A walk in the park

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We have had glorious weather recently: blue skies with daytime highs in the low 20's (low 70's Fahrenheit.) Too nice to stay inside. This morning I rode my bike over to Tanhua Temple Park 昙花寺公园 to listen to music and read my book, to let my pineal gland benefit from the strong sunlight. 

 

Entrance is not imposing, set back away from traffic and noise. (Below left.) Small parking lot accommodates visitors cars. No tour busses come here. Locals outnumber tourists. No bilingual signage; they seldom receive foreigners. As of National Day this year, (November first) the park was "adopted" by a local civic group and now has no entrance fee. People wearing red sashes or arm-bands can be seen inside repairing things and tidying up. Some seem to be doing "light" gardening. The place always has plenty of flowers. Once inside the gates, you are immediately met with colorful sample.  (Please click the photos to enlarge them.)

 

     

 

 

Sometimes they have prepared floral exhibits and special events, but none were going on today. Sometimes in the evening they have musical performances. Today it was not at all crowded; I only saw a few people doing small-scale folk dancing and practicing Tai Chi in twos and threes. Some trees had fall-colored golden leaves. 

 

   

 

 

This park has several parts, widely spread out. If you wander without a set plan, you pass through open areas and shaded courtyards, see statues and carvings. It doesn't take long before you can smell burning incense. 

 

     

 

 

Several secluded temples dot the park. Today I just visited one. It has a large collection of luohan 罗汉。(Arhat in English; close disciples of Buddha.)  

 

      

 

 

Can pray in front of the various statues as well as make offerings. Incense and candles must stay outside in designated safe areas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kunming has flowers year round, different ones at different times and in different locations. These are the famous camellias 茶花。Sometimes they are larger. Lots of people come here with their children or grandchildren. People play musical instruments and sing. I don't think amplifiers are allowed. 

 

 

     

 

 

Several reflecting pools with nearby gazebos where one can sip tea or eat a snack. I sat here a while and two middle-aged ladies who were tending a bundled up baby gave me half of a boiled sweet potato. These are a specialty in the area. They made sure I knew it had to be peeled. 

 

 

 

Here's a link to a previous visit to the same place a couple of years ago. At that time I explored it more fully and wrote a more comprehensive report: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/55348-a-minor-kunming-park-昙花寺公园/ 

 

[mungouk]

4 hours ago, abcdefg said:

daytime highs in the low 20's

 

Damn, I need to move South.

 

 

(And yes I know, it's going to get a lot colder soon...)

 

Edit: now snowing ❅ ❄️?

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, mungouk said:

Damn, I need to move South.

 

I'll gladly show you around Tanhua Temple Park!

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In the interest of full disclosure, yesterday the weather turned cold. Night-time lows of 4 or 5 degrees (mid and high 30's) and today the sky is gray with forecast of light rain for tomorrow. Kunming is pretty most of the time and the weather is reputed to be the best in China, but it's not something picture perfect out of Walt Disney movie. 

 

These cooler temps mean long johns as a base layer when you get up in the morning, even before going out. Sweater, gloves, hat, and scarf plus a thick coat make you ready for outside. Today I'm even bundled up inside the house. A steaming bowl of chicken and daikon radish soup hit the spot last night. 鸡肉炖白萝卜。Look forward to the leftovers tonight.  Good cold-weather comfort food. 

 

In Kunming during winter it's customary to use these double-walled 双层中空 stainless steel 不锈钢 soup bowls 汤碗 for meals. Ordinary homes are not insulated or heated and using these keeps the food warm long enough that you don't have to wolf it straight down to keep the last bites from being tepid. They are made with air space between the two metal layers to serve as insulation 隔热。Had not seen them before moving to China. Don't know if they are common in other parts of the country. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flickserve]

It's 18 degrees C in HK daytime and people are wearing coats.

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Haha! I guess it's all relative to what people are used to. My cleaning lady came over today to 打扫卫生. She's a middle-aged Kunming native 老昆明人。Was wearing about 17 layers of everything; looked like she was ready to step out in Harbin to build a snow castle. She always gives me a motherly lecture about dressing more warmly. 多穿一点衣服 is her mantra.  很容易感冒 usually follows. 

[Flickserve]

Additional information - quite a number are wearing scarves