the best for those who are more advanced skaters looking to show off their skills. The views of the traditional white pagoda and the park’s fantastic scenery make this outdoor rink ideal for skating with a big group. For those who aren’t keen on skates, ice bikes are a good substitute rental. These three-pronged cycles allow for two or three people and make for improvised sleighs and a good game of ice bike bumper cars.

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This post first appeared in thebeijinger site on January 8, 2014

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