The day before yesterday afternoon, near the "wild ice rink" at Wild Duck Island in Houhai, an 11- or 12-year-old boy fell into an ice hole and was later rescued by the ice rink manager and amusement park staff. Fortunately, he was unharmed. According to Zheng, the manager of the "wild ice rink," as far as he knows, this is the fifth person to fall into the water since February 2 of this year, and the second person he helped rescue.
Reporters found that the conditions of ice rinks in Qianhai and Houhai are completely different. The ice rinks in Qianhai are all supervised by several managers, and the ice surfaces are maintained, while those in Houhai are all “wild ice rinks,” with much of the ice near the shore already melted and the river surface showing many cracks. Moreover, apart from one location with warning tape, none of the ice holes had any warning signs.
Wild ice rinks are right next to ice holes
On the west side of Wild Duck Island in Houhai, Zheng manages a “wild ice rink,” with a large ice hole just 20 to 30 meters to its west. “Quite a few kids come here to skate and play,” Zheng said. The day before yesterday around 2 or 3 p.m., while he was busy at the ice rink, he suddenly heard someone on the shore shouting that someone had fallen into the water. Upon hearing the cries, Zheng quickly turned to look at the ice hole on the west side of the rink.
“I saw someone flailing in the water,” Zheng said. His first instinct was to go rescue the person. “I didn’t even hear any calls for help—actually, people in that situation get so nervous they forget to shout for help.”
Since he operates an ice rink nearby, Zheng is familiar with the ice conditions where the person fell. “That’s where the water flows into Houhai. The water has been rushing there for a long time, so the ice is relatively thin,” Zheng explained. When he went to rescue the person, he approached on his ice sled. As he got close to the hole, he crawled forward. “The ice there is extremely thin—you can only lie down, and even then you might break through.”
Because the ice was too thin, Zheng couldn’t get too close to the boy in the water, so he just handed him an iron ice pick. “I gave him the pick so he’d have something to hold onto and calm down a bit. Otherwise, he’d just keep flailing around,” Zheng said. While rescuing the boy, someone from the “Jinfan Houhai Water Sports Center” on the shore also arrived and used a long-handled “iron scoop” to pull the boy out.
The entire rescue process took about a minute or two. “The water there is over a meter deep—it’s still too dangerous for a child. But the boy is fine,” Zheng said. Shortly after being rescued, the boy left on his own. Zheng noted that the boy had been playing on the ice alone, without any adult supervision.
Visitors have repeatedly fallen into the water in half a month
It is understood that there have been multiple incidents of visitors falling into nearby ice holes while playing on the ice near Wild Duck Island in Houhai.
At around 12 noon on February 2 of this year, right next to Wild Duck Island, an 11- or 12-year-old boy also fell into the water while playing.
Zheng witnessed this accident firsthand. “After the kid fell in, I wanted to rush over and rescue him, but I saw two adults had already gone,” Zheng said. Near where the boy fell in, two people were practicing ice hockey. They were the first to rescue the boy after seeing him fall in.
“One of the men handed an ice hockey stick to the boy, but before the boy could grab it, the ice under the man also cracked, and he fell into the water too,” Zheng said. Then another man quickly jumped in and pulled both of them out. It is understood that the boy who fell in was not seriously injured.
“It’s not just these two kids. As far as I know, there have been five people who fell in since February 2,” Zheng said. The boy who fell in the day before yesterday was the second person he helped rescue.
An operator of a wild ice rink in Houhai explained that the ice on the north bank of Houhai has melted quite a bit. “That side gets sun exposure—it’s the sunny side, so the ice melts faster.”
Most Houhai ice holes lack warning signs
Reporters found that at the formal skating rinks in Qianhai, there are several managers maintaining order. One rink manager told reporters that, for safety reasons, they water the ice every day to reinforce it. “We generally don’t have issues with people falling into ice holes—there are so many people around, and there are dedicated staff watching.”
The manager explained that the formal ice rinks in Qianhai will likely close in the next one or two days. “Spring is coming, the weather is getting warmer, and watering the ice isn’t effective anymore. We’re worried about accidents, and the safety administration won’t allow us to stay open.”
In Houhai, a wild ice rink operator said their rink could remain open for another ten days or so. “It depends on the weather—we think it should be fine. We choose areas where the ice is thicker.”
The various wild ice rinks in Houhai aren’t very large, but they don’t clearly designate areas for visitors. For just 20 or 30 yuan, you can rent a pair of skates or an ice sled.
Reporters found that the thickness of the ice in Houhai varies greatly, with many large cracks on the surface. On the north bank, much of the ice has already melted, forming large areas of “ice holes.” At the water inlet, there is even an area of several dozen square meters of open water. However, no warning signs were seen at any of the ice holes. Only on the stone railings along the shore were notices posted every ten or so meters, reading “Dangerous ice—do not step on it,” but they were hard to notice.
The site where the boy fell into the water on February 2 has now been roped off with warning tape—this is the only ice hole in Houhai with any obvious warning signs.
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City parks’ ice rinks closed, but snow and ice carnivals remain open
Shortly after the Spring Festival holiday ended, the formal ice rinks in city parks closed. Yesterday, reporters learned from the Beijing Municipal Parks and Forestry Bureau that, as of yesterday, for safety reasons, the ice rinks at Beihai, Taoranting, and Zizhuyuan parks have been shut down. However, the snow and ice carnivals at Taoranting Park and Yuyuantan Park will remain open until around the 20th. Meanwhile, meteorological experts remind the public not to venture onto river or park ice surfaces to avoid danger.
Although the ice rinks are closed, snow and ice activities haven’t stopped. The artificial snow areas at Yuyuantan Snow and Ice Carnival and Taoranting Park Snow and Ice Carnival are still operating, and snow activities at parks like Lianhuachi and Longtan Park are also ongoing, expected to continue until before the Lantern Festival. So the public can take advantage of the time to experience winter ice and snow fun again before spring truly arrives.