Racing Through History at Beihai Park

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I’m always amazed by how much history is living in our backyards, and how little of it I actually take the time to explore. But with the weather finally turning warmer, and the spring flowers starting to peek out, the last thing I want to do is spend the day in a museum.

Enter Bespoke Travel’s Beihai Park scavenger hunt!

I recently spent the day with some friends running around the park frantically counting tiles, reading plaques, and searching for birds hidden in ancient artwork. It was the most fun I have had in a while and the teacher in me knew this was an ideal family outing to keep kids physically active and mentally engaged.

I reached out to Sarah Keenlyside, Bespoke Travel Company's founder, to find out how she came up with such an innovative idea. As has been the case for so many others, the pandemic had repercussions for the company, but necessity proved to be the mother of invention. 

When the pandemic hit in early 2020 we were told by the Beijing Tourism Bureau we weren’t allowed to organize tours, so we decided to create a do-it-yourself scavenger hunt that would allow you to explore the history of one of Beijing’s most fascinating parks in your own time with your own family or friends, making social distancing easy too, explains Keenlyside.

It took almost three months to complete the project from start to finish, but it’s been a massive success. Why? Keenlyside attributes it to the way they experience brings history to life.

When you make things interactive, tangible, and interesting, kids are much more likely to remember the small details they learn during this kind of activity, as well as get a huge amount of personal satisfaction and confidence from the problem-solving aspect of it. The feedback we’ve heard from parents is that their kids were still bringing up facts they learned during the scavenger hunt weeks later!

And the project spun off into other similar tours right here in Beijing. There is one for the 798 district, as well as a bike hunt called the Beijing Time Hunt, which is available on request. You can attend the public events where your family or friends compete against other teams, or schedule a private hunt for birthday parties, team outings or school trips.

Personally, I was most impressed by the way families were working together and the hunt appealed to all age groups. I saw teenagers enthusiastically racing around searching for clues and 8-year-olds passionately debating answers with their parents. That’s a pretty rare thing in a world where screens so often pull us all in different directions even when we are sitting in the same room.

You can learn more about private events by contacting Bespoke directly. But you can get in on the next public scavenger hunt for RMB 299 per person which will take place on May 4.  For more information follow Bespoke’s official WeChat account by searching "BespokeBeijing." WeChat message them directly at  ID: Bespoketravelcompany or email [e-mail].

Images: Bespoke Travel

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