Today we went to People's Park, which is only about 5 minutes' walk from our hotel. Strangely, even though it's called People's Park, it charges for admission. I think that this is easily justified given the good condition of the grounds, but both "People" and "Park" suggest free to me, and I find this triply ironic in a Communist country. The march of progress will not be stopped!
I'm amazed to report that some of my one year of college Chinese is coming back. I managed to ask a vendor: "Zhei shi cha bu shi?" (Is this tea?) and "Ni you leng de ma?" (Do you have a cold one?) before forgetting that "ba" is eight. 
Like all modern Chinese cities I have visited, Nanning has a distinct lack of free-running protein. That is, there are no birds, squirrels, cats, dogs, or any other animals visible anywhere. If you're an animal lover, that leaves only the protected carp in the park to feed. These people were slowly tossing out bread chunks to the carp, who made an orange boil of fish in their struggles to 
get at the food. I have some amazing video footage of this process. One of the concessions in the park is a costume stand, where one can dress in a variety of traditional costumes. Christine and Tara posed for this delightful shot.
These spheres remind me of the barriers around the Times Square subway station. I'm pretty sure the Chinese ones are hand-made while the American ones are built by CNC tools. 
Here's a sample of fun signs from around the park. 
2 comments:
Your comments are so much fun. I feel like I'm right there with you guys. I agree, People shouldn't have to pay for the Park.
Ah well.
Congratulations on your conversational victory.
Linda
Look out for those organisms.
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