Shiji Park, Qingdao, Shandong Province 山东省，青岛市， 世纪公园
My daily walk to work started out through Shiji Park 世纪公园. It is a beautiful park by any standards and, although they over-manicure it (no leaf out of place in typical contemporary Chinese fashion), it remains a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.
I have included some photos of the park to show how it is utilized by locals and because its proximity to my apartment made it a significant part of my life.
In the early mornings, older men find spots in the park to crack whips. However, my favorite early-morning park behavior was when old men would find an isolated spot and yell as loud as they could. They would just...yell. I'm sure it was exhilarating and liberating. I can understand the desire to do this.
This guy played in the early summer mornings. After finishing Taiji, I'd stop by this spot and listen to him play while I stretched. He is playing the ruanxian 阮咸 and it was a delight to hear him play.
Taijiquan 太极拳. This is the group that I adopted (more like they adopted me) as I learned Taiji. In the foreground are the two teachers, both wearing white. They were excellent teachers and I remember them and the group fondly.
Our teacher in the front middle, purple and black. This was during my early learning days.
This guy had the best spot in the park. Secluded and beautiful. He was incredible too. Watching him was like watching leaves blowing in the wind, so supremely natural.
The park had very entertaining sculptures scattered around.
This sculpture represents my college rec basketball team. Skrubz Basketball: Leading the League in Technical Fouls Since 2006.
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