Family Favorites
The Charming Chans
Australians Arthur and Lucille Chan were born in Hong Kong, but they have come to call Beijing home after living here for two years. Residents of Dongcheng District with their daughter Heidi (5) and son Christopher (5 months), the family moved from Hong Kong in 2006. Here are some of their family favorites.
Would you like to share your Beijing Favorites? E-mail editor@tbjkids.com.
Place for Weekend Fun
Ritan Park. Heidi loves to ride on the mechanical horses – very good exercise and lots of fun.
Way to Burn Off Steam
Swimming at the Grand Hyatt Health Club or skating at China World.
Weekend Ritual
Mandarin tutorials for Heidi and Dad. They learn from the same teacher. Heidi does her lesson first … with Dad’s help.
Birthday Celebration
Strawberry cheesecake or black forest gateau from the Grand Hyatt cake shop.
The Dagnachew Troops
Though the Dagnachew family has only been in Beijing for six months, they are already making history. Dad Danny and mom Marlo have combined their many talents – his experience in the restaurant and music business and her background in art – to open Beijing’s first-ever Ethiopian restaurant, Ras Ethiopian Cuisine (see Family Dining directory under African). When not working on their flourishing business venture, these parents love exploring their new hometown with kids Melake (5), Tshyona (3) and Adey (1). Here are some Beijing treasures they’ve uncovered so far. Jennifer Cotton
Would you like to share your Beijing Favorites? E-mail editor@tbjkids.com.
The Contented Tans
The Tan family has lived in Beijing for over two years, fitting nicely into the city after moving from Naperville, Illinois. Singaporean dad Kevin is a banker and Chinese mom Sharon is the director of a training institute. Meanwhile, 5-year-old Jasmine, like many expat kids in Beijing, is American-born. Here are some of their family favorites.
Restaurant
We like Ding Ding Xiang on Dongzhimen because everyone can pick their own hot pot soup. Sharon loves hot and spicy since she is from Sichuan, while Kevin loves the mushroom soup. Jasmine likes anything not spicy. We often get a private room and eat away!
Beijing Day Trip
The Summer Palace. We like to go during the late fall or winter because there are fewer people and the hills are great for long, peaceful walks.
The Lowes
New Zealanders John Lowe and Guergana Guermanoff have their hands full. Guergana is the Education Counselor for the New Zealand Embassy and John manages websites from home while looking after Gabi (4) and twins Alex and Nikki (nearly 1). But this doesn’t stop them from throwing themselves into a fun Beijing life! Here are their family favorites.
Would you like to share your Beijing Favorites? E-mail editor@tbjkids.com.
Restaurant for Kids
Xiao Wang Fu is our local family restaurant of choice. No amount of food hitting the floor seems to upset them.
When Feeling Homesick
We like living in Beijing and don’t really get homesick.
Way to Burn Off Steam
The Chaoyang Kosaido Golf Club and the Huatang International Golf Course along the Jintong Expressway are great. Nothing like smashing a few golf balls to burn off a little steam.
The Barbalas
The Barbalas family may have a Greek surname and be American nationals, but they are China veterans, having lived in Suzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong (where sons Jonathan, 15, and David, 12, were born) for more than 15 years combined. Mike is the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, Lorina has a background in chemistry, and their boys attend ISB. The family has been in Beijing since January of 2006 and has already sourced some solid family favorites.
Would you like to share your Beijing Favorites? E-mail editor@tbjkids.com.
Place for Weekend Fun
The boys love Startrooper Laser Tag at Wangjing.
Splurge
We love to travel to Swtizerland to go skiing at Christmas time. We go to Saas Grund or Saas Fee in the south, and meet up with friends from Hong Kong.
The Lams
After nine years of living in Beijing, Wai Hing Lam from Germany, Gloria Rodrigues from Malaysia, and their two girls, Elli (4) and Edna (2), have come to call it home. Pictured here with their housekeeper Xiao Hong, they share some of their family’s Beijing favorites.
Place to Bring Friends From Home
The atmosphere at Panjiayuan makes everything interesting for our visitors – people are everywhere, vendors sell everything under the sun and the best thing is that all our visitors go home with something they really like, whether antique or new.
Indoor Play Space
Definitely A-Z Kids. Our girls like the ball pit and the mini supermarket with all the plastic food.
Getaway
Our family goes to Hong Kong once a year during big sales. We stock up on children’s items.
The Sullens
It’s a long way from Birmingham, Alabama, but John-David and Christy Sullens are loving the urban lifestyle they enjoy in the Lido area, where traffic is not as congested and everything is within walking distance. John-David works in construction while Christy home-schools their three children Amber (12), Tyler (7) and Emily (4). Here are their Birmingham-to-Beijing favorites.
Would you like to share your Beijing Favorites? E-mail editor@tbjkids.com
Place for Weekend Fun
The new Goose ‘n’ Duck Pub – the food is good and the kids love the indoor batting cage, basketball court and air hockey table.
Way to Burn Off Steam
Walking in any of Beijing’s parks. Our favorite is the Purple Bamboo Park (Zizhuyuan) – it’s so peaceful, you forget you’re in a big city.
The Ogatas
Hailing from Tokyo, the Ogata family have been living in Beijing's Dongcheng District for three-and-a-half years. Dad Kazuyoshi is the IT general manager for 7-Eleven, and Noriko is a stay-at-home-mom to Shiori (4) and Jing Jing (22 months). This is the family's first overseas posting. Tania McCartney
Adopted Family Member
We adore our ayi and think she's one of the best things about living in Beijing. Ayi is like a nainai to our children and loves them just as much. She makes life in Beijing so much easier: interpreting, shopping, giving traditional Chinese medicine and health advice, returning broken or substandard items... she's priceless.
Birthday Celebration
Our relatives from Japan send gifts for both girls when one celebrates a birthday. We lay the gifts out like on Christmas Day and the kids go crazy over them when they wake up in the morning. We like to make a special birthday cake, too.
The Tinneys
The Tinneys
The Tinney family may only have arrived from Australia a year ago, but they’re already making a lot of noise on the Beijing scene. Graeme, who works at the Australian Embassy, and Linda, a music teacher, moonlight as the guitar and piano players for super smooth jazz trio Blue in Red, soon to be playing around Beijing. Their kids Sid (12), Harry (10) and Ella (7) are also talented musicians who love to get in on the act at home: Sid rocks the trumpet, Harry plays the bass, and little Ella mans the drums. Pity their neighbors!
Beijing Snack Food
Baozi, of course. Our baozi fix is a hole in the wall on the corner of Dongzhimenwai and Xindong Lu.
Way to Screen Friends
The Great Wall at Mutianyu. The toboggan ride down is a great personality test: How much you scream, how you respond to the slowpoke in front of you, and how much notice you take of the toboggan officials says a lot about you.
The Chis
The Chi family has been a fixture on the Beijing expat scene for seven years. Dad Alex is one of the pastors at the Beijing International Christian Fellowship and mom Eunice is a librarian at Yew Chung International School, where both Angela (16) and Ariena (14) are students. Before Beijing, this Chinese-American family lived in Philadelphia; now they make their home in Chaoyang District. Here are some of the Chi family favorites.
