THE  CHINESE

It may sound strange that in a country with a Great Wall, a Forbidden City, and a Terracotta Army that it's main attraction is it's citizens but I think that's the case.  There's over a billion Chinese and that's not counting the ones scattered around the rest of the world.  Fortunately they are entertaining to watch - and not in an "Indian Olympic Bag Toss onto a Moving Train Event" sort of way.  Children under the age of six always have a mischievous look and adults over sixty live a high life consisting of morning exercises, mah jong, and eating.  The age group in between is filled with curious and friendly people who are genuinely excited when the meet a foreigner and more so when they find out you are from the U.S. 

Every country has friendly people.  What separates the Chinese is their sense of curiosity and how quickly that translates to hospitality.  Even with the shyness of a limited English vocabulary, the Chinese will initiate a conversation - within five minutes you’re best friends and have a potential city guide or complimentary beer.  The best of the Chinese are the retirees performing traditional Chinese activities.  It won’t be long into your visit that you realize the distinctness of the Chinese personality and it becomes the lasting impression of your trip.

That said...
  • Embrace the Chinese: there’s 1.3 - 1.5 billion Chinese, 500 million of which have disposable income to travel to the same places you’re heading to.  In China you don’t visit the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, or the Terracotta Warriors...you visit the Chinese at the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terracotta Warriors.
  • Understand the context of “misbehavior”: those 500 million middle class Chinese didn’t exist twenty years ago.  With the rapid economic progress certain behavior continues: spitting, kids urinating in streets (there’s an “only in China” pair of pants that makes this easy), and homicidal drivers.  It's not that bad and this shouldn't override your view of the country,  
  • In Shanghai, be wary of people who speak English too well and confidently initiate a conversation.  The majority of the time this will be either a tea house or bar scam. 

SHENYANG - BEILING PARK

I stumbled onto an amazing nighttime performance in Shenyang's Beiling Park - there were marching ladies, dancing ladies, paddle boarders, marchers, jump rope leagues, and in general people everywhere.

Night dancing is some sort of a Chinese phenomenon - there is a cottage industry of dance videos but I'm not sure if this rolls up to a national competition.  I saw people dancing everywhere from plazas in major cities to open courtyards in the Tulou villages. 

TIANJIN - HAI RIVER PROMENADE

More marching and dancing but also some high quality under the bridge opera performances.  Tianjin's a great, under the radar spot to begin with, but there's still a lot of culture blended well with the city's modern rise.

HAERBIN - STALIN  PARK  AREA

Dancing to Russian folk music and a whip and top spinning game - two more unique aspects of Chinese daily life.  Retirees also seemed to make an afternoon of swimming in the river, laying in the sun, and drinking Haerbin beer - not a bad way to pass the day.

XIAN - MORNING  EXERCISES

On any given morning, at any park in China and Hong Kong the Chinese are out in full force to begin their morning exercises - it's not limited to just Tai Chi but a full spectrum of cardio routines and stretching.

While the Chinese are everywhere parks and plazas in the morning provide the most insight into the traditional retiree experience.