Take-Aways

The world looks at the Chinese as a nation of workers. We imagine them sweating it out day in and day out like little busy and unstoppable ants. They do. But, more often then not, the ants also turn into some spectacular grasshoppers. Along Beijing’s lakes of which there are 6 major ones in quick succession from North to South, the grasshoppers are busy indeed and they really know how to take it easy. Along Xi, Hou, Qian, Bei, Zhong and Nai Hai or respectively West, Back, Front, North, Middle and South lakes, to the west of the Forbidden city, the capital’s urban gray gives way to nature and leisure. Admittedly, for Zhong and Nan Hai I can only imagine this. The areas are strictly off limits to the public and are reserved for the party cadres and ruling elite. It’s a piece of real estate that would convert anyone to communism. The remainder 4 lakes however, offer sufficient entertainment and insights into the world of Chinese leisure. Of course eating is a major occupation and I won’t dwell too long on it. It’s everywhere and it is constant, although Guangzhou is the undisputed champion in the field. In Beijing, it’s more ice creams and sweets, snacks and cold drinks. In Guangzhou it was a vast selection of the animal, vegetable or mineral kingdom. Guangzhou most definitely takes the culinary biscuit. A lesser known occupation and one that I find truly surreal is fishing. It could be because in western parks you are definitely not allowed to mess with the fauna but more so I think it’s the sheer numbers of “park” fishermen. I cannot even imagine how there could be enough fish in there to make it worth their while. They sit at the water’s edge with all the equipment of a professional fisherman and just wait. Rows and rows of naked belly men – men airing their bellies are a big thing in China, it seems like a major air-conditioning chakra – just chilling out. Then there is the exercise, Tai Chi obviously, walking or running backwards, which as ridiculous as it looks is apparently excellent for exercising parts of the brain you would not otherwise use and improving coordination, swimming, rowing, badminton and if you are an old man lots and lots of cards, majong and Chinese chess. The park is also an excellent place to improve your vocal cords as groups of people come together to sing traditional songs. A great place to improve reading skills as other groups come together to read texts as fast as they can possibly manage and an ideal place to learn new dance moves ranging from Chinese traditional fan dance to salsa and tango, as groups of people with no obvious teacher in sight follow each other in a line dance formation. Finally, they are also a good place to get massages, rickshaw rides and calligraphy demonstrations. But over and above everything they are the best places for naps, particularly in the summer heat. So, I think I will find a spot, stick my stomach out for the world to see and have a snooze.