Tuesday 12 May 2009

Long Time No Blog

I've been having withdrawal symptoms from my blog recently as I've just not written anything for more than a week. The reason is very simple, the time I used to spend writing on my blog has been spent doing exercise or going out. There's only one thing I can think of to remedy the problem: get up earlier -- which for me, is easier said than done.

As of today the weather in Wenzhou has soared. It is literally boiling outside and inside the Web office the air conditioner is on full power. Although the heat is climbing above 30 degrees centigrade the weather is consistently beautiful. A couple of days ago Johann and I went to a local park just walking distance from my home. I couldn't believe I had never been before.

I have always thought that Wenzhou is a terrible place for two groups of people: the old, and the disabled. This is because quite frankly, the outside world is incredibly dangerous. The park was the first time I had seen a place that is suitable for all groups of people. It was almost like the whole area was dedicated to senior citizens, it was perfect. There were areas for badminton, massages (not the bad kind), Chinese opera, debates, Tai Chi, and of course sitting (something which is lacking everywhere else in the city). The children also weren't left out of the equation, there was also a small train running through the park, and a small play area.

I'm also quite intrigued at how every single temple I have visited recently seems to be almost brand new. There are barely any genuinely old building remaining in the city. I can only imaging these buildings were torn down previously and then in recent years it was decided to put them back again.

Here are a few pictures from the park:

Spot the toupee of the year on the man at the back (it's not a hat)

Grass is a rare treat in Wenzhou

The dog didn't like me very much

If only people took notice of this

Now I just hope the weather doesn't climb too much more before my sister arrives here in a few weeks.

8 comments:

Hang said...

Never been to Wenzhou. The park is not different from many parks in other cities in China. Good place for the seniors and children.

Jonna Wibelius said...

Parks are THE places for seniors all over China! If u have the chance, go there early in the morning one day, and you'll see them in full thai qi/morning exercise action!

Btw, I hope you are more lucky with me when it comes to your gym and the air con... it's getting quite hard to get that daily work-out done in this heat... especially without any air con! Still, this is just the beginning... July and August are worse... :/

大眼睛熊 said...

Hey poor thing, hope ur having a nice sleep right now!! I haven't been to Zhongshan Gongyuan for years, I'm glad u liked it so much! :)

mabelp said...

Hey Chris! Was that dog barking at you?

You said: "the outside world is incredibly dangerous." Why?

There're some parks near my home and yes, people like to do exercises in these places.

I can't stand the hot weather indeed, but the heat is clumbing above 30C here too. In HK, going out in June - Aug (summer) is a tough thing! Hahah!

Jenny King said...

Great pics Chris!!

Anonymous said...

Is it really wenzhou? How u doing there\? not seen u online much?!

Christopher said...

Hang, I hope you can take a trip to Wenzhou sometime -- it's not so bad :o)

Jonna, I'll have to drag myself up early and have a look at the park, I'd love to see that. As for the gym, at the moment it's not so bad, Wenzhou is a bit cooler than Suzhou I think. There is no air con on at the moment but it's just about OK. I'm certainly not looking forward to summer!!

Kimi, we'll have to take a walk around Zhongshan park soon, it might have changed a bit since the last time you went, I was surprised at how big it was.

Mabel, yes that dog was barking at me, I don't know why. He/she was interested in us but then went a bit crazy and ran off.

The outside world is dangerous mainly because of the traffic, crossing a road is almost impossible for some people. Also the pavements aren't maintained very well so people who aren't able bodied would be completely stuck.

Oh no, summer in HK is even worse than here because of the humidity. I remember when I came to HK for the first time in September it was unbelievable, I've never felt anything like it before or since. Good luck, hehe!

Sunny Sweet Pea, thank you so much :o) I really love my camera.

Alex, yes it really is Wenzhou believe it or not. Everything is great at the moment here, very happy again. I hope things are good with you too.

Anonymous said...

It may not be a good time for your relatives to visit.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=402029&type=Metro&page=2

You may have to cut and paste that link. But it seems Wenzhou and Shanghai have been exposed to swine flu!!

Be careful, we may be going home yet.

Alex