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It's been a while since I've spent a decent amount of time in a Chinese park. Sadly, I don't live near any since my university's campus is a bit outside the city. But in the city, there are parts everywhere--some big, some small--and they're a gathering place for everyone around to come, be social, relax, play games, dance, and make music. If you want to experience the vibrancy of China, there's no better place than a park.
The park I used to go to in Shenzhen was only 5 minutes from my home and was fairly small. But it always had people playing sports or laughing with each other. Some afternoons, a group of friends (or I assumed they were, maybe they're friendly strangers) would gather and make music. It was nice.
Guangzhou has lots of parks, too. My favorite one is Martyrs' Park in the center of the city. The park is so big it's easy to forget you're in the middle of a bustling metropolis of 15 million people. Tall tress line the paths and walkways, large lakes provide a place for boating, pavilions dot the landscape, and statues of communist martyrs add art to it all.
I went back again to relax and read my book for the afternoon. For the first time in months, the air was clean and the sun was shining and it was warm. It was perfect park weather. I walked through the park, looking for the ideal, bug-free space. Finally, I found signs directing me to the Sino-Soviet Sino-North Korean Friendship Blood Sacrificed Pavilion. Between its name and the fact that I'd never been there, I knew I had to check it out.
It was huge. I wandered through the space, marveling at the high ceilings and architecture. I found a bench to sit on that was surrounded by bamboo and trees. A slight breeze blew. Soon, on my right an amateur group of musicians began playing their erhu, passing it from friend to friend. On my left, a group of more professional musicians began singing traditional songs from China's past. They had several flutes, erhus, and the singers all had deep, rich voices. I was bathed in music.
So I sat, soaking in the culture and the beauty of China, trying to focus on my book, but mostly taking peeks around me. No one minded I was
there. They, too, just sat back and enjoyed the afternoon.
**Apologies for the video quality. This was my first attempt at putting together several video clips and the whole thing was shot discreetly. Luckily, the sound quality it top-notch!
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Your uncle & aunt
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When we were in Beijing in Jan., on a Sat. early morning (8:15) and were walking through a park where people were exercising, playing games, dancing etc, we came across a large group of people who were singing. It sounded like Chinese opera with instruments. They had music sheets they were using. There was a conductor. There may have been 100 people. Our group of 20+ were trying to move forward to see everything and then a Chinese lady motioned to me and another lady to come with her. So as our guide said "Go" we did. Soon we were holding hands with Chinese ladies and marching/strolling around in the circle. Still not knowing what was going to happen! Then they switched to singing American folk songs and we joined in. More and more Chinese came into the circle and took our hands. Much smiling!! More men joined us. Lots of hugs as they joined the circle and we Danced! Too soon it was over. It was my best and moving experience in China. Now - the band music. There were violins, saxophones and maybe other instruments. Maybe 5 instruments. But because it was sooo cold one man playing a sax had his sax wrapped in a flannel blanket or sack. We have a picture of him. It was awesome and very memorable.