Use this Mini-App to Check Which Parks Are Open and Book Tickets

原创 Joey Knotts theBeijinger

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At last, the weather has turned, and staying indoors, as wise as it is, suddenly seems even less bearable.

Fortunately for us in Beijing, the domestic fight against the coronavirus is now a downhill battle as the focus shifts from containing the internal spread to a fierce tackling of imported cases. That means it should be safe to venture out and enjoy the springtime as long as we continue to wear our masks and practice what Western media is now calling “social distancing.”

Not all of the city’s parks are open at present, but you can now keep up with 12 of the most popular using a WeChat mini-app. To find the app, search official accounts for 畅游公园 chàngyóu gōngyuán. In the account, click "buy tickets" (购买门票 gòumǎi ménpiào) and you'll be presented with a list of 12 Beijing parks.

Parks covered with the characters 暂停售票 (zàntíng shòupiào) are not currently selling tickets (tap image for larger view)

At publishing time, only seven of the listed parks (Yuyuantan Park, Tiantan Park, Beihai Park, Fragrant Hills Park, Jingshan Park, Botanical Garden, and Taoranting Park) are selling tickets through the app, but tickets are not currently available through the app for another five (Summer Palace, Beijing Zoo, The Museum of Chinese Gardens, Zizhuyuan Park, and Tiananmen). As such, you can use it as a reference for which parks are open before heading out the door.

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If you want to play it safe, the app also supports online ticket booking, though we found that depending on the user it may require a Chinese ID number (身份证 shēnfèn zhèng). If that applies to you, you will need to lean on a Chinese friend to book tickets ahead of time. Otherwise, choose your preferred park, fill in your name, phone number, and day you're intending to visit.

Parkgoers are warned that parks may adopt control measures to limit the number of visitors. For example, according to Xinhua news (bj.xinhuanet.com), Yuyuantan Park, considered one of the best for viewing Beijing's cherry blossoms at this time of year, has adopted measures to limit entries to 30 percent capacity and visitors must only walk clockwise around the park.

Additionally, for all parks, visitors are advised to wear masks at all times and maintain a distance of at least 1.5 meters from others. Moreover, visitors must have been in Beijing for the past 14 days and had an average body temperature during that time.