Amani Zhang

Catch the best of Xiangshan’s multi-hued beauty
photos by Jeff Warrington

When was the last time you picnicked in an emperor’s country estate? Seven hundred years ago, Jin dynasty emperors looking for a rustic getaway from Beijing settled on Fragrant Mountain, or Xiangshan, located in the northwest suburban areas of the city. They built imperial palaces and temples on the mountain, which for the next several centuries became an exclusive resort for royal families during summer and autumn.

It wasn’t until 1956 that regular Beijingers could also visit Fragrant Mountain, a spot that the Chinese rank alongside other local treasures such as  the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Besides more than 180 acres of rolling hills, characterized by an array of centuries-old pine trees and maple trees, and a peak that soars half a kilometer into the sky, Xiangshan also provides hiking paths and numerous temples, pavilions and pagodas that will appeal to families looking for a day trip.

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Living day to day we sometimes forget that China extends well beyond the dusty Beijing doorstep. It is a land with a little bit of everything – lush forests, majestic mountains, spacious plateaus, sandy beaches, vast deserts, open grasslands, ancient rivers and lakes – and each terrain plays host to different cultures, cuisines, languages and ways of life.

As one of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations, the amount of knowledge and history to learn from China or the number of places to see is endless. And while it is impossible to list all that are worthy, tbjkids has nonetheless narrowed down 25 cities and sites that families should visit before leaving China. Some are famous for natural landscapes, some carry historical or cultural legacies, some are modern cosmopolitan cities, while others are empty lands dotted only by the simplest and most rural of villages. Regardless, all offer valuable and unforgettable experiences that a family can cherish for a lifetime.

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The ups and downs of constant change

When a family moves away from their home country, it is often the kids who take it the hardest. Leaving friends behind and trying to adapt to new environments year in and year out isn’t always easy. On the other hand, it can also be exciting and fun to make new friends, learn new languages and try new things. tbjkids sat down with four students from Beijing BISS International School to discuss the pros and cons of moving around the world.

How do you feel about moving?

Gavrilo: My dad works for the Olympics so we have to move every two years. So far I’ve lived in four different places: Serbia, Athens in Greece, Turin in Italy, then Beijing. At the end of this year I’ll be going to live in Barcelona. At first, moving around was pretty hard. I’ll stay in one place for such a short period of time that I don’t have much chance to make really close friends. But I got used to it.

Alex: For me it’s the opposite because I lived in one place for a long time before I moved to Beijing, and now I’ve been living in Beijing for six years. I just wait for my friends to leave. A lot of my friends are like Gavrilo, moving around every two years, so I don’t get much of a chance to get close to them. But I got used to it after a while, too.

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The fine technique of Chinese embroidery

When it comes to silk, the Chinese know their stuff. Legend has it that in 2800 BC, Leizu – wife of Emperor Huangdi – observed silkworms at work and saw that the shiny, silvery threads could be used to make clothing.

The Chinese have since developed the silk-making process into a fine art, including elaborate methods of embroidery. As early as 2000 BC, the bureaucrats of the Zhou dynasty had their clothes embroidered with symbols to show their official positions. Embroidery techniques were further developed during the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) and perfected during the Qing dynasty (1616-1911 AD), when different styles began to arise, such as Beijing embroidery (which specializes in clothing for royalty) and the four famous regions – Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hunan and Guangdong – which are now regarded as “the Four Styles of Chinese Embroidery.”

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Cao Muchen
Chinese. Born to Hu Ying and Cao Liang on December 28 at Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital.

Julian Prohl
German. Born to Liu Xinhua and Peter Prohl on November 1 at Beijing United Family Hospital.

Zhou Yunqiao
Chinese/Hong Kong. Born to Pak Chau and Lilian Chow on April 15 at Amcare Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

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Name: Henry Wang
Age: 31
Nationality: Chinese
Instrument: Clarinet
Genre: Classical

How did you come to play the clarinet?
That’s a funny story. My parents knew I wanted to learn a wind instrument, so they decided to take me to visit a flute teacher they happened to know. The flute teacher wasn’t home but the clarinet teacher was, so I was accepted by the clarinet teacher. And that’s how my clarinet career started.

What’s the hardest part about playing the clarinet?
I think it’s the same as with most musical instruments: to truly transfer your feelings and thoughts to the audience. As for the techniques, everyone can achieve a high level through practice. But it’s really difficult to understand the music and express it properly through your performance.

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Watching a live performance of a symphony or a musical on a grand stage is an experience like no other – just once is enough to instill in any person a true appreciation for music. Part of the joy of it is seeing architecture designed for the sake of acoustics. To understand the composition of a sound wave and how it reacts to its surrounding space is no easy task, and it’s even more difficult to design a grand auditorium in which a pin dropping on the stage will be heard in even the farthest reaches of the room.

It is, perhaps, a testament to how highly humanity values music that in almost every major city in every corner of the world, there exists an elaborate concert hall to which a massive amount of time and energy was devoted. 

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How to get your point across in Chinese

Many expat parents in Beijing have experienced difficulties communicating with their ayis, since ni hao and zenme yang aren’t sufficient to express concepts such as: “Don’t give the kids ice cream before dinner.” Let the Immersion Guides’ Mandarin Phrasebook come to your rescue! If you need help communicating with your ayi – from interviewing her about previous employment details, to giving instructions about your cleaning and cooking preferences – you’ll appreciate the following excerpt from the Childcare section (in the Kids and Family Life chapter).

“Childcare”
带孩子
daì haízi

This is very important …
这个很重要…
(zhègè hěn zhòng yào)

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Yang Chen talks the talk

After graduating as a linguistics student from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1998, Yang Chen decided to pursue a career that utilized the art of speaking. Having hosted numerous radio programs at People’s Central Radio Station, China Radio International and Radio Beijing over the past ten years, Yang is now a well-known music DJ and radio show host at Beijing Communication Radio. Bruce Buntain’s students at Fangcaodi Primary School had a chance to talk to Yang in person and learn about the man behind the microphone. 

Bryan Chiew, 11, Singapore
Why did you choose to be a DJ?
I think it’s a romantic job. For example, I often have listeners send birthday wishes to their friends or loved ones through the radio, and it’s always a nice surprise for the person receiving them.

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Jump back to an era with an old-time jive

The shuffling of feet, the swaying of skirts, svelte arm movements and nimble steps all moving in harmony to the rhythms of a big brass band – nothing quite epitomizes “shaking a leg” like swing dancing. Whether it’s at a school dance or a family evening party, all are guaranteed a good time. Men, women and teenagers can all work up a sweat twirling to the fast-paced music.

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