Raising house prices in Beijing were to blame for the shut down of the Magic Bean House which had been operating in the capital since 2010. Once located near the west gate of Chaoyang Park, Magic Bean House was a member of the Association of Children’s museum and a favorite spot for birthday parties. The themed parties were based on cartoon characters which were a big hit and will be solely missed.

The museum balanced a fun play area for younger children and educational center. It was a hands on place for children to develop their skills with a supermarket and mechanic’s garage role play area. The notice on their website (www.magicbeanhouse.com, Chinese only) says that they are looking for a new location to set up shop. This is now a wait and see what happens situation.

In the mean time, here is a list of indoor play centers around town to visit over the holidays, or during a smoggy day, and other birthday party venues to consider.

Adventure Zone
The newly opened play center at the Kerry Hotel features slides, climbing areas, toy cars, a snack bar and themed rooms that would make a nice destination to your kid’s next birthday party. This space is good toddlers to tweens. Located at the 3/F, in the Kerry Sports Center, Kerry Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (6561 3388)
朝阳区朝阳区光华路1号北京嘉里中心饭店3层 Mon-Fri 10am-9pm, Sat-Sun 9am-10pm. (http://www.beijingkerrycentre.com/adventure_zone.html).

Family Box
The main features are a large scale climbing frame, Mickey Mouse play area, swimming pool, Sensory Room, Soft Island and Craft Room. Other services provided include: party hosting, catering, coffee shop, and crèche facility. Located in Wangjing at Bldg 4, 51 Wangjing Beilu and is open Sat-Thu 9am-8pm, Fri 10am-8pm. To find out more call 6478 6163 or visit www.familyboxes.com.cn.

Mitty Jump
The main areas of Mitty Jump are the tree house and swaying bridges, a spaceship, a squishy volcano with about a half dozen ball pits, Mitty’s home with a small vegetable patch, a bouncy castle, a mini train, and a mini football (soccer) pitch. Mitty Jump is located on the 4th floor of the Lotus Shopping Mall and Poly Wanhe Cinema on Futong West Street in Wangjing. For directions, pricing, and other info, visit www.mittyjump.com (Chinese) or call 8421-0908.

Fundazzle
The main features are a huge two-story jungle gym, trampolines and a toddler area with small cars, swings, seesaws and toy houses. Fundazzle is located on Gongti Nanlu in Sanlitun near the Worker’s Stadium. It is open Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat-Sun and holidays 9am-7pm. Visit www.fundazzle-nc.com or call 6593 6208 for more info.

New City Center
Birthday party hosting and planners is the new face of the New City Center. They offer packages that are inclusive of decorations, games and activities, prizes, and child-approved food. They keep children busy on that special day with theme centered crafts and other activities. The NCC is located at 2/F, 112 Lize Xiyuan (above Yuan Art Museum), Guangshun Beidajie, Wangjing, Chaoyang District (6475 1066, Chinese: 150 1035 8799, English: 131 2661 1088) Tue-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 1-6pm. 朝阳区望京广顺北大街利泽西园112号楼2层（元典美术馆上面）www.thenewcitycenter.com

Photo courtesy of The Magic Bean House, NCC, Christopher Lay and Michael Wester

If the weather is smoggy or rainy and being at home has lost its allure for the kids, here are some suggestions of some indoor play areas. Wangjing has seen the introduction of Mitty Jump to the indoor play zone scene. To get a better handle on how it stacks up against the competition, I’ve added it to the breakdown list from our archives.

If cost is the main factor, Fundazzle is still the winner hands down. It is centrally located and big enough for older children and toddlers alike. Fundazzle is the clear choice for hosting a play date or to let kids burn off some energy for a couple of hours on a smoggy or rainy day.

Click here for more details.

This post first appeared on

Photo by Christopher Lay

It has been almost a year since we pitted Fundazzle against Family Box to see who had the best indoor play zone. Since then, Wangjing has seen the introduction of Mitty Jump to the indoor play zone scene. To get a better handle on how it stacks up against the competition, I’ve added it to the breakdown list.

If cost is the main factor, Fundazzle is still the winner hands down. It is centrally located and big enough for older children and toddlers alike. Fundazzle is the clear choice for hosting a play date or to let kids burn off some energy for a couple of hours on a smoggy or rainy day.

The downside is that the facilities are OK, but not great. The staff acts more like referees and everything besides the main area costs a little bit more money. Fundazzle does offer packaged snacks and beverages, but they also have lots of toys and games that can cause children to plead for something you didn’t plan on paying for.

Mitty Jump fills the price void between Fundazzle and Family Box. Facilities are very clean and well thought-out; it even has a train that kids can ride. For those bad air days, it is also nice to know they have the IQ Air filters onsite. Although Mitty Jump has the least number of snacks and beverages on sale, it’s located in a shopping mall actually with a wide variety of food and drink options, including Costa Coffee. Its facilities won’t elicit quite the same excitement as Family Box’s, but the place is worth repeat visits. Plus, you can take your child four times to Mitty Jump for the cost of one Family Box day visit.

Overall, Family Box is still our top choice because of the variety of available activities and creature comforts for parents. But at RMB 480 for a day visit, this is clearly not the kind of place you want to run off to for a couple of hours with a bunch of kids.

However, it is worth it for a special occasion – as long as you and your child are prepared to hang out for an entire day to get your money’s worth. That said, the staff were a bit confused about how to handle the payment for a day visit (we had to pay at the cafe). Reina also appeared to be the only expat kid in the place. Most of the members are Chinese and only pop in for a couple of hours in the morning or in late afternoon after school.

Fundazzle is located on Gongti Nanlu in Sanlitun near the Worker’s Stadium. It is open Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat-Sun and holidays 9am-7pm. Visit www.fundazzle-nc.com or call 6593 6208 for more info.

Mitty Jump is located on the 4^th floor of the Lotus Shopping Mall and Poly Wanhe Cinema on Futong West Street in Wangjing. For directions, pricing, and other info, visit www.mittyjump.com or call 8421-0908.

Family Box, also located in Wangjing, is at Bldg 4, 51 Wangjing Beilu and is open Sat-Thu 9am-8pm, Fri 10am-8pm. To find out more call 6478 6163 or visit www.familyboxes.com.cn.

Photo by Christopher Lay