18 Things to do before you're 18

Beijing is an amazing city, and there are experiences that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Here are some essential activities to tick off before becoming a grown-up.

See dinosaurs at the Beijing Wildlife Park

Photo: Anna Seidel

There are quite a number of parks in the city, but there’s nowhere else in Beijing where you can also find dinosaurs lurking in the foliage. While a 90-minute drive away (from Shunyi), there’s plenty to do at the Beijing Wildlife Park. You start with a self-drive safari through an open park where animals roam free which is an attraction in itself. However, drawing the most wows from children is the park’s Jurassic World. Life-sized dinosaurs can be found placed all over the grounds, just waiting for horrific expressions and poses from the kids. 

Gaze from one of the world’s oldest observatories

Photo: Vmenkov/Wikimedia

There aren’t many places left in the world where you can do exactly what people have been doing there for nearly a millennium, but the Beijing Ancient Observatory (20RMB; 10RMB for concessions) is one such rare gem. Operating in some form since 1442, this unassuming grey slab and its various apparatus helped emperors past scour the skies, and are still pointing skyward today, even if the surrounding skyscrapers are a new addition. It’s only open until 5pm, so constellations might not be on the agenda, but head up late on a clear day to gaze up and let the kids be aware of just how small and insignificant the human race is compared to all the galaxies in the universe. 

Beijing Ancient Observatory (古观象台) 2 Dong Biaobei Hutong, Dongcheng district (6524 2202) 东城区东裱褙胡同2号

Ride the world’s longest  outdoor escalator

Photo: www.longqingxia.cn/

Take the kids up the world’s longest outdoor escalator at Longqing Gorge. The ‘Soaring Dragon Escalator’ reaches up to a height of 258m and you ride it by entering the mythical creature’s mouth into the belly of the beast. Take those happy snaps outside because within, it looks like any escalator albeit with views of the vista through the ‘dragon scales’.  If that’s too tame for the older kids, they can bungee jump when they reach the marina at the summit while parents can take a break with a scenic cruise on the serene lake. 

Longqing Gorge (龙庆峡). Yanqing Country 延庆区龙庆峡. 40RMB entry, 100RMB all access. Half price for students. 

Walk on the top of the Bird’s Nest

Taking dozens of selfies by Ai Wei Wei’s iconic National Stadium, better known as the Bird’s Nest, probably does well on your child’s Instagram. But to up their bragging rights to friends back home, they can do no better than pictures at the top of the 3.4 billion RMB Olympic sporting venue. Take them on the ‘Top Wonder of Bird’s Nest Corridor’, which allows the family on the kilometre-long track on the roof of the Bird’s Nest with four viewing platforms. On a good day, you can see all the way to Beijing’s historical Central Axis. It’s also a great vantage point to take photos of the Water Cube with the oddly shaped Panggu Seven Star Hotel in the background. 

National Stadium (国家体育馆). 1 Guojia Tiyuguan Nan Lu, Chaoyang district 朝阳区国家体育场南路1号. Open 9am-7pm daily. 80RMB for all access pass. Tickets for sale from kiosk between Gates C and D. 

Hang off a cliff 

Photo: www.jdslx.com

More accurately, the kids will be on a platform that is suspended off a cliff. A glass-bottomed viewing platform that is. Suspended 400m in the air, the platform has an area just bigger than two tennis courts and is the largest in the world. Its 38-metre diameter also means it sticks out a full 11 metres farther than that little Skywalk over the Grand Canyon. First-hand reports have come back that its apparently the grown-ups who are more frightened than the kids; they apparently love the thrill of staring into the void. So adult-up and step off the cliff with the family. Do it for the kids. 

Shilixia Scenic Area, 73 Diaowocun, Huangsongyu county, Pinggu district (6098 7678, jdslx.com). 平谷区黄松峪乡雕窝村 73 号石林峡景区 Open 7.30am-5.30pm Mon- Fri, 7am-5.30pm weekends and holidays. Park entry: 68RMB; 30RMB students and seniors; kids below 6 free. Glass platform entry 40RMB. 

Marvel at Beijing, from the air 

Photo: 247tickets

Learn how to pilot an SR20 while soaring over stunning Beijing landscapes. During your 15 minute lesson, a flight instructor will teach you how to take off, ascend, dive, hover, circle and descend. Students (from 16 years old) can customise the whole flight and how much they want to control the plane. The flight instructor will also take over from time to time so that passengers (kids above three) can snap photos of Beijing’s scenery, whether it’s The Great Wall, Kangxi steppe or Yeyahu Wetland Park. 

Scan to book

Shoot your friends at archery tag

Photo: Whizzing Arrow

Laser tag is so last century. Head to Whizzing Arrow and have your kids battle it out with bows and arrows. Rest easy: arrow tips are stubby and made of foam, there’s safety equipment including goggles and basic training is provided by staff. There are a few game formats such as last man standing and grudge matches but no matter the theme, it’s an hour of non-stop fun that will have everyone projecting Legolas. 

Sports Infinite (众体无限) B1 Glory Mall 18, Chongwenmen Dajie, Dongcheng district (137 0113 1236) 东城区崇文门大街 18号国瑞购物中心LG层 Open 10am-10pm daily. Sessions cost 129RMB per person, including training and a 60-minute session. Reservations required.

Eat at a robot restaurant

Video: Regine Seet

Haidilao restaurants are family favourites given its quality ingredients, great service, kids’ play areas. But head to its branch at World City for a truly unique China experience. This ‘smart restaurant’ has outsourced most of its service to robots. Mechanical arms, automated trays and robot servers take orders, fill plates with food and deliver them to your table. While it lacks the standard playroom, it is still is a great experience for the kids. Oh and we checked: the noodle dancers are still human. 

Haidilao (海底捞) First Floor, Block E, World City, 9 Jinhui Lu, Chaoyang district (6501 8449) 朝阳区金汇路9号楼中骏世界 城 E座负一层. Open 10am-7am daily. 

Cycle on a Unesco site

Photo: Daniel Case/Wikimedia Commons

While you might know it’s a Unesco site when you see The Grand Canal in Tongzhou, this man-made river is the longest in the world, stretching all the way from Beijing to Hangzhou. Some sections of the canal were built back in the 6th century and the river was the backbone of the Chinese empire’s communication system and strategic transportation of food and raw materials. Today, you can witness this feat of hydraulic engineering from the back of a shared bike. Make a day of it and bring a picnic basket with grass patches by the scenic canal making for great picnic spots. 

The Grand Canal (京杭大运河). Tongzhou district 通州区京 杭大运河 

Around the world in 80 minutes

Are your kids dying to see the Pyramids? Well, they can do just that, as well as marvel at a bucket list-busting 108 more of the world’s wonders and most-loved landmarks, all scaled-down at Beijing World Park. Since opening in 1993, the attraction has allowed millions of visitors to cross the Golden Gate Bridge in a matter of seconds, careen through the not-so-Grand Canyon and play the president in front of the off-White House. Heading east, you can take in the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower in one panoramic pivot, before moving onto Red Square and the Taj Mahal, via a quick camel ride at the Great Pyramid of Giza. Your kids will love dressing up in traditional garments and posing for photos. With entry a mere 100RMB, you won’t need to fork out for flights to Egypt just yet. 

Beijing World Park (北京世界公园). 158 Huaxiang Fengbao Lu, Fengtai district (8361 3344). 丰台区花乡丰葆路158号. Open 8am-10pm (summer); 8am-4.30pm (winter). 100RMB; 60RMB (students); free for kids under 1.2m 

Camp on The Great Wall

Photo: Beijing WTown

We’re sure the family has trekked up and down The Wall many times. But a sleepover is a totally different experience. Gone are the tourists who stop suddenly in front of you to take selfies – your family can have the wall all to yourselves. The kids have the opportunity to hunker down in a watchtower and catch the sunset and sunrise (if they can wake up early enough) over one of China’s architectural marvels. Great Wall Adventure (www.greatwalladventure) and Beijing Hikers (www.beijinghikers.com; children 8 and up from 900RMB) has options for camping out if you’re not too sure about the logistics or lack the gear for a sleepover by The Great Wall. Just show up with some suitable clothes and you’re all set. 

DIY a Lego souvenir

Photo: Lego Store/WeChat

For a unique memento of their time in Beijing, head down to Lego’s flagship store on Wangfujing and customise a Lego portrait for the kids. For 999RMB, the kids can step into the Mosaic Maker photo booth and watch as the machine automatically prints out the portrait. The entire set includes a grey board to mount your Lego on, Lego pieces and the photo. Bring the whole package home and the kids can have fun constructing their own masterpiece. Is a photo too real for them? For 79RMB, the kids can customise three mini figurines. By mixing and matching, they can try constructing mini-mes by matching five elements: a hat or hair, accessory, face, torso and legs. Definitely one for posterity’s sake. 

Lego Store. First Floor, in88 Shopping Mall, 88 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng district (5978 5188) 王府井大街88号一层 Open 10am-10pm daily. 

Stay in a treehouse

Feeling sad that you never got that treehouse you dreamed of as a kid? Well, you can now stay in one with the family. And it’s got a hot tub. Nestling on a mountainside out near the Miyun Reservoir, the Yunfeng Resort is home to a range of charming wooden cabins of all shapes and sizes (starting at 2,338RMB per night). Though for all-out extravagance, shell out for the resort’s centrepiece micro-schloss (from 5,788RMB a night).  The two-bedroom private castle offers killer views over the surrounding hills, and is kitted out with all those fairytale cabin-in-the-woods essentials, such as a cute fireplace, wifi, luxury bedding and the aforementioned hot tub. It ain’t coming cheap, but it’s a pretty special little hideaway. 

Yunfeng Treehouse. Bulaodun Zhen, Yanluocun North, Miyun district (8109 8688, www.yunfengshan.com). 密云区不老屯镇 燕落村北

Splash about in an Olympic swimming venue

The iconic Water Cube, the famous site of Michael Phelps’ eight gold medal haul in 2008, is now home to an almost psychedelic indoor water park (entry 200RMB adults; 160RMB children), complete with the looping slide of your nightmares, a lazy river, wave pool and wacky lighting. Because what better way to celebrate the sporting feats of your Olympic and Paralympic heroes than by hurtling along a trippy terror tube and being plummeted through a loop-the-loop into a watery trough? Alternatively, if you’re not so wont to splash about, you can swim a few laps in the actual 50-metre pool athletes trained in during the games.

National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube) 11 Tianchen Dong Lu Olympic Park, Chaoyang district (8437 8966) 朝阳区天辰东路11号水立方

Watch a flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square

Photo: Morio/Wikimedia Commons

Start the day the patriotic way. While a Chinese flag seems to be flying at almost every turn here, none are given as much attention as this one in the heart of Beijing. Kids will love the sight of immaculately regimented guards emerging from beneath Mao Zedong’s iconic portrait upon the Tiananmen gate, before marching towards the flagpole, unfurling and raising the whopping red banner in a perfectly preened ceremony, backed by the national anthem. It takes just two minutes and seven seconds to reach the top, climaxing at the same time as sunrise, so arrive in good time beforehand to snag the front row from the smartphone- and selfie stick-wielding crowds. If the kids (or you) aren’t morning people, take them during dusk when the process is reversed. 

Tiananmen Square (天安门广场). Dawn and dusk daily.  

Learn Chinese Chess

If there is anywhere in the world that the kids should pick this up, it would be in China, wouldn’t it. Xiangqi is a game that requires careful thinking and logic, much like its Western counterpart except with different pieces such as the cannon that needs to jump over another piece to take pieces or its general, which is trapped within a square box. If your children are keen chess players, they will no doubt love the chance to learn a new game grounded in similar principles. 

China Culture Center. Price starts from 250RMB per person but is dependent on class size. Visit chinaculturecenter.org for more. 

Skydive, indoors

How much would you pay to fly? Well at Flying Experience at Shine Hills in Shunyi, it is 240RMB a minute. High costs aside, this indoor skydiving centre is perfect for kids (4 and up) looking for thrills – pictures show every hovering child grinning from ear to ear. After some training and theory, kids will be taken to the wind chamber and, assisted by instructors, blown 30 metres upwards by massive gusts of air. 

Flying Experience (飞行家太空体验馆) Building 12, Shine Hills South Zone, 6 Antai Dajie, Shunyi district (6482 8912). 顺义 区安泰大街6号12号楼中粮祥云小镇南区 Open 10am-9pm daily. 240RMB per minute. 

Try Kung Fu

Photo: Rodney Looi

Have your kids ever dreamed of being a superhero? Give your child the skills to go with their dream at one of Jinghua Wushu's Shaolin Kung Fu camps. Children won't just be donning the uniform and learning basic kung fu skills; they'll also develop the discipline that goes with the classes and learn what it's like to live independently and the traditional Chinese way in a traditional Chinese house in the mountains by a Shaolin temple. Contact Jinghua Wushu ([e-mail]; WeChat: 13141072677) for more information.    

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