Beijing’s Top 10 : Outdoor Activities – Top 10 Parks

Kite flying

A
major hobby among gents of all ages, especially popular on public
holidays when the skies above the city’s parks and squares are crowded
with fluttering birds, dragons, lions, and laughing Buddhas.

Mahjong

Like
gin rummy it’s all about collecting sets or runs to score points, only
mahjong uses tiles, not playing cards. A visit to any Beijing park will
invariably be soundtracked by the rat-a-tat of slammed pieces.

Street dancing

Ballroom
dancing is hugely popular with the elderly, but in Beijing it doesn’t
take place in ballrooms but out on the street. On warm evenings, car
parks and sidewalks are filled with dancers congregated around a
boombox. At the Workers’ Stadium you can get up to four different groups
on the forecourt in front of the north gate – choose your style: waltz,
polka, foxtrot, or gavotte.

Jianzi

Western
kids play it with a football, passing the ball around with head, knees,
and feet, the idea being not to let it touch the ground; the Chinese
have their own version playing with what resembles a large plastic
shuttlecock. It’s called jianzi and it is something of a national obsession, played by young and old alike, male and female.

Tai chi

Looking to improve the flow of qi
(life force) through their bodies, early each morning crowds of mostly
elderly people gather in Beijing’s parks to indulge in mass movements of
tai chi, or tai ji quan
as it’s better known in China. Although the discipline has its origins
in martial arts, for most folks it’s more about making sure that the
joints don’t seize up.

Yang Ge

Dancing accessorized with brightly-colored, silk fans (an art known as yang ge) is popular with middle-aged ladies. It incorporates stylized movements derived from folk dancing.

Table tennis

More
than just a game, table tennis, or ping pong, is the national pastime.
It is the most widely practised sport by people of all ages. It is
affordable to all and played in parks and on squares, with bricks often
standing in for a missing net.

Water calligraphy

Using
a mop-like brush and a bowl of plain water, characters are painted on
the sidewalk. Once dry, the characters disappear. It is supposed to
exercise the mind and body. Tossing coins into the bowl will not be
appreciated.

Opera singing

The
Chinese are rarely inhibited by self-consciousness and behave in public
as they would at home. Hence, parks are for singing. They gather in
groups, taking it in turns to perform for each other; favored places for
this are on the north shore of the lake at Bei Hai and in the Temple of
Heaven park.

Chinese chess

Walk
along any Beijing alley, and you’ll likely pass at least one group of
old men playing Chinese chess, with bystanders usually far outnumbering
the players. Chinese chess is played with flat round pieces that are
placed on the intersections of lines on an uncheckered board.

Bei Hai Park

Classic ornamental gardens with a large lake for boating .

Chaoyang Park

The largest afforested park in Beijing, with well-maintained flower and grass areas.

• Subway: Liangmaqiao

Di Tan Park

Large green spaces and cypress trees, and the striking Temple of Earth .

Xiang Shan Park

An hour’s drive northwest of the center but worth it for thickly wooded slopes dotted with pavilions.

Olympic Green

A 1,680-acre (680-hectare) green space, Beijing’s largest park is home to three Olympic venues .

• Subway: Forest Park

Jing Shan Park

A hilly park with a pavilion providing views of the roofscape of the Forbidden City to the south .

Long Tan Park

Lots of lakes, a kid’s amusement park, and an enchanting water-screen show.

• Subway: Tian Tan Dong Men

Ri Tan Park

One of Beijing’s oldest parks,featuring an altar for imperial sacrifice.

Temple of Heaven Park

This park houses several historic structures and a vast expanse of well-tended gardens, including a rose garden .

Zhong Shan Park

Just outside the walls of the Forbidden City, Zhong Shan offers a respite from the crowds .