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Beijing's parks: Get up and go
www.chinanews.cn 2005-08-09 15:48:26
(Source: Washington Post)
Temple of Heaven
The grounds of the Temple of Heaven are so expansive that you need to
visit several times to see everything. The stone and wood temple was
built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty for imperial prayers for good
harvests. The northern end of the 660-acre park is semicircular while the
southern end is square, reflecting the Chinese belief that heaven is
round and the earth is square.
Just after dawn, light filters through the park's thousands of cypress
trees. Fields of lavender blooms are in great supply, and the temple
structures are resplendent in burgundy and blue tile.
For those interested in seeing who's doing what where, the grounds can be
hard to track. Hear the faint strains of a Chinese yodeler, and he'll be
gone by the time you arrive. But there are roughly designated exercise
areas, as a few early-morning rambles through the park make clear. At
that hour, the park's west side hews to more intimate scenes: friends
clustered with their bird cages swinging in the trees, both pet and owner
out for a bit of fresh air. In other areas, individuals take their
exercise alone, while other groups chant and clap.
The park's east side presents a very different population. The southeast
hosts the sword wielders. The Chinese words for exercise literally mean
"to forge steel with the body," and these words resonate when viewing
Temple of Heaven's groups of armed taiqi enthusiasts.
The northeast draws a far more soulful exerciser, where the waltz and fox
trot are carried out in grand style. Lu Mei and Xi Rongli graciously
dominated the waltzing on a recent morning. "We come almost every morning
to practice, for fun," Lu said. The couple was surrounded by dozens of
other less light-footed pairs wheeling around the open grounds in casual
separates and suit coats.
Farther north, Zhou Xilu held sway over a group eager to learn what
looked like a polka. "Most of my students are already retired," Zhou
said. "It's a good way for people to get out and see each other."
As these kinds of public spaces continue to change shape and diminish in
the modern capital, she added, the city parks remain one of the best ways
for people to stretch, fox trot, leap, spin and dance. "I'm very happy
here!" she exclaimed before dancing back into the crowd.
A bit to the north, in an alley just east of the Hall of Prayer for Good
Harvests, known locally as Bettor's Lane, the shady benches are overrun
with card games, Chinese checkers and chess played in big groups. I sat
down along one of these benches; I couldn't keep up with Beijing's
retirees. Several people laughed, and one commented that if I came to the
parks more often, I wouldn't be so tired.
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