Ice breaker

In the middle of Beihai Park, on the lake that has now frozen over, two dragon-shaped ice sledges are racing against each other. Each sledge is being driven by five people, all armed with sticks used to propel themselves forward, and dressed in the traditional uniform of the Eight Banner Army from the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).

The performance is for our eyes only, as well as the occasional passerby. It is part of a rehearsal for a series of events that will take place between January 22 and 28 to usher in the New Year. And it is pretty unique, not just in terms of attire, but also in terms of activity; Skating and performing on the lake in Beihai has not happened for over a decade now, even though the lake has remained open to the public throughout this time.

However, this is not to suggest that skating and performing have never occurred in Beihai. Far from it - ice performances in Beihai have a rich history that stretches back centuries, and the people who work at the park are keen to emphasize this. "We really want to highlight its royal culture since it is a part of Beijing's history," said Yang Baoli, the Vice President of Beihai Park.

Soldiers on ice

According to Gao Wei, the Director of the Beijing Society of History and Geography, the ice performances originated from a group of Eight Banner soldiers, who received battlefield training on ice. "However, once the Manchus settled in Beijing, the soldiers' skating skills gradually shifted away from a military purpose to a ceremonial one," Gao said. During the winter, Qing emperors would head with family members and ministers to enjoy an ice show. Beihai was a particular favorite, though it all depended on how iced over the lake was.

Apparently Emperor Qianlong (1711 - 1799) was such a fan of this activity that he even claimed it was a national tradition, despite the fact that it was very exclusive. During his time in power, the number of players was around 1,000. This number then slumped to a few hundred in the late Qing Dynasty.

Typically, various types of difficult activities had to be accomplished as part of the performance. For example, people would have to shoot arrows while on skates. According to Gao, a great performance was judged according to both how well the individual skated, as well as how well the team were coordinated.

Heating up

Beihai was not officially open to the public until 1925. For people who wanted to skate, they would do it elsewhere and in inventive ways. "What they often did was to pour a pool of water on the empty ground and skate on it once it froze over. Basically they created a small DIY ice rink."

Then, when Beihai opened to the public, its lake became very popular for many people across Beijing to skate on. As an old Beijinger, Gao has happy memories of competing with other children on the ice in Beihai Park when he was only about seven years old. "What I used for sledging was a homemade wagon built from a small wooden chair with two iron bars attached to the bottom of the chair," he told us.

The ice rink was not just a fun place for children, but also a good hangout for youngsters looking for love. In the 1930s, famous writer Lin Haiyin (1918 - 2001), who wrote the book My Memories of Old Beijing, met Xia Chengying, a journalist whose proficient skating skills impressed Lin so much that they later got married.

Frost bite

Yet Beihai's ice rink also witnessed tough times, especially from the 1980s and 1990s. The ice rink officially closed between 1998 and 2002 and until this year, people could not skate on the lake. Wang Jinlu, leader of a pleasure boat team at Beihai Park, explained the reason for its closing. "Tourists were getting less and less, making the whole cost of running the ice rink, from the machines needed to keep it in shape to the medical facilities for emergencies, too prohibitively high to bear," he told us.

Fortunately, this year Beihai has once again opened its doors to ice skaters. Tian Huili, from the Beihai Administration Office, said that around 300 ice skates are now available. These have been added to the 20 bumper cars and 50 bikes on ice that have still been around throughout the past decade.

Thus, on top of the Spring Festival celebrations, things look like they are heating up once again in Beihai.