Classical Homecoming
Pianist Yuja Wang has returned to her hometown for a residency at the National Center for the Performing Arts. Wang, born in Beijing in 1987, started playing piano at six, and studied at the city’s Central Conservatory of Music. At the age of 20 her big break came when she replaced the legendary Martha Argerich at short notice for a series of concerts, and wowed the audience with her performances. Wang is now one of the world’s leading classical musicians, described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “quite simply, the most dazzlingly, uncannily gifted pianist in the concert world today”. She will be performing a series of concerts and recitals at the “Egg” throughout the 2016/7 season.

Up for the Cup
Seen those red circles on the skin of athletes at the Rio Olympics? They’re caused by “cupping”, an ancient Chinese therapy enjoying a new surge in popularity thanks to Michael Phelps and others. A glass cup is placed on the skin, and a vacuum created, either by the traditional method of heating and cooling the air, or simply with a vacuum pump. This draws the skin into the cup, causing the characteristic red marks. Supporters of the practice claim that it draws out toxins and improves the flow of qi. Others though are more skeptical. Critics point to the limited scientific evidence for its effectiveness, and the risks if carried out by untrained practitioners. In June a Chengdu man was left with festering holes on his back after cupping therapy went horribly wrong. As always, we advise that you talk to a qualified medical professional before undergoing any sort of treatment.

A Wish for the City
In August, author Hao Jingfang’s story “Folding Beijing” won the 2016 Hugo Award for best novelette. The Hugos have been described as “the Oscars of science fiction”, and Hao is only the second Chinese writer to win one since the awards began in 1953. “Folding Beijing” takes place in the near future, and satirizes the city’s inequalities by showing residents being sedated and their homes folded away due to overcrowding. Hao, who was born in Tianjin in 1984 but now lives in Beijing, said on receiving the award, “I hope the real future will be brighter than my story.”

Winning Threads
China won 70 medals at the Rio Olympics, and every award ceremony showcased the work of young Beijing-born fashion designer Masha Ma. Ma designed the Chinese team’s “champion outfit”, the special tracksuit worn by athletes while receiving their medals. “It is a long process of bargaining with the team to decide which is the most functional, stylish and suitable,” Ma said of her creation. “The colors obviously come from the national flag and it had to be that way. I hope that the new design enables versatility of the champion outfit so that it can

For so many issues in my life, I feel like I could write a book “How NOT to do Such and Such” using my bad decisions as an example. Unfortunately, when it comes to finances, this has also been the case. My husband and I were attending an expensive, private Christian university when the 2008 US housing bubble busted. Then, my husband graduated in the winter of 2009 with an almost worthless liberal arts degree, and we had both foolishly signed on the dotted line of one too many college loans. [Might I add that this is where college counseling was at its finest, “Oh honey, you’ll get a great job after you graduate, and that loan will pay itself off! Don’t worry.”]

For the first year or so of life in Beijing we chose to live simply using our bikes, buying little furniture, and using random toys

Fast forward to 2013, with two littles in our brood and the loom of a layoff, we were desperate to find a secure financial landing pad. A sister of a coworker loved working in Beijing, and she had saved a significant amount of money while living here. We were intrigued, so we did what we could to make it happen to start over in these foreign lands. The major momentum of paying off our whopping USD 80,000 school debt didn’t really start until the beginning of last year, when we had settled in and I also began working full time. For this year, our goal is to have every penny paid by my birthday in December. Thus far, we’re on track to make that happen, with less than half of our debt remaining.

For the first year or so of life in Beijing we chose to live simply using our bikes, buying little furniture, and using random toys

Other than having a dual income, which is the primary reason we’re able to pay off our debt, changing our lifestyle to think about what we’re able to live without has helped us to never miss a loan payment, even during times of extreme financial stress. We’ve also enjoyed being able to live a bit more creatively here, as we really don’t need a car in this bus-and-subway-connected city with the sometimes-large bike lanes. Since we’re foreigners and our friend circle is mostly local, we can also choose what cultural expectations we’re going to live up to. A confession is that I’m no Martha Stewart, though I hail from the Southern land of perfect, tidy homes, and I’m happy to be free from that cultural yoke.

We know many expats have come here to save money or to live well, and that challenge seems monumental when children are going to school, so we researched scholarship options available in the city (p27).  This is the perfect month to pick cheaper outside options for playing as the weather begins to cool (p22). We asked parents about pocket change, which we hope prompts you to begin the money talk with your kids now before they’re making money mistakes they’ll regret later (p38). We’ve also highlighted a new business specifically run by parents (p11) possibly to encourage those entrepreneurial ideas we all get from time to time.
Whether you only have a trickle of renminbi or you’re swimming in those red bills, we hope this edition encourages you to stick to or even exceed your financial goals.

This article originally appeared on page 2 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: Vanessa Jencks

This month we focused on the red stuff, that cold, hard, Mao-adorned cash. We know many families have come to Beijing for adventure and cultural experience, but we cannot ignore that financial health typically plays a large role in the final stamp in everyone’s passport. In our feature, “Every Jiao Counts,” we asked families to share how they spend their disposable income while in the capital, and some parents even gave us financial advice. In “Smart Money” we brainstormed how families can wiggle through the costs of Beijing to save up to ¥250,000 every year.

Living
We hope you’ll be inspired by Talking Shop’s family-driven story of Challet, which was formed to protect and support mothers, newborns, and toddlers by providing a time-saving delivery service of thoroughly screened products. Birthday Bash rounds up the cutest and most inexpensive birthday decor on Taobao. We see a bit of appropriate splurging on good looks in Indulge by this soon-to-be-wed couple. Finally, we highlight a popular post about Beijing’s vicinity rule in From the Blog.

Dining
Malacca Legend Signature surprises Liam and Annabelle with tasty seafood and spices, while the Rakhletsova-Quyen family show us how they mix and cook up culinary inspirations.

Playing
Give your students or children an opportunity to repurpose and reuse common rubbish for a very cool spin on the traditional piggy bank, or take your whole family on a cheap, healthy trip to the outdoor offerings of Beijing.

Health
Dr. Melissa Rodriguez and Dr. Dorothy Dexter agree that health is one of your best investments, and they both give useful tips on how to do that.

Learning
A selection of international schools in Beijing show us in Schooled how they attract the finest of students or act upon their values by offering discounts and scholarships. These breaks can help ease the financial burden for families wanting their own chunk of Beijing’s world class education opportunities.

MSB students surprise us with thoughtful banking questions in When I Grow Up, and DCB students wow us with their art collections in Blank Canvas. Educators from Hyde Academy and TSL Britain suggest that money isn’t everything in their book selections, while Tech Corner reviews the apps that teach kids how to actually manage their jiao. Lastly, meet Prachi Gupta of YCIS and Karen of BWYA in Meet the Teacher and Student Life, respectively.

Parenting
Columnists Andy Killeen and Ember Swift talk about family finances in their own way, with Beijing Baba covering the history and value of Monopoly while The Echo Chamber deals with money, music, and motherhood. Finally, do you teach finances to your child? Find out how your answers compare to two other families in Beijing from both sides of the globe in West Meets East.

Can’t find the print edition? Send an email to distribution@beijing-kids.com or at Issuu.com.

September is finally here! This is one of our favorite months as fall sets in and the balance of hot and cold temperature is just right. As the season changes, more doctor trip season starts as well as kids will get stomach bugs, the flu, and other ailments. So this month’s issue is health heavy focused as we look at the state of local hospital, insurance breakdown, and what’s China’s vaccination schedule is like.

In our health section Dr Melissa Rodriguez gives six reasons to have a well put together salad and Dr. George Hu touches on suggestion to parents on how to support good mental health. Take the trip to Beyou World with the kids to try out different role play or head out of town to one of the organic farms to enjoy the harvesting period as highlighted in our playing section.

After or before heading off to check out Beyou World and farms you can try the Derwent family’s banana-oat cookies for that yum snack. If cooking is taking a lot of time from the busy family, try out TRIBE’s specially crafted meals plans for kids that will be delivered to your home.

Schools and organizations share their latest developments in our Noticeboard column. Also, in the living section we spolight start up technology company Origins Technology that’s makes air purifiers and monitors indoor air quality. The Hutong as a mixed birthday party theme option of cupcakes and martial arts. Shaking things up in our mom makeover is Rebecca Shook who moves to a more smart casual look.

Beijing’s summer exodus means kids were enjoying their time some place else, so here we let the students at Tsinghua International School tell us what they did this summer. ISB students debate the pros and cons of getting vaccinated in our new restructured roundtable format. Ivy Academy’s art teacher describes her students’ art work from their inspiration to their interpretation in our learning section.

How to restart life after the kids have flown off to start a new chapter in their lives? Here’s a close look at expat nest syndrome as written by our Shunyi correspondent Sally Wilson. Ember Swift shares with us her daughter’s curiosity to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in our parenting section.

Due to the September 3-5 holiday, distribution of our magazine will be delayed at our usual drop off points. Pick up your copy from tomorrow and in the meantime take a look at our online version here.