Feature
Changping
Haidian Tongzhou
Haidian From Chaoyang, Haidian District can seem like an entirely different country. And yet, this area is packed with universities and historical sites like the Summer Palace and Yuanmingyuan (the Old Summer Palace). Located in the northwest part of Beijing, Haidian is also China’s answer to Silicon Valley. Tech giants like Baidu, Youku, Lenovo, Oracle, and Microsoft have headquarters there, and alectronics markets like Zhongguancun E-Plaza hawk all manner of computers, phones, cameras, hardware, software, MP3 players, and accessories.
Chris and Sarah Willford Children: Chris and Sarah Willford, and their kids Amelia (age 9), Lauren (age 6), Edie (age 4), and David (9 months) Background: Hailing from the US, the Willfords have lived in Beijing for one year. Chris is a professor of international politics, American government, and international political economy at the University of Colorado’s International College of Beijing (located within China Agricultural University). Sarah is a stayat-home mom.
Where do you live? We live on the campus of China Agricultural University (CAU). We wanted to live near where Chris teaches; the university also helps subsidize our housing. Have you lived elsewhere in Beijing? In 2005, we lived on campus at Renmin University, where Chris was teaching. We prefer living at CAU because the apartments are newer and more conducive to family life; the housing is also cheaper than around Renmin. How often do you go into the city? We go within Fourth Ring Road about three times a week. We visit friends, and tourist attractions like Lama Temple, Taoranting Park, and Tiananmen Square. We attend church every Sunday near Liufang Station within Third Ring Road. We like restaurants like Kro’s Nest and Haidilao. Sometimes, we go to the Pearl Market or shop for electronics and clothes at markets in Zhongguancun.
The Willfords love living on China Agricultural University’s campus
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beijingkids
2013 July
Where do your kids go to school? Sarah homeschools our children using the K12 curriculum. K12 was our backup plan, but it became [Plan A] after we got to know the curriculum and discovered it was much cheaper to homeschool, with three school-aged children [in the house].
photo: mitchell pe masilun
How do you get around? We are bus and subway people. Since we have six people in our family, taxis will not pick us up. We’ll also take bike rides for short trips to parks or stores.