CHAOYANG - Living Abroad in Beijing - page 440

On a clear day, you may feel less inclined to exercise indoors and feel the need to take
advantage of the blue sky and get out into nature. This is where clubs like Beijing Hikers
or Beijing Climbing Club can be saviors. They arrange a diverse range of fun and social
day outings to such places as Miyun or Shidu, and though their objectives are to explore
the outer wilds of the Beijing municipality, their starting point is Chaoyang, and usually at
the Starbucks by Metro Park Lido Hotel (simply known as Lido Hotel or Líd ū Fàndiàn,
www.hotellidobeijing.com ) . For prices averaging RMB400 per trip, you can have a refresh-
ing day out in nature hiking or climbing, all expenses included and all transport taken care
of.
EDUCATION
Inner Chaoyang might not have schools with the immense campuses like those out near
and within Shunyi, but it isn't without quality options. In fact, many of the schools here
are possibly more interesting culturally. Various local schools have long histories of accept-
ing international students, such as Fangcaodi International School and Beijing Ritan High
School, both near Ritan Park, as well as Beijing No. 80 High School, in Wangjing. Your
children will learn and grow immersed in the local culture. Programs vary as to how much
English is used, although by the higher grades usually all education is in Chinese.
As for universities, there are a few campuses in which expats can enroll. CAFA (China
Central Academy of Fine Arts, www.cafa.edu.cn ) in Wangjing is beginning to develop an
international name for itself. Most courses are still run in Chinese, but it attracts many inter-
national Chinese-speaking students for its fashion design and architectural programs in par-
ticular. Even if you don't intend to study here, the CAFA Museum ( www.cafamuseum.org ) ,
the college's gallery space, frequently holds events to show off the talents of its students to
the public.
Beijing University of Chinese Medicine ( www.bucm.edu.cn ) , is in the north near the
China-Japan Friendship Hospital, close to Guangximen (Line 13, exit A) and Huix-
injiebeikou (Lines 5 and 10, exit C) subway stations. This is a popular choice for interna-
tional students wanting to learn authentic Chinese medicine in order to return to their home
country to set up practice. There is no need to speak Chinese as many of the courses are
run in English. There is a Chinese-language course offered, which in part is tailored to open
doors for you to study TCM in its native language; however, some students argue that it's
possibly not the best choice if your true and sole goal is to learn Chinese. There are better
universities for that.