A Walk in the Park

This morning we were up very early and decided to go for a walk in the park along West Lake.  Last year, I went for a walk very early in the morning in Fuzhou and was surprised to see all the activity in what we thought was a deserted park.  I really regretted not bringing my camera, so this morning, I did, to catch all the action.  And action there was.

Once we entered the park we found a group practising their ballroom dancing.

The setting was so lovely with the calm lake, the willows, hills in the background and the fabulous architecture.

 There were men and women practising their calligraphy with large brushes and buckets of water.

There seemed to be a group of them who would look something up  in a book, and then seemingly, try to replicate it, with a bit of critiquing on the side.

A group of older women were doing a disco version of tai chi.  That was very interesting to watch.

Boats began their daily journey ferrying passengers to the various islands in the lake.

The fan dancers didn't even seem to worry if they took out someone's eye with all the waving of fans!

 The park, and all public areas in most parts of China that I have visited, are all very clean.  There is an army of people who descend on an area and sweep up and wipe down everything.  This man was brushing the dead leaves off the bushes while another came with a broom and swept them up.

 The concentration was apparent at this card game. 

A group of children were getting their early morning martial arts lesson while their parents, and everyone else, looked on.

The repair men were working on the spouts for the dancing water, which goes off at certain times of the day to music.  Presumably, the workers knew the timetable and were not going to get an unexpected shower.

In the bustling park, little moments of solitude could be found.

 Last Tango in Hangzhou?

And finally, our new friend Mr. Yu.  He came bustling up to us so that he could practice his English.  He had first learned it when he was sixteen and was still refining his craft at ninety-three.  After a few moments of conversation, he pulled out a few sentences he had written down in order to clarify a few grammatical issues he was having, then he invited us to his English Conversation Gathering that he was hosting in the park on Sunday where people could come and practice their English.  Apparently, there was nothing better than having a few native English speakers in the crowd.

He was a lovely man.  It's encounters like this that make China so wonderful.