Beijing/China with family?

[TessDurbeyfield]

DH is working in Beijing at the end of August/early Sep and has mooted the possibility of us all (me plus DCs who will then be 8 and 5) going. I'm wondering whether this would be a fun thing to do or too stressful

His work would involve about a week of him working in the morning and then we'd all have the afternoon free together. Then we'd have a few days to a week free (including some things we'd have to do with the hosts). We did something similar about 15 years ago and I had a very nice time mooching around Beijing by myself and then seeing the big sights in the afternoons with DH. BUT China has changed a lot since then and I wasn't thinking about what would work for children so I'm trying to think whether it would work well.

Does anyone have any views on how well Beijing works for a family trip? esp:

1. Smog - I don't remember it being too bad but I hear it has become awful since
2. Attention - we are all blonde and I essentially spent my whole time out of the main tourist sites having photos taken with random people/holding babies. I guess there are more people travelling there now but then children are more likely to get attention. I'm not sure whether they would find this annoying esp if I am by myself out and about a lot
3. Is there a lot to do for children for that length of time (esp by myself)
4. Any good ideas for places we could do a few days side trip to?

Thanks!

Hi, I took my stepson and husband with me on a trip to Beijing a few years ago, my stepson was 10 then, and loved it.

Smog wise, it is still smoggy, it will also be very hot in August.it will have changed a lot since you last went, more traffic and less bicycles.
Attention - things have changed a lot since the Olympics. They are much more used to foreigners and you don't feel as stared at as you used to. They don't haggle as much in the markets since the Olympics though!
As for children, I'd take them to the bit of the wall that has the bob sleigh, my stepson loved it. Other than that I would pick somewhere with a nice pool and just let them play, or buy some cheap remote control toys from the markets and play in a park with them? I can't think of any particular children friendly attractions, but it sure there are.

I'd say it was definitely worth going though.

1. Snog is horrific (I travel to BJ quite a bit) Also traffic is insane so factor in travel time when getting around the city. August will be CERY hot and there's the possibility of sandstorms too
2. Blond hair on adults less of an issue. Kids will still be a source of interest though. The Chinese love kids and blond ones are still relatively rare there
3. The BJ zoo is ok, forbidden city, summer palace etc but not sure how old your kids are? Rather than do a short side trip you might be better off hopping to a different city

Hi, I live in Beijing so know the place quite well.
Late August will be very very hot, make it 30 degrees or above in the day, so it does not make an ideal time to travel.

1. Smog is often bad, air quality is regularly unhealthy so it is not great if any of you has asthma, although I know people who have asthma who have be fine there.
2. Don't worry about the attention, people will either be indifferent or friendly. You might have the odd photo taken but not that often.

I think there will be enough to do for you and your children but my reservation will be the heat rather than anything else. Hope this helps.

Smog is pretty bad. I'd not be dead keen on dc walking round without masks. i don't think people are stared at that much anymore.

And I definitely wouldn't go to the zoo - it's horrible, with a great number of animals showing stress behaviour and people banging on the glass to get the animals to react.

I was in Beijing last year for ten days from the last week in August into September, for work though. I was really lucky in that it rained the night I arrived, which cleared the smog massively and we had blue skies for quite a few days.

I'm not great with the heat but managed fine as it wasn't too humid and I visited the summer palace, Tiananmen Square, the forbidden city, the hutongs, and the Ming Tombs, and the great wall at Mutianyu - all very touristy but I only had 3 days outside of work. I just bought the lonely planet Beijing to make my life easy!

I think I was extremely lucky with the weather though - as the smog started to come back my asthma did get worse, though I had a special room at the hotel which had extra air filters etc so I had a break from it at night. I travelled with a blonde colleague and we were asked to pose in a few photos, but not too many and it was all very friendly. It was less attention than I had travelling in India a few years ago.

I think there's plenty to do - we used the subway a lot which was fine, if busy, at non commuter times. Not one of the taxis I took had seat belts in the back though so I'd be wary with my child there.

It could be really fun - I'd definitely consider it and ten days should be enough to get over the jet lag and do some fun stuff.