Winter in Beijing

Winter is here - it's cold outside but Chinese traditions are oh so warm. There's no better way to spend a cold winter Sunday than by taking part in chair skating...yes, chair skating. We heard about this uniquely Beijing winter event from a few friends who visited years earlier. The basic idea is simple - get a chair, bolt some rails to it, place on ice and go!















People wanting to take the sport a step further decided to re-jig a bike for ice biking. While we didn't try that one - it did look rather fun.



















The most festive part of the year is almost here - Chinese New Year (CNY). Already we can hear people lighting fireworks all around our building. 6am, 11pm - time of day doesn't matter - all times are fare game when it comes to fireworks. Even though it's very urban, Beijing allows fireworks during the during the Spring Festival (15 days after CNY). Mind you, these aren't those fountains and sparklers you might find back home - some of the fireworks we see on the street are full on professional. It's a it crazy, but people will light 2" morter shells on the side of street. CNY and Spring Festival is looking to be a bit crazy.

Holidays in Beijing

Christmas in Beijing is quite unlike Christmas anywhere else. Granted, Christmas trees and lights decorate most buildings (a surprise to us) and Santa also make passes through the shopping malls. But that's about where the traditional similarities end. On Christmas eve, many people in the city head out to one of the hundreds of lavish dinner parties hosted by hotels, halls and fine restaurants. It's not cheap. We dined at a lower cost event at a cost of about $100USD/head. In a city where average take home is not much more than a few hundred/month - it's a lot to spend on one dinner. One of the premier events charged over $550/head just for dinner. Even considering the relative cost, it was a great dinner and a great way to celebrate in Beijing.

We were fortunate to have Christmas day off. In line with most western companies, Christmas day was designated a holiday. We met up with an American friend for a German brunch complete with pretzels and beer.
Later that night we meet up with our Hong Kong friends for a old Beijing Hot Pot dinner.











Then there was New Years. Not quite sure what to expect, we headed for the one place with lot's of expats and plenty of inexpensive celebratory beverages. To end the year, we had an exquisite french inspired, Beijing style, roast duck. This must have been our 5th or 6th duck since arrival and I'll tell you - each is better than the last.

We ended the year a bit cold yet totally inspired by all we had seen and all the places we visited. The best part of New Year in China is that we get two. Look for more details some time after January 26 - the mark of lunar New Year. We'll be escaping the Beijing cold in Hong Kong.