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Beijing International Bilingual Academy
Beijing, China
BritishIBAmerican+5
Ages 1–18
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Beijing's premier expat suburb with the largest cluster of international schools in China including ISB, Dulwich College, and BSB. Gated villa compounds with gardens.
Monthly temperatures, rainfall, and sea conditions
Monthly family budget estimates (USD)
A family renting a 3-bedroom apartment on the edge of Shunyi or in a mid-tier compound, one child in a local or mid-tier international school, using compound shuttles and DiDi.
A family in a 4-bedroom villa in a premium compound such as Yosemite or Capital Paradise, children at ISB or WAB, full-time ayi, DiDi and occasional taxi use.
A family in a 5-6 bedroom villa in a top compound, children at ISB or Harrow Beijing, live-in ayi plus driver, club memberships, and frequent business-class travel.
Shunyi is Beijing's most expensive residential district for expat families, driven by compound living costs and premium international school fees. Rents inside guarded villa compounds are high, but domestic help, food, and local transport are very affordable by international standards. All figures in USD; 1 USD is approximately 7.2 CNY.
Average monthly AQI (US EPA scale)
Yearly average AQI is 103. Best air quality May–Oct (best: Jul at 58). Jan–Dec air quality worsens due to heat, humidity, and dust (peak: Dec at 162). Families with children who have asthma or respiratory conditions should plan indoor activities during summer months.
Shunyi has been Beijing's premier expat enclave since the 1990s when international companies began clustering their staff in the gated villa compounds of the Lido-Shunyi corridor. The community is overwhelmingly made up of corporate transferees and diplomatic families — the kind of household where both parents hold senior multinational roles or one parent is an executive on a generous relocation package. The social fabric is built around school communities, compound swimming pools, and the rotating cycle of farewell and welcome parties that define expat life everywhere.
Shunyi's wide roads and low-density suburban layout give it more green space per capita than any other Beijing district. Olympic Water Park (Shunyi Rowing and Canoeing Park) — built for the 2008 Olympics — is now a public recreation area with open-water swimming, rowing boats, cycling paths, and picnic lawns. The adjacent Chaoyang Marryland Golf Course and Shunyi Golf Club are popular with the corporate expat set. Cherry blossom in April draws families to the Shunyi Flower Garden.
Shunyi's greatest lifestyle advantage — space, greenery, and compound living — comes at the cost of distance from central Beijing. The city centre (Chaoyang CBD, Guomao) is 25-40 km away, and without a car or company driver, the commute requires planning. Most expat families have a company-provided driver or rely heavily on DiDi (China's Uber), which remains remarkably affordable. Taxis are also plentiful and cheap by Western standards.
Jennys Kitchen, April Gourmet, and City Shop are the go-to Western-oriented grocery stores in the Shunyi corridor, stocking imported cheeses, deli meats, cereals, and specialty items at premium prices. Carrefour and Ito Yokado Japanese supermarkets provide excellent local produce and everyday staples at local prices. The Lido area — technically Chaoyang but culturally the Shunyi lifestyle hub — has a Walmart International, Sanlitun Village (15 min drive), and a steady stream of new Western-brand restaurants.
Shunyi's winters are long, cold, and dry — the defining seasonal challenge for newcomers. January averages -8 to 2°C, and while snowfall is infrequent (Beijing receives surprisingly little snow), the relentless grey skies, biting northwest winds, and coal-season air pollution combine to make November through February a grind. Families invest heavily in air purifiers and rely on well-heated compounds. The good news: Beijing's central heating (district heating) is excellent and switches on reliably around November 15, making indoor life comfortable.
