Planning a BJ Family Outing, One Amusement Park at A time

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If 2020 were a subscription service, most of us would have hit the unsubscribe button a few months back. It feels as though all that could go wrong this year has gone wrong, including summer plans made months in advance. But all is not lost. You don’t have to bundle your family into a plane bound for another country or another exotic location to have fun, cos all the fun you need is right here in Beijing.

 When was the last time you allowed yourself the heart-pounding thrill of riding on a rollercoaster or getting drenched as you fly through a water slide, without any regard for your phone or designer bag? You can make this summer the first to relive the joys of childhood in Beijing’s amusement parks. The Maldives might be out this year, but the pirate rides and rollercoasters are waiting for you to ride them. All you need to know is where to go to find them.

Happy Valley Amusement Park 北京欢乐谷

Address: Xiaowuji North Road, East 4th Road, Chaoyang District 朝阳区东四环小武基北路
Opening hours: Daily 8.30 am-10 pm
Price: RMB 260/adult, RMB 160/child, RMB 180/night safari unless you’ve been living under a rock since you came to Beijing, you’ve heard of Happy Valley! Complete with over 40 rides – 10 of which are extreme rides, is one of the biggest amusement parks in Beijing. If you have ever been to Disneyland, you might feel a sense of deja vu and it’s no accident as it was designed to feel similar. If you’re one of the rare few who don’t like rides, then you can enjoy a day at the cinema at the seven-screen IMAX theater. And on your way out, you can grab a few funday trinkets at the shopping complex located on the grounds.

Chaoyang Park, Paradise of The Brave 勇敢者乐园

Address: 1 Chaoyang Park South Rd, Chaoyang District 朝阳区农展馆南路1号
Opening hours: Daily 6 am-10 pm (last entry at 9 pm)
Price: RMB 70Beijing is quite the sight to see in its full summer glory. Chaoyang Park, in particular, complete with its nature, walks, trees, and pools, is a particular delight for any family. At Paradise of the Brave, kids can enjoy playing in the tree canopy games, while the adults can indulge in a little grownup-size fun on the massive party bike with a bottle or can of your favorite drink.

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Crab Island 蟹岛绿色生态度假村

Address: 1 Crab Island Road, Chaoyang District 朝阳区1号蟹岛路
Opening Hours: Daily 10 am-5 pm
Price: RMB 78If you’re looking for a hotel holiday experience within the city, then Crab Island Carnival might be it. Complete with hotels and conference centers, this amusement park also has a water park, horse-riding club, go-carting facility, and farm. Depending on whether you are jelly-jointed or have nerves of steel, there are corresponding rides for your level of courage. You can choose to buy an all-inclusive ticket, which allows you access to ten out of twelve possible rides or can choose to purchase tickets at every individual ride, which might work out as more expensive. It’s is a smaller park, so more manageable when trying to keep track of the entire family if everyone decides to do their own thing.

Green Island Paradise 绿岛乐园

Address: South Section of Songliang Road, Tongzhou District 通州区通州大运河森林旅游区
Opening hours: Daily 9 am-5 pm
Price: RMB 180So maybe your French Riviera trip will have to be shelved until further notice, but that doesn’t mean you have to go without the Riviera experience entirely. Beijing’s own Grand Canal Park which itself is a UNESCO heritage site with beautiful wetlands makes for a beautiful picnic, cheese, and wine by the river location, and if you feel adventurous, the entire family can head over to the Green Island Paradise amusement park and enjoy a wide array of rides.

Beijing World Park 北京世界公园

Address: 158 Fengbao Road, Fengtai District 丰台区花乡丰葆路158号
Opening hours: Daily 8 am-4.30 pm
Price: RMB 100A simple and cheaper solution to a world tour this year might be a visit to this park, but if you’re looking for thrills and excitement, maybe try another place. Beijing World Park attempts to give visitors a taste of all the world’s most iconic sites and monuments without leaving Beijing. All the monuments are made to a smaller scale, with everything from the Statue of Liberty to the Taj Mahal, and one would suspect a model of the original Notre Dame. The park is large, over 46.7 hectares, and perfect for strolls with the family. And once you have had your fill of the world’s monuments, you can indulge in a bit of shopping at the shopping, entertainment and dining section of the park.

Beijing Nanhaizi Elk Museum 南海子麋鹿苑博物馆

Address: Luyuan Road, Sanhaizi, Quan Country, Daxing District 大兴区旧宫镇旧忠路
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9 am-4 pm
Price: FreeGetting out of the stifling heat in the city should be a priority this summer. Beijing’s Nanhaizi Elk Museum to the south of the city offers a great chance to escape the heat and the concrete jungle, to see the rare 坡쨔 mílù or Père David’s deer, a Chinese antlered deer that narrowly escaped extinction and disappeared from the Chinese mainland for almost a century. The reserve is also home to numerous types of wetland birds, peacocks, and even mustangs.

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Photos: Unsplash, Flickr.com, https://line.17qq.com/,  PAMELA DJIMA

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