Zijingshan Park

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Very close to our hotel, just a few blocks really, is a wonderful community park, a world away from the traffic and noise in the rest of the city. We have gone there both mornings that we have had free time, cannot seem to get there early enough to see elderly men and women doing the slow graceful movements of tai chi, but still get there in time to see other activities, such as musicians playing primitive music with ancient instruments, children riding scooter cars, and men engrossed in lengthy games of chinese checkers. Parks are the epicenter of all leisure life, and you cannot truly see another culture until you spend time in one. This park reminds us so of Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, where we would see tai chi at dawn, children climbing up on rocks during the day, and lovers meeting at the benches at dusk. Old men would walk briskly through the park at sunset in their pajamas freshly clean from an evening bath. So here, we have only seen one window of time at the park as we were only able to visit in late morning. Still, we are happy for that. We leave tonight for Guangzhou, the last leg of our trip, where we will get Jin's visa for him to enter his new home in the U.S.

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Photos

Bao Yelled "Had It First"
"Had It First"

Old Men Playing
Chinese Chess

Comments

[bao's la-la]

sumo?
why are there no pants on that tiny hiney??????? sumo?

[David Sawh]

Wonderful
Just great to follow you all in your journey. Jin seems to be doing really well.