Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park

Today, Beijing enjoyed another blue-sky day. To celebrate, Liz and I visited Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park (北京石景山游乐园). According to its Wikipedia page, the slogan for the theme park is “Disney is too far to go, please come to Shijingshan”. Before going, I had read mixed reviews about the park, so we decided that it would certainly be an interesting day one way or another. 

As I waited for for Liz to arrive, I noticed a spherical object; suspiciously similar to a structure I had seen many years ago while on a family holiday to Orlando, Florida. Apparently, this park has had some issues regarding copyright and a certain Disney family. 

An albino Bugs Bunny?

We paid the 10元 entrance fee and excitedly entered the Whimsical Kingdom (I am being careful not to refer to it as magic - I don’t want a lawsuit on my hands). Walking into the park, we were met with an ocean of people eating snack food. We weren’t sure if the park is always saturated with snack stalls, or if it was part of the temple fairs that occur during Chinese New Year celebrations. Either way, the snacks distracted the majority of the crowd whilst we made a mad dash for our first ride. It was a goldmine-type ride that had honestly seen better days. But it still gave us a few giggles. 

The theme park was opened in 1986 and it seems that some parts have not been refurbished or repainted since then. But I feel like this adds a certain charm to the experience and on some rides an element of danger that heightens the excitement factor. 

ur ass adventure has seen better days...

Rawr! 

Exploring the park, we stumbled across the “American Adventure”. This ‘Wild-West’ themed ride involved us sitting on a train and using laser guns to shoot at figurines of animals (such as the well-known American marsupial, the kangaroo) and rabid humans with Exorcist-style rotating heads. The random animals and utter strangeness of this ride certainly made it one of the highlights of the day. It has also helped me to have a deeper understanding of American culture. 

There were quite a few rides that were closed or out of order. Visitors must pay for each ride individually and coupled with the militant snack binging that kept occurring, the queues for the rides were not too long. 

At one point during the adventure, we came across a rather worrying sight. I spotted what appeared to be a person eating the contents of a plant pot. This clearly required further investigation...

In fact, you may be relieved to know that the plant pot is actually filled with ice cream, covered with a chocolate/sugary powder and decorated with chocolate rock sweets around a sprig of mint. 

The park provided us with a fun day out and a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the sunshine on a clear day. It is conveniently situated very close to its own subway station, Line 1 Bajiao Amusement Park. I would definitely recommend this amusement park to anyone looking for a fun day out…and I’m not taking the Mickey!

  

Hôm nay tôi đã đi đến một công viên giải trí. Tôi rất thích tàu lượn siêu tốc ^_^
Công viên giải trí này có rất nhiều quầy thực phẩm… tôi là con lợn tham ăn! =))

Beautiful Beijing

Sing with me now: I can see clearly now the smog has gone…

What a difference a bit of wind can make! In just a couple of hours, a smoggy morning can become a comparatively clear afternoon. If it is possible to find a positive about high pollution, then perhaps it is the fact that I always do my best to enjoy the clear days. It would be quite easy to lounge around the apartment and order in food (thankfully, there is still ample time to do this) but yesterday was one of those crystal clear days that should not be wasted. 

When the polluted curtains are lifted, it allows people to see into the distance…and this is exactly what I had in mind when deciding on my adventure. Liz and I wanted to grab our chance and take in the views of Beijing from the tallest structure in the city: The Central Radio & TV Tower (中央广播电视塔－zhōngyāng guǎngbò diànshì tǎ). 

Your eyes do not deceive you, that is a blue sky.

It seemed like a lot of people had a similar idea to us, but despite the queue, we were not waiting for too long. After going through a security check and entering another queue, we were entertained by a clown. His job required him to give a prize to anyone that could beat him at ‘paper scissors stone’. Which is quite a novel method of passing the time and pacifying youngsters (or perhaps terrifying them into silence) while visitors wait for the lifts. It also provided me with a tacky (and free) souvenir of the day. If you are wondering, I beat him with the stone (not literally). 

Smiley face keyring? Yes please!

The observation deck, at around 230 metres high, offered amazing views of the city. Before I could behold the breath-taking sights of the smog-free metropolis, I was greeted by bloodcurdling yells as if I had stumbled into the lair of a wailing banshee. Someone had decided to install a large brass megaphone, which actively encourages people to scream and shout so that your cries can be amplified across the skyline. Naturally, Liz and I felt that it would be rude not to put this contraption to the test. Admittedly, projecting a hearty “Mother of pearl!” into the distance did feel quite good. 

Shouting did make me happily.

After two laps of the observation deck we went inside and descended to a lower level, which boasted more views (and thankfully without a shrieking soundtrack or a freezing cold wind). It is also home to the highest post office in Beijing. Since moving to Beijing, I have had a few issues with the postal service. So, I decided to take this opportunity and conduct a little experiment by sending a postcard to Wales. Will it even make it out of the elevated post office? Mum and dad – let me know if it ever reaches you! 

UPDATE: The postcard arrived safely in Wales! Hurrah! 

Having a 360 degree view of the city really allows you to recognise the immense vastness of Beijing. In addition to the panoramic scenery, there was plenty of memorabilia about CCTV and a model of the new CCTV tower (nicknamed the big pants). The uncontaminated air did allow for amazing sights but my phone camera is not really the best quality to capture everything. The ability to see into the distance also meant that I could see the smoking chimneys of factories. A thought-provoking reminder of the reason why days like this are far too rare. 

There is a revolving restaurant within the tower, but Liz and I felt that we had been living the high life for long enough. Once out of the tower, we had a walk around the nearby Yuyuantan Park. As the sun began to set, I realised that Beijing is like a dear friend with a bad chain-smoking habit. You really enjoy spending time with your friend except for when they decide to light up. Nobody wants to have a friend who promotes passive smoking. Come on Beijing - get a nicotine patch!

Ở Bắc Kinh ô nhiễm không khí thì rất tệ, nhưng hôm qua là một ngày đẹp trời. Tôi đã đến một tòa tháp. Tháp này mang lại toàn quan cảnh tuyệt vời. Tôi rất thích những khung cảnh ngoạn mục của Bắc Kinh.

Beijing Snow Day Etiquette

Last night, Beijing was visited by the Snow Fairy. She seldom makes an appearance here, so imagine my surprise this morning when I looked out of my window and saw this: 

In order to safely enjoy the snow day to its full potential, I have compiled a list of Dos and Don’ts: 

DO begin the day drinking hot chocolate (with marshmallows) and viewing the snow from the comfort of your sofa. 

DON’T overdose on the aforementioned hot chocolate, as you will fall into a sugar-induced coma and waste the opportunity to enjoy the snow. 

DO make comments about the snow on social media. It’s not a true snow day if you haven’t updated other people about it on Wechat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Weibo. 

DON’T eat the snow. No matter how tempted you are to catch a fluttering flake on your tongue. You may have heard the warnings about yellow snow. But this is far more serious. That snow has fallen from the polluted heavens and contains almost as many chemicals as a child’s sugary breakfast cereal. 

DO visit a park and take in the beautiful scenery. If you feel like bursting into a snow-themed ditty or a song from Frozen, then just let it happen organically. 

DO find snow that has yet to be trodden on. Then stomp to your heart’s content for that ultimate underfoot crunch sensation! 

DON’T lie down on the snow to create a snow angel. I have walked in enough parks to observe that any time you stray from the path, you enter into a minefield of dog poo. Just because there is a blanket of snow lightly covering the grass, does not mean that the poo is no longer there. I suspect some of those poo morsels have been around longer than the Great Wall. I fear that disturbing these fecal corpses may be as dangerous as building on ancient Indian burial grounds. Unless you want to be haunted by a poo, then I suggest avoiding snow angels at all costs. 

DO create a snowman inspired by the amazing ice sculptures in Harbin. 

DO find a far more impressive and superior snowman built by someone else and take a photo so that you can claim it as your own creation.

DO write movie spoilers in the snow for unsuspecting members of the public to stumble across and feel confused by. 

Oh snow you didn't just ruin The Sixth Sense!

DO warm yourself up by feasting on delicious dumplings.

Sadly, the snow is already melting. The slushy snow can become a death trap if it refreezes…which leads me to the final rule:

DO prepare a dramatic fall in the event of a slippery disaster.

Đêm qua có tuyết rơi. Sáng nay, khi ở nhà, tôi có thể nhìn thấy phong cảnh đẹp. Những mái nhà phủ đầy tuyết. Chiều nay, tôi đã làm một người tuyết… nó ấn tượng không? =)) Một ngày vui vẻ ^_^