Downtown Qing Zhen

Downtown Qing Zhen

Gentle Reader,

After dinner each evening, we walk on down to the Qing Zhen Town Square.  This is a happenin' place every night, especially once the sun sets.  People want to get out of the heat of their apartments and homes, and the Square provides a cool breeze, sometimes, and non-stop entertainment.

One can simply be an observer.  There are usually at least four groups of dancers/exercisers in the Square.  One is a group of largely middle aged or older women who dance choreographed routines to popular Chinese songs.  There are definitely "regulars" in the Square.  There is one women who appears to be about 80 or 90 years old, and she is always dancing away with this group.

Another group consists of a little more vigorous dance exercise, to slightly more upbeat music.  This group looks to be composed of people in their 30's through 50's.  I've dance exercised with this group a few times.  Some of the line dance patterns are relatively easy to pick up, others not so much.

A third group is the couples dancing area.  They have the loudest speakers, which we think are connected to the main public address system in the Square.  In this group, there are many couples:  several older women dancing together, some very elegantly dressed male-female couples, an occasional male couple, and single folks dancing around with their arms extended, waiting and hoping for a partner.  A very old woman dancing alone pulled me into this group.  She was a spectacular lead, and I was easily able to follow her.  The music from this group ranges from elegant waltzes to Chinese folk songs to what sounds like a Chinese version of the polka.  

There is often a singing group somewhere in the Square, too, with instruments.  We have seen a blind musicians group perform on at least two occasions.  One night a group of physically challenged musicians were singing.  There is a box provided for donations to these groups.

Keep in mind that the Square is filled with several dancers/musicians at once, and their music is playing simultaneously.  One would think that they would compete for audio, but everyone seems to just do their own dance/exercise, without concern for the competing music.

In addition, there are roller bladers in the Square.  There is always an advanced group of young kids roller blading in a circle, often led by a very tall person with a whistle.  There is also another group of novice roller bladers, again being instructed gently by a very tall leader. 

Also, there are many babies and toddlers in the Square, all in various modes of transportation.  Some are in a papoose sort of carrier, worn by parents or grandparents.  Some are in wicker type basket strollers.  We've only seen one collapsible kind of metal/fabric stroller.  Most mamas are simply carrying their babies around in their arms.  The Square is also a marvelous place to watch babies take their first steps, always with much support and encouragement.  The children seem to be given much more freedom here, often wandering quite a ways away from the parents.

Finally, anytime we show up a the Square, we very quickly draw a crowd.  Remember that this part of China sees very few foreigners, so we have been dubbed "the superstar foreigners" in the Square.  Often, a brave young person comes us to us and tries out a "hello" on us.  Within a few minutes, we are surrounded by a rather large crowd, most of whom are just curious about these odd looking foreigners who have come to their Square.  We have had people give us food, ask us out for Su Wa Wa, shake our hands, and generally engage us in a full range of conversations.  Cell phones are whipped out rapidly, and many want photos with the foreigners.  One night we had a man with a cell phone follow us a good way away from the Square.  We didn't want him to accompany us back to the apartment, so we had to emphatically bid our zaijian to him.  Another night, Scott and I were approached by a woman and two men in an alley.  This isn't nearly as dangerous as it sounds, for there are alleyways everywhere that shoot off from the Square going into the Triangle Market.  However, these three folks kept positioning us for photos with them, in a variety of photos.  The woman of the group was clearly in charge, requesting a variety of compositions with us.  A little bizarre, but adventure fun.  Students from our classes have posted video of Scott doing Tai Chi and me teaching songs on their version of YouTube.  There's also a video of Scott and I dancing to "You Are My Sunshine, " which is probably up on the Chinese YouTube (Baidu) site by now, too.  

All in all, the Square is a wonderful place to get some fresh air, feel a bit of a breeze, and envelop oneself in music and dance and socializing.  A good place to relax and just be...

Namaste,

Marianne/Bailing