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Beijing National Day School International Department
Beijing, China
BritishIBAmerican+4
Ages 12–18
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Quieter western district popular with families seeking lower rents. Improving metro links make the CBD accessible.
Monthly temperatures, rainfall, and sea conditions
Monthly family budget estimates (USD)
A Chinese-speaking expat couple or small family in a spacious 3-bedroom apartment, relying on local markets and restaurants, children in a local Chinese school.
An expat family willing to commute for international school access from a large Shijingshan apartment, using metro and occasional DiDi, with a part-time ayi.
An expat family choosing Shijingshan for space and value while sending children to a Haidian or Chaoyang international school, with a company car and full-time ayi.
Shijingshan is the most affordable of the seven Beijing neighbourhoods for expatriate families, and the one least oriented toward an international lifestyle. It is chosen primarily by families seeking maximum space per yuan, those working in Shijingshan's industrial or film-studio sectors, or researchers at nearby Capital Normal University. International school access requires a commute. All figures in USD; 1 USD is approximately 7.2 CNY.
Average monthly AQI (US EPA scale)
Yearly average AQI is 93. Best air quality Apr–Oct (best: Jul at 55). Jan–Dec air quality worsens due to heat, humidity, and dust (peak: Dec at 145). Families with children who have asthma or respiratory conditions should plan indoor activities during summer months.
Shijingshan is the least internationally-oriented of Beijing's seven expat neighbourhoods and the most authentically Chinese in character. The district was built around the Shougang (Capital Steel) complex — one of China's largest steel plants — which dominated the area's economy and identity for decades before being shut down and relocated ahead of the 2008 Olympics. The post-industrial transformation of the Shougang site into a cultural and creative park (which hosted venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics) has added a new layer to the district's identity, but the broader residential fabric remains deeply local Chinese.
The Shougang (Capital Steel) Park is Shijingshan's most distinctive recreational and cultural asset. The vast industrial campus — preserved blast furnaces, cooling towers, and factory buildings alongside new landscaping — offers a walking and cycling environment unlike anywhere else in Beijing. The 2022 Olympic ski jumping ramp (Big Air Shougang) stands as a striking landmark visible from across the park. Weekend markets, outdoor cinema screenings, and art installations populate the campus throughout the year.
Shijingshan's main limitation for expat families is its distance from the eastern districts where most international schools, hospitals, and expat amenities concentrate. The CBD (Guomao) is 25-35 km east — a 50-70 minute commute by metro or 40-60 minutes by car against traffic. This makes it an acceptable daily commute for motivated individuals but a logistical challenge for families with school-age children in Chaoyang-based international schools.
Shijingshan offers Beijing living at its most authentic — morning wet markets with extraordinary fresh produce, duck and noodle restaurants that serve generations of local families, no-frills barbershops, corner pharmacies, and the unhurried rhythms of a working-class Beijing neighbourhood. The absence of expat-oriented supermarkets means families need Mandarin language skills or Taobao fluency for specialty shopping. JD.com and Taobao deliver almost anything to Shijingshan addresses within 24-48 hours.
Shijingshan benefits marginally from its western position — the mountain ranges to the northwest channel cleaner air through the district more frequently than in the eastern plains, and pollution from Hebei industrial zones has a longer path to reach the western districts. Beijing air quality officials have documented that the western districts consistently record slightly lower PM2.5 than Chaoyang and Shunyi during the worst pollution events. The difference is real but not dramatic — winter is still challenging.
