Eric Demay

There’s an old chinese saying—probably that Confucius again—that goes: “Who walks a hundred steps after each meal will live to see its hundredth birthday.”

This wisdom of personal health and equilibrium can be perceived among the daily routines of many Chinese and the more I look into it, the more it seems to also tie itself to many other cultural traits (e.g. the importance of family, the community, natural harmony), which then all trickle down to basic common ideas of chinese philosophy.

It is then no so surprising then to find that the many parks scattered across the cities are places of physical and communal activities of all types. With more time of their hands, the elderly accompanied by their grand-children are probably the most active, present at sunrise or after sunset practicing tai-chi together, dancing routines or stretching exercises or also more sportive games like ping-pong, badminton or aki. It is heart warming to see these gatherings as more than mere workouts but also occasions to meet and be with others; and none are restricted nor limited, free to come and go as you may, everybody’s welcome.

The most surprising element—which clearly confirms how deep these habits are rooted in the chinese culture—is how parks now provide outdoor exercising machines, free of use by anyone. These straightforward machines work out many different muscles, allowing its users (again, a lot of elderly) to move, stretch and sweat a bit. We’ve seen many in city parks but in rural areas as well. Here are a few of them:

Tried them all and the most fun is the foot swinger, ‘tis like walking on air. All pimpled yellow plastic pieces are mostly to massage the muscles. And there were many more, including stationary bikes and a revolving stretching disc.