Here’s an open letter to my 6-year-old nephew, Bertie. I sent him a postcard after visiting Beihai Park in Beijing with a link to this blog post written on the postcard. If he receives it, it will give him a video to watch and some themed activities which he can access himself or with his class mates if his teacher thinks it might be relevant. I sent the postcard to him via his school.

This blog is part of a series on a similar theme. If you would like to read my other post from the Great Wall of China, click here: A postcard from the Great Wall of China.

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Dear Bertie

You got my postcard! The other day, I went on another adventure in Beijing. I visited Beihai Park but had to use the Beijing Subway to get there and it was complicated! The Beijing Subway is an underground metro system and the busiest subway in the world! You won’t believe how many people use it every day. I went deep underground, took the train, and had to walk for over 10 minutes to get out!

On my way to Beihai Park, I walked through some hutongs, saw some interesting statues, and walked past the Forbidden City before getting to my destination. Watch the video to learn more about these places:

I’ve made you a board game to bring together some of the ideas from my day trip. It’s snakes and ladders; you know how to play this game, right?

• Ask your mother to print this worksheet: Beihai Park snakes and ladders. If your friends are interested, you could ask your teacher if you can play it in class.
• Each worksheet is good for 2-4 players.
• You will need a counter to represent you. A coin or something small like a pencil sharpener will work. All players should have a different counter otherwise it might get a bit confusing.
• Ideally, you will need a dice for each team. If you don’t, you could use a coin; heads moves 3 spaces, tails moves 1 space. Alternatively, look on the internet for digital dice. If you are playing in class, you could use one of these dice generators: Dice generator or Dice generator (auto 20). They were built using Excel and probably won’t work well on any other spreadsheet program.
• All players should place their counters on the START square.
• The winner is the person who gets to the FINISH square first.
• When it’s your turn, roll the dice and move across and up the board.
• If you land at the foot of a pair of ladders, climb to the square at the top of the ladders.
• If you land on the head of a snake, slide down to the square at its tail.
• If you land on a square with a question, you must answer it before completing your go.

Need another activity? You could design your own island like Jade Flower Island:

• What would you build on your island?
• What would you grow?
• How would you get on and off your island?

Take care and I will send you another postcard soon!

Uncle Oliver x

References:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beihai_Park

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/beihai.htm

Are you a teacher? If yes, you might be interested in these adaptable games and board games, including a language dominoes template: Games and board games.