Outdoors, Ice and Night Food · 25 entries · 6 regions
Running the city wall, cycling the lake, cutting a hole in the river ice, and the skewers and beer that the evening ends with.
25 of these, grouped by region. The first line of each entry says whether you can take part or only watch; the last column gives the hours, the cost where there is one, and how much Chinese it takes. Or see all seven kinds.
2 entries
North China (华北)
| What | Where | When and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| You can join inShichahai Ice Skating (Winter) (什刹海滑冰（冬季）)When Shichahai freezes it opens as a natural rink, rougher and larger than the one at Beihai. Skates for the confident, push-sleds for everyone else. | Beijing | Late December to February, 9am to 6pm 60 to 80 yuan including skate or sled hire No Chinese needed |
| You can join inZhangjiakou Skiing & Ice Sports (张家口冰雪/滑雪)Chongli hosted the snow events of the 2022 Winter Olympics and has seven large resorts in one valley, with instructors and beginner runs at all of them. | Hebei | Winter, November to March Lift pass 200 to 600 yuan a day with gear Some Chinese helps |
5 entries
Northeast China (东北)
| What | Where | When and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| WatchingHarbin Songhua River Winter Swimming (哈尔滨松花江冬泳)Swimmers cut through 60 to 70 centimetres of river ice and get in. The club dates the habit to 1922 and the Russian Epiphany, and the regulars run from fifty to eighty-five years old. Watch; do not follow them in. | Heilongjiang | November to March, 6 to 8am; daytime demonstrations Free to watch; swimming means joining the club No Chinese needed |
| You can join inIce Sled & Ice Sliding (冰爬犁与打出溜滑)Ice sleds in three forms: run and flop onto it chest-first, sit and pole yourself along with iron spikes, or take it down a slope. The fourth version is just sliding on your shoes. | Heilongjiang | November to March, daytime Free if homemade; 20 to 50 yuan a go at a resort No Chinese needed |
| You can join inIce Top Spinning (Chou Bing Ga) (抽冰尜（冰陀螺）)A wooden cone set spinning on the ice with a string, then kept going with a whip. Children mostly, though the retired men are better at it. | Heilongjiang | November to March, daytime Free; a top costs 10 to 30 yuan No Chinese needed |
| You can join inJingyuetan National Park Hiking & Skiing (净月潭徒步与滑雪)A 96 square kilometre planted forest outside Changchun with 17 kilometres of ridge path, walked and cycled in summer and skied in winter. | Jilin | All year, weekends and holidays Entry 30 yuan; skiing 100 to 200 yuan for two hours No Chinese needed |
| You can join inAnshan Qianshan Mountain Hiking & Folk Customs (鞍山千山徒步与民俗)Nine hundred and ninety-nine peaks with Daoist and Buddhist temples scattered through them, walked at weekends by half of Anshan and finished in a hot spring. | Liaoning | All year, weekends; pear blossom in spring, red leaves in autumn Entry 80 yuan; hot springs 100 to 200 No Chinese needed |
10 entries
East China (华东)
| What | Where | When and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| You can join inJade Necklace (合肥环城公园跑步—”翡翠项链”)The ring park follows the line of Hefei’s old moat, so the path loops the whole old city. Local running groups use it; you find them through social apps. | Anhui | 5:30 to 7:30am and 6 to 8pm, all year Free No Chinese needed |
| Somewhere to sit and talkLeijie Night Market Food Culture (合肥罍街夜宵文化)A Hefei night market with several thousand things on sale and a local reputation for filling you up for the price of a coffee. | Anhui | 5pm to 11pm and later, all year 20 to 50 yuan and you will be full No Chinese needed |
| You can join inQuanzhou Ancient City Walking Tour (泉州古城徒步穿越)A walking route through the Quanzhou old city with challenge tasks attached, run officially for students in the summer and walkable on your own the rest of the year. | Fujian | All year; several organised rounds over the summer, 300 places each Free No Chinese needed |
| You can join inXiamen Mountain-Sea Trail & Huandao Road Outdoor Sports (厦门山海健康步道/环岛路户外运动)Xiamen’s mountain-and-sea trail and the ring road are open the length of the island, used for running, cycling and walking, and the city was named in the country’s first group of outdoor-sport destinations. | Fujian | Early morning and early evening, all year Free; bikes for hire No Chinese needed |
| Somewhere to sit and talkJinan BBQ (“Capital of Skewers”) (济南烧烤（”串都”）)Jinan grills over charcoal and cuts the meat large, and the beer arrives cold enough to matter. The city calls itself the skewer capital and Shandong grilling is usually traced back here. | Shandong | All year, 5pm to 1am, busiest in summer 60 to 100 yuan a head Some Chinese helps |
| You can join inZibo BBQ (淄博烧烤)Each table gets its own small charcoal burner and the skewers arrive part-cooked, so you finish them yourself. Then the pancake, the skewer and the dipping powder, rolled and eaten in that order. | Shandong | All year, 5pm to 1am, busiest in summer 40 to 80 yuan a head No Chinese needed |
| You can join inBund Night Running (外滩夜跑)The Bund riverside is Shanghai’s standard evening run, with a dedicated path. Several clubs meet along it; avoid the hours when the tourist crowd is thickest. | Shanghai | 6 to 9pm, and 5:30 to 7:30am Free No Chinese needed |
| You can join inWenzhou “Ou-K” Street Food Stall Karaoke (温州”瓯K”大排档唱歌)A singing contest held inside the food stalls rather than in a hall: the judges sit among the tables and raise their boards there. Scan the code and you are on next. | Zhejiang | Summer evenings after 8, during the contest season Free; you pay for your food No Chinese needed |
| You can join inWenzhou Night Street Food Culture (温州夜排档文化)Wenzhou’s night begins under the flyovers and outside the station, where the stalls go up as the heat goes out of the day. Menus have pictures, so pointing works. | Zhejiang | 6pm to 2am, busiest in summer 50 to 150 yuan a head No Chinese needed |
| You can join inWest Lake Running (杭州西湖晨跑/夜跑)The seven kilometres round West Lake is one of the routes Chinese runners actually name. Several clubs meet there and are findable on social media. | Zhejiang | 5 to 7am and 6 to 8pm Free No Chinese needed |
5 entries
Central China (华中)
| What | Where | When and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| You can join inNight Running & Cycling (城市夜跑与骑行)Zhengzhou runs at night, along the Yellow River dyke and around the north lake, organised through apps and group chats rather than clubs. | Henan | Evenings, 7 to 10pm Free No Chinese needed |
| You can join inCity Walk Wuhan City Walk (武汉)Walking the old Hankou concession streets, then down to the Yangtze bridge to wait for the sunset and the trains crossing it, which is the photograph everyone comes for. | Hubei | Weekends, afternoon into the evening Free to walk No Chinese needed |
| You can join inEast Lake Greenway Cycling (Wuhan) (东湖绿道骑行)East Lake covers 33 square kilometres inside Wuhan, and the greenway around it runs nearly 102 kilometres. Cycling it is the standard way to spend a clear day. | Hubei | All year; cherry blossom in late March, and autumn Free; bike hire 20 to 40 yuan an hour No Chinese needed |
| You can join inChangsha Night Snack Culture (长沙夜宵文化)Changsha does not stop at midnight. Crayfish, skewers, rice noodles and stinking tofu, at markets where people are still touching glasses at three. | Hunan | Evening until three in the morning 50 to 150 yuan a head No Chinese needed |
| You can join inYuelu Mountain Hiking (岳麓山登高)Yuelu hill sits inside Changsha with the academy at its foot, and the climb is short enough that people do it before work. | Hunan | Early morning and weekends; a New Year climbing tradition Free with booking No Chinese needed |
2 entries
South China (华南)
| What | Where | When and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| WatchingGuangzhou Dragon Boat Scene (广州龙舟景”扒龙舟”)Guangzhou’s dragon boat season is a sequence of rites rather than one race: raising the buried boats, cutting the greens, visiting the neighbouring villages, racing, then putting the boats back. You can watch all of it from the bank; the boat feast needs an invitation. | Guangdong | Around the Dragon Boat festival; the boats are raised in the fourth lunar month Free from the bank Some Chinese helps |
| You can join inYong River Greenway (邕江绿道骑行与散步)A riverside path along the Yong through Nanning, linking the parks and squares, with bikes for hire and organised rides on the national fitness day. | Guangxi | Early morning and evening Free No Chinese needed |
1 entry
Northwest China (西北)
| What | Where | When and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| You can join inXi’an City Wall Cycling & Running (西安城墙骑行/晨跑)The Xi’an wall is 13.74 kilometres round, 12 metres high and wide enough on top to cycle two abreast. Riding the full circuit takes under two hours. | Shaanxi | All year, 8am to 10pm; best at sunset Entry 54 yuan; bike hire 45 yuan for 100 minutes No Chinese needed |
Being There on the Right Evening
Most of this costs nothing and needs no booking. What it needs is being in the right district at half past six rather than in a restaurant across town. Tell our local team which city and which week, and they will say what is on and where people actually go.