What do expatriates do in Beijing in December?
There are lots of fun things to do before the holidays:
1) Buying gifts for family, friends and neighbours back home in one of the many markets
2) Visiting one of the Christmas charity bazaars in the Embassies and drink hot herbal red wine
3) School Christmas events and Kindergarten Winter parties with Santa Claus for photo shoots
4) Company Christmas dinners in huge Chinese restaurants
5) Christmas luncheons form different ladies’ organisations
6) Buying more Xmas decoration for your home at the flower markets
7) Ice skating on frozen lakes in the city parks - on chairs or even bikes
8) Skiing on artificial snow on the slopes outside Beijing
9) Visiting Harbin-like ice sculptures just outside Beijing
and
10) Ordering a goose back home via skype.com (very clever!)
Most of the expats in Beijing fly to their home countries during the holidays. Winter is cold and very dry in Beijing (so dry that your nose might bleed). Most visitors do prefer visiting Beijing in spring or autumn. So if you want to see your family and friends, you might plan to go home. And those who don't, but don't want to stay, hop on a plane to Sanya island or even further South, to one of the sandy beaches of Thailand. Bangkok is just a five hours flight from Beijing. You need to book your flight well in advance.
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