Suzhou Park

Our time is very quickly coming to an end. I read a blog about how once you leave an expat assignment you realize there was so much more you could have done and seen while you were busy living your daily life. I decided I wanted to have as few "I wish we would have..." thoughts as possible, so I asked a few other expats if there was anything in Suzhou they thought I should go see or do before we left. Just short afternoon trips that are doable with a toddler. While there are many places we would have liked to have visited in the country it just wasn't possible with a little one and constraints of vacation time. One of my friends mentioned Suzhou Park. I am very glad we went and checked it out. Such a good place for seeing what the young and old do on a lovely weekend.

Most of these activities I have seen from time to time, but never all in one place or at such scale. The warm temperatures must have brought out the crowd. I think these pictures really show what the older generation enjoy doing in their free time. I suppose I can admit there really are many things I enjoy about China. The "feel" at this park is one of them. Okay, enough babble, enjoy the picture show!

You won't find anyone above 6 practicing their ABC's in the park in the US, but with a system of characters it is not uncommon to see older men or women using these brushes and water to practice writing. I believe there are somewhere around 20,000 characters, but I think knowing 3,000 to 4,000 qualifies you as being fully literate.  Study up!

I imagine these people probably know many more than the standard and are attempting to retain their knowledge and demonstrate for others.

The kids fishing pond. Many moms, dads and grandparents spending the afternoon fishing with their little ones.

With as many people as there were fishing on this one day, I pictured workers dumping buckets of fish into the pond each morning.

They were fishing for goldfish!

So many people playing instruments, all of them older. I wonder if the younger generation will know how to play them?

The guy playing the bells took his part very seriously.

Also lots of singing, no Miley Cryus songs here.

If you look closely there is a guy without a shirt on. We were not sure what was going on. A massage maybe??? Whatever it was, he had a group of on-lookers.

There was also a large mass of dancers.  It was really pretty sweet.

Heels are a must anywhere you go.

The dancers and their audience.

Carnival Rides!

Clif asked if I wanted to take M on the ride, I declined after seeing some split pants ride past us.

Ummmm.....

 You could also find some people practicing their Tia-Chi.

 

And no matter where you go there is always some young couples canoodling!

 The only activity I did not snap a picture of is the old men playing games such as Chinese checkers. If we had more time I think it would have been a perfect spot to people watch. Suzhou Park is for sure a place you should check out before you leave.