Ice a-muggin’

Surviving wintertime in Northern China involves finding ways to deal with the cold temperatures. Certainly Beijing is mild compared to some cities farther north, but it’s plenty cold to make a person dream of palm trees and maitais. One strategy is to actually find ways to make the cold fun. Last year I saw people engaging in a variety of icy pastimes on the frozen lakes of the city, and this year I gave it a try for myself.
I went with a friend to Qianhai and rented a thing I suppose you would call an ice bike. It’s kind of like a bicycle made to go on ice.
Lots of other people were doing the same thing, including this pair of monks. I was riding a bike just like theirs. It was definitely not made for someone with legs as long as mine.
The ice chairs with poles for pushing were also popular, and some people even got together in chains to share the effort.

And that’s a little video I shot on the ice.