Xian, China - Xingqing Park

Dear Family and Friends,

One morning, while we were in Xian, we went to Xingqing park. This park is the center of the city's activities. It turned out to be an incredibly fun experience.

According to our guide, many of the Chinese senior citizens come to the park every day for exercise and entertainment.

We saw some folks doing tai chi. They were very nice and even invited us to join in. We looked like a bunch of bumpkins compared to their smooth rhythmic movements.

We wandered up on a huge crowd doing morning exercises. Again, our guide encouraged us to join in.

Here is brother Larry getting into the action.  

Here is Chuck....uh not exactly stretching, but he was having a good time.

Then everyone ended up giving the person in front of themselves a nice shoulder massage.

In another section of the park there was an orchestra and people singing.

In the picture below you can see the orchestra leader.

She would also turn around and lead the people singing.

These folks were just standing around singing their old favorite songs.  They even had songbooks.

Just in case you have ever wondered what a Chinese songbook looks like, I took this picture over a man's shoulder. 

The most fun activity in the park was a group of people dressed up in silly costumes doing fan dancing.

They were having a great time all dressed up. There were many interesting characters.

Once again we were encouraged to join in the fun.  In the picture below, Chuck's sister, Carol is having a great time. She is wearing the light blue jacket. If you look behind them on the left you can see someone we all know and love dancing up a storm.

Before we left the park, we had a group picture.  

I think we rolled back about 20 years that morning goofing around in the park. What a fun way these senior citizens have chosen to spend their senior years. 

Love,
Nancy