Pekin Accueil is the biggest French speaking Association in the city of Beijing. It is non-lucrative association, affiliated to the FIAFE which supports French speaking families who arrive in Beijing. Pekin Accueil’s goal is to facilitate their adaptation and integration into their new surroundings and helps them in terms of making friends, having a nice time with other families, joining cultural and sport activities together and finding their new destination comfortable.
Families can enjoy several activities with Pekin Accueil like for example Beijing discovery groups (Art, Culture, Market, Trek on the Great Wall), sports, arts and craft, music, writing, plays and trips. The Sport program offers badminton, tennis or body fitness. These trips are a great opportunity for walking around the Beijing Mountains, visiting some interesting places like the areas of the Great Wall and getting closer with the French community. If you feel up to know more about Chinese culture, you can learn Chinese calligraphy, songs, Tai-chi, Astrology or Chinese traditional medicine.
There is a spoilt for choice in Pekin Accueil:
A theatre group, a literary club, jazz band, chorus, music workshop, pottery painting, art school, cuisine and more activities are offered.
Trips and cultural visits are a great leisure activity:
One day a month the association organizes a journey to do sightseeing in Beijing. These Beijing trips usually take place on a Wednesday or Friday morning with French tour guides which is helpful to understand the Chinese culture better. Another interesting activity is to discover several markets and areas if you are living in Beijing.
This activity takes also place one time per month on Friday morning. If you want to enjoy cultural trips but also culinary and other leisure activities the last Thursday of every month, you can inscribe yourself into the “Club 50”. This club is especially for people without schedule with small children. One Wednesday a month, the “Beijing Pashan” brings you to the authentic parts of the Great Wall for a unforgettable trek.
If you want to become “unbeatable” about Art in Beijing, come and join the Genevieve’s group who meets once a month all the artists living n Beijing. Formidable discovery in perspective !
Interview with Céline Lamour:
President of the Pekin Accueil Association
“The Association always help families when they just arrive in Beijing which involves the basic problems at the beginning and the first contacts with other foreign families”.
Can you please introduce me the Pekin Accueil Association? What do you basically do?
Pekin Accueil is a non-lucrative and non-politic association for French speaking people living in Beijing. It is part of the FIAFE and directed by a board of 7 french ladies. This board is helped by 50 active members, all people are volunteers. The main purpose is to advice French speaking people coming to Beijing and help them meet together in order to integrate them well. For us, it is important that new comers doesn’t feel alone or lost in this new town. Our aim is to help them to understand Beijing and Beijingers, where to find what they want (school, doctors, grocery shopping, Ayi, driver, …). For that point, they can ask to our residences hostesses (or district) or “welcome hostesses” every Monday morning to our committee room.
Today, Pekin Accueil accounts for 300 families member. We have many opportunities to get together. For example, every month we organize a topic “café”, depends on the season we have too big family meetings or trips, evening parties (like Christmas’party). We also have a website (www.pekin-accueil.com) where they can find all the informations they need.
Each member receives our weekly newsletter in which all events are listed (activities, events, outing ideas, …), and once every two month we edit our magazine “Pekin Infos” with articles about our differents activities groups and feature articles (society, culture, tradition, journey, …).
Where do the different activities take place?
The evening meeting of Pekin Accueil usually take place in different hotels but we also organize pic-nics outside the city centre. We had one pic-nic in October in the Shunyi area so that families could meet together and have a nice lunch. We also had some Christmas events to celebrate together and we are always planning new activities and meetings which take place one or twice a month.
Who can join Pekin Accueil? Are a lot of French families interested?
We mainly organise meetings, sports and activities for French speaking people and their families but everyone who wants to enjoy our trips and leisure activities can join the Association. Sometimes we have Chinese woman who wants to practise their French or other foreign families but of course most of the activities are in French so usually, we have French speaking families. Most people are from France but also from Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg or Switzerland. The French community leaving in Beijing is big.
What type of problems do you resolve for foreign families in Beijing?
Pekin Accueil can help people with their domestic problems in Beijing such as hire a driver or some issues with the Ayi (cleaning woman). Personal advice to establish in China is also an important part like helping families to choose the proper School for their children or living areas. What we don’t have is legal help or the same representation as the Embassies.
The Association always helps families when they just arrive in Beijing which involves the basic problems at the beginning and the first contacts with other foreign families. I usually organize a “café accueil” for newcomers in January and during the entire year too. We answer their doubts and talk about subjects such as how to learn Chinese, what they should do in Beijing and other practical tips.
Nous contacter : pekinaccueil@gmail.com
Website : www.pekin-accueil.com
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