How to Re-Acclimatize to Beijing After Being Away For Christmas

Back to Reality: How to Shake the Post-Holiday Blues in Beijing

Margaux Schreurs | Jan 7, 2016 5:45 pm | Add a comment | 4862 reads

We're back and we feel a little bit like this sad dog:

Depending on whether or not you went away, January can be a really rough time to return to the city and go back to work. I know I'm still missing home and family, and wondering why the weekend is seemingly so far away this week. That doesn't mean that it isn't possible to get back into the swing of all things that make Beijing great. With that in mind, here are some suggestions to get over the post-holiday blues as quickly as possible.

Do stuff outdoors
Get out of the city on your days off. Enjoy the skies. Go skiing, or hiking, or even head to Harbin for the ice festival. If you're a runner, plan your next marathon. There's certainly no shortage of opportunities to run throughout the entire country in the next few months, and exercise is also a great way to get over your jetlag.

Book your next holiday: Spring Festival is coming up
We are a lot luckier than our friends living in Europe and America: Spring Festival is actually coming up really, really soon. Which means a holiday for most of us, and another holiday for those of us that already went away for Christmas.

If you haven't checked out the 2016 holiday calendar yet, do so here now. If cash isn't an issue, you can still travel for this week, whether internationally or domestically. If not, plan your next holiday for another break. There's nothing quite like booking a new holiday to get you over those being-back blues. For more tips on traveling from Beijing, check out our regular travel blogs.

Check out some new restaurants
We compiled a list of which 15 restaurants to check out in 2016, so you'd better get going if you want to check the whole list off. So many great new venues opened last year, whether in the fine dining category, casual, or cheap eats, there's no way you've already checked them all out. Unless you're the dining editor at a Beijing-based magazine, that is.

Retail therapy
While your wallet won't be too happy with this one, treating yourself to something nice might snap you out of it. Whether that is treating yourself to your favorite snack from home at the new Marks & Spencer store at the Place, buying something nice from one of the many stores at Sanlitun Village, or traveling to IKEA for some much needed nesting and cinnamon buns, go for it. Treat yo' self! You know you deserve it.

If you prefer online shopping, we also bought plenty of things online during our lunch breaks last year, and while it's not something we wanted to spend money on, we definitely are relieved to finally have invested in that air purifier.

Events, events, events
Beijing is full of events, as demonstrated by our buzzing Events section. Get on there, and find something you'll enjoy to keep you busy and allow yourself to find new hobbies and make new friends.

Explore
Explore the city! Be grateful that you get to spend your time on one of the most amazing cities on this planet (the most incredible one, if you ask us) and make the most of it. YOLO, as some 12-year-olds say.