Hooray! Beijing Builds a New Free Playground in a Public Park!

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We know the culture shock that many of us went through when we first landed in Beijing and discovered to our mild horror that many parks here require admission, do not allow picnics (or sometimes even for you to step on the grass), and are laden with money-making play areas designed to capture our kids' attention. So when a free public playground opened up in a new neighborhood park in Dongcheng District, I just had to go see for myself.

The Liangmahe Park in Dongcheng District finally opened last week after a lengthy renovation. Situated right across from the MOMA residences near the start of the Liangma River, the park is small and quite barren, except for the brightly-colored play area located close to the main entrance in the northeast corner of the park.

The playground is divided into two areas – one suited to toddlers under 3, and one meant for older kids. My nearly 7-year-old enjoyed himself for an hour, running up and down the larger open play area, which offers some simple climbing challenges with ropes and tires on the sides of low-inclined hills. There are also large circular rope swings and a sand pit.

Due to schedule constraints, we had to check out the park during the weekend, which meant some serious crowds. But even so, everyone had fun. There are also a few benches right next to the playground so you can get comfortable while keeping an eye on your kid.

Also noteworthy are be the public toilets, which are thoughtfully located right next to the play area, and which come equipped with Western-style toilets and are not just squatty potties! For the first time, I also saw a family toilet option with a changing table! Because the park is still so new, the toilets are in great shape. Let's hope they stay that way...

You can walk through the entire park in under 20 minutes, and for a longer stroll you can just exit the park and walk along Liangma River all the way down to Solana Mall. This new neighborhood park is totally worth a visit, especially on the weekdays, if you have little ones. Hopefully, we'll soon see more neighborhood parks like this one around Beijing!

Images: Ray Wu, Vivienne Tseng-Rush

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