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 ^_^