This is a quick message to all; a couple months ago I wrote about one of my favorite local spots, the Agricultural Exhibition Center (NóngZhǎnGuǎn) just off east third ring at the eastern end of Dongzhimen Wai Dajie. Right now they have their annual Chinese New Years exhibition, and it’s a great way to kill a …

Today, January 20th, is dàhán (大寒), “big cold” on the Chinese solar calendar. This is traditionally considered the coldest day of the year, and I won’t argue with that — it’s darn cold. So, on these deep winter days, I thought I’d share with my readers my favorite relief: a trip to a local hot …

We are in the middle of the summer travel season, and many expats are travelling to southern and tropical countries near China. Many of those areas have mosquitoes that can transmit malaria, a nasty parasite that can make people very sick. Malaria still kills about 1 million people a year worldwide — 85% of whom …

I think we’ve all had enough of depressing food safety articles, haven’t we? So, I’ve decided to provide a ray of hope and tell you about a Chinese restaurant chain that is extremely healthy, inexpensive, fun, family friendly, and clean (“A” rating). It should be #1 on the expat mag lists of Top Chinese Restaurants, and …

Weekends are for relaxing and “checking in” not only with yourself with with your loved ones. Here’s a nice tale my cousin emailed me: A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and …

I have a more casual section on this website focused on weekend activities and ways to recover from your stressful weeks and reconnect both with yourself and your loved ones. Now that winter is (quickly) here, I wanted to share with people a little-known local hot springs that my wife and I heartily recommend. It’s …

It recently occurred to me that I’ve become a bit of a Doctor Doom and Gloom, so I’m going to lighten things up a little. On weekend posts I’ll focus on what everyone should be doing; relaxing, reconnecting with family, recentering themselves and having fun! So, today’s post is simply a nice photo from my …

Wulingshan (雾灵山) is another of the many mountain daytrip options, this one in the north eastern direction past Miyun reservoir, about 2 hours drive using the relaxing and wonderfully empty Jingcheng Gaosu (“highway”). Wulingshan is nice to drive to when Beijing is very hot; the mountain top is quite a few degrees cooler, and the …

Baicaopan is a spectacular mountaintop view, and definitely worth checking out – but only in the summer season, and when highway 108 is finished in late 2009. Otherwise, do not go now! It took us over 4 tortuous hours to get there; once the road is done, it should be about 3 hours. So, here’s …

This was a pleasant surprise! Only 90 minutes by car from the Jingshi highway entrance at southeast 3rd ring, I was very impressed by the entire day. The drive itself was one of the loveliest in Beijing, comparable to the peacefulness around Mutianyu – and even better developed. Yunju Temple (云居寺 yunjusi) is one of …

This is a bit of a stretch for a weekend, but it’s definitely possible to fly there on Friday evening and have a nice 2 nights and return late Sunday, giving you two full beach days. (Qingdao is also drivable – we did it in 7 hours along perfectly fine highway, with rest areas every …

Are you aching for the beach? There are only a few close options; I heard Tianjin has a small private beach but got lost in the port area and gave up. So, Beidaihe is the best local option – and it’s not bad at all, very fun and yet still lovely. And it’s only 2 …