On Friday we went to Peoples Park in Nanchang. It is a huge, very beautiful park with lakes, many traditional chinese structures and gardens, and an amusement park with rides. The park is frequented by many retired peaple who go there to do various theriputic activities. Our guide,Sissi, yook us thee to see this because she says this is a big part of Chinese culture. We saw one group of women practicing a folk dance together. There was an area where there was a group of men with long brushes wiith a pointed brush on the end like a giant paint brush which you could paint on the ground with while standing up. They were doing calligraphy with water on the pavement so that they could cover the stones with beautuiful calligraphy without making a mess with chalk. The water simply evaporates. The elderly men got physical exercise as well as the spirtual exercise of expressing them selves with the poetry they made up on the spot. When Sissi told them that we were visiting from America one man wrote in Chinese "Welcome Americans" and another man wrote in beautiful english script. "Welcome to China". People are always very social and friendly everywher you go, especially when have babies which they love. A large group of people will gather around and oogle the babies.
Another group of elderly people were gathered in a group singing a playing folk music. There was one man with an accordion and another with a flute and a group of women signing. We joined them for awhile with them and had a great time listening to them. When Sisi told tham we were from America the man with the accordion suprised us by playing "Old Suzanna". Everyone laughed. You would also see men standing in some of the gardens or on the porch of some of the Chinese buildings doing Tai Chi.
While enjoying talking to these people it was really amazing how content and happy they are in their lives. It really made me see how much value Chinese culture places not only being healthy physically but also making the effort to be healthy emotionaly and spiritually as well. This is what Sissi was trying to show us.
The night before we went to the August 1st Square in Nanchang. Nanchang's historical claim to fame is that the first uprising in the communist revolution, called the August 1st Uprising,happened there in 1927. It is also the birthplace if the red army. Zhou Enlai led 30,000 people to form what became the red army. They took over the city for about 3 days before they were defeated by Chiang Kai-Shek. They fled into the mountains and Zhou Enlai joined forces with Mao Zedong and they started the Long March. They have a large memorial in the square commemorating the uprising. Growing up in the cold war and hearing about the Cultural Revolution all through my childhood the last thing I would have expected would be to go to China twice and stand in a square looking at a memorial to the revolution.
Another group of elderly people were gathered in a group singing a playing folk music. There was one man with an accordion and another with a flute and a group of women signing. We joined them for awhile with them and had a great time listening to them. When Sisi told tham we were from America the man with the accordion suprised us by playing "Old Suzanna". Everyone laughed. You would also see men standing in some of the gardens or on the porch of some of the Chinese buildings doing Tai Chi.
While enjoying talking to these people it was really amazing how content and happy they are in their lives. It really made me see how much value Chinese culture places not only being healthy physically but also making the effort to be healthy emotionaly and spiritually as well. This is what Sissi was trying to show us.
The night before we went to the August 1st Square in Nanchang. Nanchang's historical claim to fame is that the first uprising in the communist revolution, called the August 1st Uprising,happened there in 1927. It is also the birthplace if the red army. Zhou Enlai led 30,000 people to form what became the red army. They took over the city for about 3 days before they were defeated by Chiang Kai-Shek. They fled into the mountains and Zhou Enlai joined forces with Mao Zedong and they started the Long March. They have a large memorial in the square commemorating the uprising. Growing up in the cold war and hearing about the Cultural Revolution all through my childhood the last thing I would have expected would be to go to China twice and stand in a square looking at a memorial to the revolution.
