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Comment (Last weekend the surface of Shichahai, also known as Qianhai Lake, was turned into an icy playground. The entire surface of the lake is divided into four areas, one small area and one large area for skating of any kind, another one for skating with skates only, and one section for ice hockey enthusiasts.
People can bring their own skates and pay an entry fee of 10 yuan from Monday to Friday, or 15 over the weekend. Alternatively they can rent a pair of ice skates for 20 yuan for unlimited time, with a deposit of 200 yuan.
For those who know nothing about skating, there are skate chairs on hire, contraptions that are probably unique to Beijing. The chairs consist of an iron frame with iron blades beneath. When you hire the ice chair or cart, you are given two iron poles with handles at one end and pointed tips at the other. One, or both people on the chair can use the iron pole to push the ice surface and make the ice chair move forward.
There are chairs for one to three people. The chair for two is ideal for parent and child but can also fit two fun-loving adults.
Skate chairs cost 20 yuan to hire for unlimited time, with a deposit of 50 yuan.
The surface of the lake in Beihai Park has opened as an ice rink, where skating on ice skates is banned but allows skating with a plastic version of the skating chair, which is lower, and a bizarre looking ice bike, is allowed. Here, the chairs can be hired for 15 yuan an hour, while a chair for two comes at 30 yuan an hour, and an ice bike at 50 yuan an hour.
The ice rink for the sliding chairs is about 30 meters wide and 50 meters long. The path for the ice bikes reaches from the south bank to the east bank of the lake. People can give back their bike and get back their deposit at both banks.
Park staff at Beihai Park said they measure the thickness of the ice daily to make sure it is at least more than 10 centimeters thick. Workers at Shichahai, which is the most popular of the two destinations said they needed to make sure the ice is more than 15 centimeters thick. The ice rinks opened on January 1 and will officially close on February 4, when the Chinese lunar calendar indicates the coming of spring.
Other places where one can ice skate or ice slide include Weiminghu inside Peking University, or the lake in Zizhuyuan Park, Haidian District. It is safer to ice skate at places like Beihai and Shichahai, where the areas near the bank, where the ice tends to be thinner, is sealed off with colored ribbons. It is inadvisable to skate after February 4, or on lakes that are not officially open for skating, such as the Summer Palace, Yuyuantan Park's Bayi Lake, and the lake inside Qingnianhu (Youth Lake) Park.
Another option is the city's indoor ice rinks, which are listed as follows:
Le Cool ice rink at World Trade Center. The ice rink is on the second level of the underground shopping area. 30-50 yuan depending on when you go; 10 yuan to rent skates for 90 minutes, with a 300-yuan deposit. 6505-5776.
Champion Ice Rink at New World Shopping Center. 25-38 yuan for 90 minutes depending on when you go. 6708-0055 ext 2869.
Ditan imitation ice rink inside Ditan Gymnasium. 10 yuan per hour. 6426-5144.
Ice rink at Xidan Cultural Square, 4th level underground. 25 to 35 yuan per hour. 6606-3283.
