Exploring Chinese Culture

In the parks near our house the Chinese gather for dancing and music in the evenings. Last night we decided to venture out and see what this was all about. We arrived early at a park that is located about 5 minutes from our house. There were many people milling around the park, many kids playing and adults in small groups chatting. The weather was perfect for an evening out. When we arrived there were some people getting dressed in brightly colored outfits with flowered headdresses. There were also people playing the drums. By the time darkness fell over the park there were 20-30 people dressed in brightly colored costumes and the festivities began. The men and women were dancing around waving fans and scarves in the air. At one point a group of about 20-30 people of all ages began a line type dance in another area of the park. We took several pictures, however it was dark and they did not turn out great. Next time we will try to take a short video to share.








After watching for a while we walked a short distance down the street to another park. This on was just as lively as the first. There were vendors on the sidewalks selling glow in the dark objects, Lauren bought a light up Frisbee type thing for 10 quai (Less than $1.50). We first came upon a group of 10 or so young men twirling nun-chucks. They were pretty cool to watch. There was another group of people doing some kind of line dancing and yet another group across the street playing drums and dancing in brightly colored outfits with umbrellas. All around the park there were groups of people engaged in different activities. We had a great evening and decided that we will try to make this a weekly event. We asked our driver about it and he said they gather every night of the week in the summertime. He said that it is traditional dancing and it goes back many, many years.


Lauren with her light up UFO!

In our community there is a large park that the Chinese people gather in every evening to practice TaiChi and dance. This is fun to watch, there are always many people milling around and children playing.