Ahmir and I were taken to Zheshan park during the first week we were here by Rex and Neo. It is a twenty minute walk away from the centre and contains Wuhu's public exercise machines, a fine statue of Mao, many fairground rides, a few mini man-made lakes, a tower (from the top of which you have a 360 degree view of the city) and also a Buddhist Temple. Actually, during this first visit it was raining so I didn't get to see a lot of the park, but there are two photos here that give an idea of what it's like. I was particularly fond of this statue, but there were a few others on the way up to the temple that were nearly as good.
On Tuesday this week I returned to the park and got to see the aforementioned attractions on what became a two hour walk. I think I am going to have to reconsider this as a place to go for runs (the gym is fine but the scenery isn't massively inspiring). It is definitely large enough, with loads of steps and paths, to make decent running terrain - if I really tried, I could imagine I was in the Bourne Woods at home! This time, there were a lot of people there, mainly older men and women, and what looked like a traditional Chinese play was being held near the entrance. The actresses were dressed-up in elaborate and colourful costumes, and their audiences were crowded around them as though they were about to reveal a great secret (Chinese people really do have a very different sense of personal space to us Brits!). Unfortuantely, I was without my camera so I just walked past, listening to the tradtional Chinese instruments being played nearby, and stared just as openly at the actresses as everyone seems happy to stare at me.
On another occasion, Rex showed me Ting Tang Park (fantastic name). There were literally no other visitors in the park that day. One bloke was painting a Chinese dragon on a mural on a wall, but that was about as much activity that we found there - not that I am complaining. However, I was told on 'good authority' a few days after the visit that the little huts, which are dotted in the water of Ting Tang Park's lake, sometimes house prostitutes and their, er, clients, so perhaps my visit was unrepresentatively tranquil? This is a photo of me on one of the bridges at the Park. They seem to like zig-zag bridges here.
I am supposed to be going out now, so I can't blog anymore. It takes so much time to do this (slow connection here) that I can only upload pictures a few at a time. Below is a night time shot of Walking Street - very typically Chinese, methinks. x
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