Day 27 10-9

Today we are having make up lesson due to the national week holiday. Its a outdoor lesson for intercultural class at Yuyuantan Park (玉渊潭公园). We met at 8.30am outside KFC of West campus.

The lecturer taught us about the culture different between Chinese people and westerners, where they woke up early morning and have all sorts of activities in the park. Below are a few examples.

Dance while balancing a ball on the fan that they are holding

Swimming in cold weather, it was around 8 deg

There is a saying that swimming in cold water is beneficial to your health.

Tai Chi 太极

Old couple dancing together

Playing capteh and they are very good at it

The earliest reference of CapTeh dates back to 5th century BC in China. Later known as Ti Jian Zu or “kick little shuttlecock”, the game was used to train military men. Shaolin monks in Henan during the Tang Dynasty were also known to have practised the game to strengthen their martial art skills. It remained popular for about two millennia, from the Han (206 BC-200) until after the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the Song Dynasty (960-1278), chien tsu (jianqiu) meaning “arrow” became the game’s more popular name. This game as we know is also popular in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. The game is known as Da Caun in Vietnam

Badminton

A band in the middle of the park

Our lecturer told us that this group of people are probably former musicians or band members just having a casual meet up and perform some music. The audience all have lyrics book which allows them to sing along. 

(Note: they seem to be wearing a military uniform however the lecturer explain that they just chose a outfit where most people can easily get their hands on, therefore they probably have no connections to military)

Class photo

That concludes today outdoor intercultural lesson. Overall our objective today was to gain exposure to Chinese culture of participating in different kinds of activities early in the morning in the park.

That's all for today~ Till next time!