Biking in Beijing

There’s a Filipino-Chinese, Vancouver-born entrepreneur who offers half-day, full-day and night guided tours of Beijing on an electric bike in an innovative venture that is promoted as an eco-friendly way to experience the city.

Nathan Ang Siy, 32, moved to Beijing from Vancouver in 2007 to help out his mother Roxanne who had set up a tourism school five years earlier as the China representative of the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Roxanne and husband Conrad opened a tourism school in Vancouver in 1989 and with three branches in British Columbia, expanded to China in 2002 in preparation for the Beijing Olympics.

After the Olympics, the Siys decided to sell their tourism school to a public Canadian company and Nathan got ready to return to Vancouver where he earned an Electronic Engineering degree from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. But before leaving Beijing, Nathan thought of doing something different – he wanted to explore the city on an electric bike from Dongsanhuan to Haidian. 

Nathan was amazed by what he saw in his biking adventure and got inspired to share the experience with others. He postponed his departure from Beijing and established the Beijing Electric Bike Tours and Rentals in 2009. Today, Nathan’s company is widely known as a popular tourist option with a pool of eight English-speaking Chinese licensed guides and four assistants. Nathan is now settled in Beijing for good.

“Our clients are from all over the world – Canada, US, Japan, Philippines, Netherlands, UK and others,” said Nathan. “Half-day tours range from $42 per person for at least seven in a group to $61 for solo. Children under 12 may ride along for an additional $30. Full-day tours range from $92 per person (for at least seven) to $123 for solo. Children under 12 ride along for an additional $62. Evening tours are also available for $42 per person (at least seven in a group) to $69 for solo. Children under 12 ride along for an additional $30. We offer personalized and intimate tours so we limit our groups to less than 10. For a half-day tour, water is provided and for a day tour, a traditional Chinese lunch is included as well as attraction tickets.”

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Nathan said his Dongcheng-registered company is a major proponent of green travel. “We operate as green as we can,” he explained. “We utilize paperless invoices and electronic receipts. Our e-bike training and orientation are present through a tablet PC to reduce paper booklets and printouts. When charging our electric bikes, we supplement with solar power to reduce the load on the State Grid. On our routes, we take less popular roads to reduce motor vehicle traffic congestion.”

The bike tours are safe, fun and efficient. “We want to show our guests amazing attractions, sites off the beaten path and create unforgettable memories of their experience in Beijing,” said Nathan. “We zip through the city’s historical and cultural areas. We provide a unique perspective to city tours, a local viewpoint that can only be seen from a local type of vehicle. Beijing is becoming too urbanized and our tours show you what’s behind the modern buildings and glass architecture – the history, magic and culture.”

A half-day tour covers around 16 kilometers while the day tour, 23. The route is within the Second Ring Road of Beijing. “In cutting down the time spent on the bus in traffic of traditional city tours, the day e-bike tour covers five world-famous attractions and six off-the-beaten-path locations such as the moat around the Forbidden City, HouHai Lake and Nanluoguxiang which is known not only for its hutongs and courtyards but also for the cafes, bars, clothing and handicraft stores that line its laneways, giving a perfect blend of the past and present. Qianmen, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven and Yong He Temple are also part of the tour’s itinerary.”

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Nathan’s younger sister Noelle Cassandra, the Viva recording artist, is a much-sought-after performer and just finished a Sofitel stint for Christmas and Valentine’s. As part of her social responsibility, she donates and performs for the Dominican Sisters of Regina Rosarii’s Harp Hits for Healing album series. Nathan is married to Chinese TV host Mandy Wang who recently signed a management contract with a Taiwan company to pursue an acting career.

Nathan’s parents Roxanne and Conrad now live in Manila. Conrad, 58, plays for the Philippines in the ASEAN Chinese basketball tournament for his age group and has teamed with Lim Eng Beng and Kenneth Yap on two title squads. He plays hoops thrice and golf once a week. Conrad works in the family corporation Celeasco which was established by his grandfather and father in 1946 and supplies hardware for power transmission and power distribution utility companies. Roxanne is involved with the Dominican Sisters of Regina Rosarii and leads the Manila-based Curriculum Development Team that supports Nathan’s other Beijing venture in teaching English to Chinese. Nathan’s educational venture is called GET English which focuses on the communicative aspects of the language – speaking and listening – through the use of technology.

On a family note, Roxanne said she is also a full-time, second round Mom. “Three years ago, we became foster parents to a three-month-old baby with whom we fell in love and now undergoing adoption proceedings for her to join our family,” she said. “We call her Neveah Camryn. Her name is somewhat heaven-sent because Neveah is Heaven spelled backwards, which Conrad chose, and Camryn came to me in a dream because if you take out the first and last letters, the four letters in the middle spell Mary if you unscramble them. We feel that she’s a gift to us from Our Lady Regina Rosarii.”