The Temple of Heaven is surrounded by some beautiful grounds that are open to the public. During the week, this area is heavily used by retired locals. In China, people are required to retire at age 50. With the huge population in china, this ensures that the younger people have some opportunities at jobs as well. Obviously, this means that there are a lot of retired Chinese people that still have a lot time and energy.
Most retired Chinese help raise their grandchildren. However, with the one child policy, there are definitely fewer children to care for. Many people spend their days in the parks participating in activities such as Tai Chi, badminton, dance and other forms of exercise. There are also groups that meet regularly to play cards and mah jongg and these games can get very animated! We were impressed by the number of people in the park and how many were participating in activities, especially the physical activities. This is something we don't see as often in the US.
In this photo: I think they are doing some form of Tai Chi
In this photo: between each pillar, there is a vigorous card or mah jongg game going on!
In this photo: Seneca joins the ladies during their "scarf" dancing. She was a big hit and had several of the ladies giggling (and then getting distracted and missing their steps)
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