Scene on the Street

March 2009....Spring has arrived in Beijing

Society in Beijing, and I'm guessing the rest of China too, is very communal. If anything can be said about society here, that is it. People are always gathering together to play mazhan, cards, chess, etc. On the streets, women walk hand in hand or arm in arm, supporting each other both physically and emotionally. This is something I admire.
Free exercise parks are all around Beijing. No need for an expensive gym membership. This is the big park along NanxiLu...spelling remains to be checked.

Wash day is every day...these are the back doors. We don't see the front from the canal.
Shoe repair and keys made while you wait. Next to this vendor sits a woman with an very old Singer sewing machine. She does a brisk business during all seasons of the year.

Don't know what was for sale here, but the horse brought it. I always wonder where the horses go "home" to. Someplace on the outskirts of the city or just down the alley a little way. Not far from us is the only Drive-In Movie around (yes...as in the 1950's and 60's). Sometimes taxi drivers cut through the back streets near there. Then we get to see how fresh our eggs really are. Think about it.

With the arrival of spring came fresh pineapple, already prepared, one dollar. The vendors usually have a big knife and a basin. They whack the outer covering off with the knife. Then they have a v-shape cutter, as used in linoleum printmakiing only larger with which they remove the pitted covering, following around the pineapple in a diagonal path. My plan was to by one every other day, but then I got sick.

The outdoor bicycle shop operates in all seasons and can be found everywhere even along the side of a busy expressway. This one is by the canal along Jiaojiangqiao.
The children wait while the parents shop or run the shop. I asked if I could take her picture. She was pleased with the result. Most children are "only child" and because of that they get special status treatment. This little girls didn't seem to be one of the little empresses. When we walk over to Jenny Lou's grocery in the LiDu area, we are always beseeched by beggars. All during the winter a little girl has been there with her mother who "sets her on" us. We always give her something, but if we don't give her enough she chases us a block or two, screaming in a terrible

voice until she gets more. Then she puts her two hands together, bows thankfully, and leaves.

I took several shots of this woman making the scarf/ribbon dance along the stinky canal. I like this one because I caught it in full loop with the wash in the background. The sun hit all just right.

We often buy our fruit from this woman who operates a stall along a side street off Jiaojianqiao Lu. When I first arrived she tried charging Cathy and me high prices, but once she realized we live here they came down. There is another stall that operates out of an alley on the other side of Ozone. They don't rent a stall, so overhead is low. Food is good and almost free.

This gentleman proudly shows off the new motor bike he just bought. He patted the back seat, offering to give me a ride, which I declined. A wise decision I decided when proceeded to careen down the sidewalk, narrowly escaping a number of close calls. A few more minutes and he was a pro.
The canal, only recently half-frozen and half-empty, is now filled with water. All of the fountains and ponds have been filled again too. Last Saturday or something was "Planting Day". Grounds crews are out digging, planting, watering, et., everywhere I look. Soon the trees will be in full bloom.