The project for my Design Ethnography class this quarter focuses on the experience of the elderly in China. This morning (Saturday), the class met at 6:30am to drive to BeiHai Park in downtown Beijing. The elderly in Beijing tend to gather in parks during the early hours of the morning to exercise and socialize.
Even at 7:30am on a Saturday, there was a lot of activity in the park. There were people sitting alone looking out at the lake, small groups chatting, and large groups engaged in more organized activities. Many of the groups had music accompanying their activities. Several times, I was invited to join in the dancing and I noticed others (presumably Chinese) being physically pulled into the circle of activity. These pictures show a group of three people playing a game where they tried to keep the "birdie" in the air by kicking it, a group of women doing a dance routine with red fans, and a band that was playing and dancing to "political" music of the 1960's.
2 comments:
What a fun class activity. I am looking forward to visiting the parks with the other old people when I get there.
When I was traveling, I enjoyed watching the older people in their
slow motion movements.
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