In the afternoon, the laughter of children mixed with the music from shopping malls spreads on Wangfujing Dajie (St). In front of the Lego table in Yintai in88, several children are arguing lively over whether to use red or blue for the castle spire, while parents chat in the rest area; in Beijing apm, a little girl shakes several Pop Mart blind boxes, carefully selecting the character she wants; in the Insect Song Exploration Live Nature Museum(虫鸣探秘活体自然博物馆) in the New China Children's Store, a group of little heads huddle together, pointing at the crawling spider and exclaiming; in Wangfujing Bookstore, several friends sit around, attentively listening to their parents tell "The Records of Insects"; on Wangfujing Dajie (St), children are sharing Arctic Ocean's "Mandarin Duck Ice Cream" (double-bar ice cream) with their parents at the entrance of Beiping Ice Factory; in Joy Shopping Center, the Happy Zoo, a theme restaurant co-branded with Sanrio, has a long queue, and children are having lunch with "My Melody" and "Cinnamoroll"...
During the summer vacation, major merchants in the Wangfujing business district have launched a variety of characteristic activities, creating a diverse and integrated parent-child fun venue for children and parents. The reporter's on-site visit found that from cultural knowledge to interesting games, from special food to cool drinks, there is always a product, an activity or a space in Wangfujing during summer vacation that can meet the needs of "taking kids out", which not only allows children to release their energy, but also frees parents' hands, making parent-child trips more intimate.
Fun of playing: Building blocks create fairy tales, blind boxes bring surprises
Exiting from Jinyu Hutong Station of Subway Line 8, you can directly reach Yintai in88. The Lego store on the first floor is like a rainbow-colored creative factory. The shelves are filled with building blocks classified by color and shape, including palm-sized mini sets and half-human-high castle models. In front of the "building workbench" specially set up for summer vacation, it is full of "little engineers". Children are working together to build their own dream castle. Some parents act as "assistants" beside them, helping to find building blocks of specific shapes, and some rest on the seats nearby.
Walking further south along Wangfujing Dajie (St), you will reach Beijing APM Shopping Mall. The Pop Mart store on the basement floor is another kind of lively place. In the transparent display cabinets, blind boxes of various series are neatly arranged. Children lie on the counter, their little hands rubbing on the boxes. Some mutter: "I must get the hidden style!" Some will spontaneously form a "blind box exchange corner", getting to know new friends through this.
Fun of learning: The world is hidden in the pages, nature is seen in the sound of insects
In Wangfujing, if you want children to feel the joy of nature, walking further south to the Insect Song Exploration Live Nature Museum on the fifth floor of the New China Children's Store is definitely a correct choice.
Pushing open the glass door, the moist smell of plants hits. In the 3,000-square-meter space, the temperature and humidity simulating the tropical rainforest make children instantly forget the heat outside the door. The commentator in a white coat is holding a magnifying glass, showing the stick insect's invisibility to the children surrounded by layers; in the live exhibition area, colorful butterflies flutter in the net room. Bold children dare to let silkworm babies crawl in their palms, feeling different touches; in front of the specimen wall, from beetles a few centimeters long to giant moths with wings spreading nearly half a meter, accompanied by detailed habit cards, let children quietly remember these natural knowledge amid exclamations.
The Insect Song Exploration Live Nature Museum in the New China Children's Store has brought the natural classroom into the city center, while Wangfujing Bookstore has brought textbook knowledge into experience activities. The "Children's Reading School" specially set up for children here is like a three-dimensional fairy tale kingdom. From touch picture books that preschool babies can't put down to space exploration encyclopedias that older children are obsessed with, every book on the shelf is like a small door to a new world.
During the summer vacation, Wangfujing Bookstore also held various activities. Among them, the "Meet Egypt" activity site was full of children preparing to write their names with patterns on papyrus. On the other side, there were also two or three friends stamping their notebooks with seals featuring ancient Egyptian culture.
Taste of food: Old popsicles cool the summer, cute meals warm children's hearts
The joy of taking kids out is inseparable from the satisfaction of taste buds. When you are tired from shopping in the mall, you can go to Beiping Ice Factory on Wangfujing Dajie (St) to buy some "tastes of childhood". The glass cabinet in the store is neatly filled with Arctic Ocean double bars, red bean popsicles, and cream ice bricks, all of which are tastes engraved in the memories of several generations. In addition to classic styles, the store also has various innovative summer products and a polar bear photo spot loved by children, allowing both children and parents to feel a touch of coolness in the hot summer.
Walking further south, you come to Joy Shopping Center. Under the pink signboard of the Happy Zoo restaurant on the second basement floor, which is co-branded with Sanrio, clerks in Lolita skirts are distributing "My Melody" stickers to waiting children. Walking into the restaurant, it's like falling into a cartoon world: the walls are painted with "Cinnamoroll"'s smiling face, the seats are decorated with "Hello Kitty" dolls, and even the tableware is in the shape of various cartoon characters. When the theme set meals that children are most looking forward to are served, they immediately cause a burst of cheers: beef curry rice is made into the shape of "Cinnamoroll", milkshakes are decorated with "My Melody"-shaped biscuits, and "Pochacco" is "swimming" in the yogurt bowl. Children who are usually picky eaters become "big eaters" here. Parents can also order a cup of iced fruit tea, and occasionally chat with neighboring parents about "tips for taking kids out", enjoying the rare relaxation.
From the whimsy built by Lego blocks to the surprising moments of opening Pop Mart blind boxes, from the natural fun of facing stick insects in the Insect Song Exploration Live Nature Museum of the New China Children's Store to the cultural experience of pen point sliding across papyrus in Wangfujing Bookstore, and then to the sweetness of Beiping Ice Factory's double-bar ice cream and the cuteness of cartoon meals in Happy Zoo restaurant - Wangfujing's summer vacation embodies the vitality of "playing", the depth of "learning" and the warmth of "eating" in every moment of parent-child companionship.
Translator: ZHANG Yifan
Reviewer: ZHANG Xinni
