Venue information
The workshop will take place at the Institute for Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所) in Beijing, China. Participants are expected to book their own accommodation Beijing. The workshop organisers are not responsible for organising daily travel to and from the IVPP.
- Location in Google maps
- Location in Baidu maps
Opening and registration
The workshop opening will take place on July 13 at 7pm in the IVPP main building (142 Xizhimenwai Ave, Xicheng District; see photo below). We will provide self-service food and drinks at the opening.
Registration for the workshop starts from 2pm at the same location. At registration you’ll receive your badge, confirm your fapiao (发票; official invoice) information, etc.
Late registration will be possible on the morning of 14 July at the conference room (see below).
Workshop location
The workshop will take place in the IVPP conference room (9th floor, Capital Industry Financial Center, 140 Xizhimenwai Ave, Xicheng District; see photo below).
You need a card to take the elevators, so unless you want to get some extra excercise by taking the stairs, please ask the TAs for help! We will provide power outlets for laptops and other electronic devices, but please bring your own adapters!
Lunch, dinner (only 14 and 15 July) and tea/coffee breaks will be served in the same room.
Gala dinner
The workshop dinner will take place on July 17 at 6:30pm in the Xiyuan dining room on the 2nd floor of the Xiyuan hotel (1 Sanlihe Rd, Haidian District, Beijing; across the street from the IVPP).
Travel information
Travellers from many countries are able to visit China without needing to apply for a visa. Please see here and here for further details.
Nearby hotels
In principle, any hotel with a good connection to the Beijing Zoo Station (Line 4) or ErLiGou Station (Lines 6 and 16) would be convenient. Here are a few suggestions:
- Xiyuan Hotel (1 Sanlihe Rd, Haidian District, Beijing)
- Guoyi Hotel (1 Wenxing E St, Xicheng District, Beijing)
- Xinjiang Plaza (7 Sanlihe Road, Haidian District, Beijing)
- Nikko New Century (6 Shoudutiyuguan S Rd, Haidian District)
Public transportation
The Beijing Subway is easy and convenient to use. To reach the workshop location, or any of the nearby hotels, from:
- Beijing Capital Airport (around 1.5 hours)
- Capital Airport Express to DongZhiMen station
- Metro Line 2 to XiZhiMen station
- Metro Line 4 to Beijing Zoo station
- Beijing Daxing Airport (around 1.5 hours)
- Daxing Airport Express to CaoQiao station
- Metro Line 19 to PingAnLi station
- Metro Line 6 to ErLiGou station
- Beijing South Railway Station (around 35 minutes)
- Metro Line 4 to Beijing Zoo station
Note that bags are routinely scanned at Beijing Subway stations. This is usually quick and painless, but there is a small chance that some items may be confiscated (e.g. aerosol cans).
There are plenty of taxis in Beijing and there are also ride-hailing services like DiDi (滴滴出行; similar to Uber) available.
Travel tips
The SMBE 2025 website has a list of practical information and tips for travelling to Beijing this July. In particular, the SMBE 2025 website contains instructions for setting up WeChat pay or AliPay, which would make it a lot more convienent and easier to pay for things in China.
Places to visit
There won’t be any classes on the afternoon of 16 July and you’re welcome to use the time to explore Beijing! See the Travel China Guide and China Highlights websites and below for some suggestions.
- The zoo and the paleozoological museum are both very close to the workshop location.
- Jingshan (景山) park is famous for its great view of the city center and the Forbidden City. Keep in mind that you need to walk up a hill to reach the park.
- Tiananmen square (天安门广场) and the Forbidden City (故宫) are close to Jingshan park. Keep in mind that you may have to queue for a long time to enter the Palace Museum. There are several monuments and museums around the square.
- Temple of Heaven (天坛). Symbol of Beijing, situated in a large park.
- Summer palace (颐和园). Located a little outside of the city center, it may take some time to reach （actually older than the old summer palace).
- YuanMingYuan (圆明园) park. The old summer palace, destroyed during the Second Opium War.
- Lama temple (雍和宫). Large Buddhist temple and monastery complex.
- Beijing Hutong / Sanlitun / Citywalk
- The Great Wall (长城) can be visited at several locations. It’s a little too far away to easily visit for a half-day excursion, but it’s a great option for a full day.
Be aware that Beijing can be very hot during July. Please take care that you stay hydrated and take enough water with you!
Nearby restaurants
- Taste of Guizhou / Guizhou Kitchen (Chinese name: QuanWeiDao / 泉味道贵州厨房): Expect spicy food.
- Xinjiang Islam (near Xinjiang Palaza): Very typical Xinjiang (Northwest China) food.
- Slow Boat: Good beer in Beijing.
- Great Leap: Also good beer plus great location.
- There are a lot of restaurants and bars at Houhai (后海), not too far from the workshop location by subway.
Workshop committee
| Affiliation | Organizing committee | Speaker / Instructor | Teaching Assistant | Logistics | |
| Joëlle Barido Sottani | Ecole Normale Supérieure | ||||
| Yindi Cao | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Meijing Chang | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Minghao Du | Ecole Normale Supérieure | ||||
| Louis du Plessis | ETH Zürich | ||||
| Sasha Gavryushkina | University of Adelaide | ||||
| Simon Ho | University of Sydney | ||||
| Eva (Yutong) Li | University of Auckland | ||||
| Xue'er Liu | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Arong Luo | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Zhaohui Pan | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Sophie Seidel | University of Washington | ||||
| Yutai Shi | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Timothy Vaughan | ETH Zürich | ||||
| Rachel Warnock | Friedrich-Alexander Universität | ||||
| Yao Xiao | University of Auckland | ||||
| Walter (Dong) Xie | University of Auckland | ||||
| Jiabao Xing | Fudan University | ||||
| Xing Xu | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Yuan Xu | University of Auckland | ||||
| Robert (Haobo) Yuan | ETH Zürich | ||||
| Chi Zhang | Chinese Academy of Sciences | ||||
| Rong Zhang | Duke-NUS Medical School | ||||
| Yinan Zhang | Chinese Academy of Sciences |
Questions
Please contact the organizing committee at ttb.beijing@ivpp.ac.cn.
