Hey, everyone, I have been scanning through some pictures from my time in China and came across some pictures of Jinan sen lin gong yuan park which was one of my favorite places to just take a walk relax and chill amongst the locals.
This park is a mixing pot of different people coming together to take part in all kinds of cool stuff and it's great to see so many people in such a nice social atmosphere.
The park itself is pretty big, it would take a good couple of hours to walk around and that's without stopping to mingle with friendly locals playing ping pong or flying kites etc.
I used to come here around twice a month with my girlfriend and just enjoy a nice walk around the green forest areas and listen to the locals playing traditional music and doing Tai chi.
One day we saw a group of elderly people rehearsing what sounded like a Chinese opera and they were very good too, the traditional Chinese instruments sound great and it's nice relaxing music perfect for the park.
On most days you will find people flying kites crazy high to the point where you can barely see them and they have them attached to huge reels like you would see on a heavy duty fishing rod. Most people are happy to talk and there is never a shortage of friendly faces and new people to meet, they mostly like asking about the western world and comparing what other people their age get up too. They also love to sit in big circles under trees and play Chinese card games and Majong amongst others, it's actually very entertaining to watch even if you don't understand the rules as they are very passionate about their games especially if there is some money on the line when the police aren't looking.
One of my favorite things about Chinese parks is the big groups of people playing Ping-Pong, Badminton, and basketball in the sports areas. It's a great scene and everyone is welcome to come and join in and have a go even if you haven't played before. The people playing Ping-Pong and badminton were awesome and were more than happy to show me the ropes and get a good laugh at a big white guy getting destroyed by a guy well into his 70s maybe even 80s. Luckily my girlfriend and her brother like to play too and they go a little easier on me but it is quite incredible how fit and agile the older people are in China, they keep very active and seem to be very happy, I think the elderly of the west could learn a lot from them. You will find an outdoor exercise area in most parks which have strange gym equipment fixed in place, there are a mix of cross trainer things and pull up bars and also lots of things I have never seen before like rollers which people rub themselves on to get rid of knots and tenderise their muscles, kind of like blue the bear in the jungle book rubbing against a tree.
Oh and be warned if you want to try and join in a basketball game they are very good and do not hold back! It's a huge sport in China and most guys young and old know how to shoot a hoop or two.
There is also a nice dove feeding area which you can visit and have birds land on you looking for food, they are not shy and if you hold your hand out you will have one take a perch on you for sure, it's a nice thing to do while taking a walk.
Beautiful gardens, monuments, statues, lakes, streams and more all perfectly kept to the highest standards, all with the great people, good music and other local traditions it really is an amazing place to witness Chinese culture at it's best.
I hope you enjoyed this blog and if so please give me a follow for more upcoming travel blogs. Thanks.
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