Shanghai III - Renmin People's Square

Well, it is actually more like a botanical garden. At one point this park held over 100,000 people who were attending a rally in the 50's to celebrate Mao's return to power.

I was up early every morning and the park was just a few minutes from my hotel, so I would often wander around and watch the old people practice Tai Chi, sword and flower dances, and a whole other variety of exercises. Everyone in the park was doing something. In some areas you would see old men gathered around stone tables playing checkers with a crowd avidly looking on and commentating. Other large groups of people would be performing their Tai Chi in large groups while I would also find a solitary man or woman practicing alone in some shady corner.

It is a very graceful and slow ballet. I have heard it is really quite difficult and requires a lot of muscle control and balance. No wonder these old woman are so good at shoving people out of the way in lines. The whole show would all begin around 6am and abruptly cut off at 7:30.