10 Ideals to Help You Enjoy Winter

Join a club
It doesn't matter if it's a sports club or a keep-fit course at a gym. Remaining active is the thing, especially if Winter has made impossible your usual pastime or hobby. Go for a sport with an indoor venue, for example skating at China World's Le Cool Ice Rink (see story page 18). Decide how much you want to learn, and make that your aim. And who knows? You might be a champion in the making. Alternatively, watch the English TV channel at home and involve yourself in taijiquan. It will keep you fit as well as warm.

Visit southern China or beyond ...
For those who hate cold weather and bulky clothes, fly south and you'll find warmer climes. This issue's travel piece on Myanmar and Thailand might tempt you to escape Beijing.

Discount shopping
At very least you can warm your spirits with shopping sprees to where bargains await-shopping centers and "bargain basement" places such as Hongqiao Market.

Flower markets
Some really good plants are obtainable during Winter, so take the chance to enhance your living quarters with beautiful blossoms that will flower for four or more months. Best places to find them: Laitai (north of Kempinski Hotel); Liangma Flower Market (south bank of Liangma River, south of Lufthansa); Puhuangyu Flower Market (1.5 kilometers south of Hongqiao); Yuquanying Flower Market (south-east of Yuquanying Flyover on South Third Ring Road).

The Great Wall-after heavy snowfall
It may be difficult getting there, but persevere because it's worth the effort. You will find the most fantastic and unforgettable scenes imaginable, so don't forget your camera. It's reckoned that only one person in each 100 visitors has seen the Wall covered by so much snow, so relish the experience.

Lake skating
Although skating on an iced-over lake is officially frowned upon, it's the most convenient way for city dwellers to experience the thrill-providing you steer well clear of marked, dangerous areas. Shichahai, north of Beihai Park, and Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace, are the two most popular places for enthusiasts.

Beijing Ice & Snow Festival
Newly developed skiing grounds scattered among Beijing suburbs may not be as top-class as famed Yabuli, near Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. Even so, they certainly provide good facilities and equipment, and offer much fun even to newcomers to skiing. (See this issue's page 12-13 roundup of Beijing's Silver Winter Ice and Snow Festival, now under way and running until the end of February.)

Winter snacks
Fun nights out are the more enjoyable when you indulge in sugar-coated haws on a stick (tang hu lu) and baked sweet potatoes (kao bai shu). You can also easily find tang hu lu vendors, usually selling their wares from the back of their bikes. The price is usually two yuan, but at SCITECH you might have to fork out three.

Stay in bed on weekend mornings
This is the most economical way to enjoy a few warm, relaxing hours. Hopefully your bedroom has a large window which faces the sun. Complete the lie-in to the background of your favorite music. Whatever else you do is your business ...

Hot-pots
Everyone knows that hot-pot (huo guo) is Winter's No. 1 choice, especially at gatherings of families and friends. There's nothing more pleasurable than being with one's family around a table, with everyone sharing the constantly replenished single pot. The spicy Sichuan variety of this superb meal is the most popular, though you can choose plain or spicy soup. It's as important to digest the unique atmosphere as much as the hot-pot itself.