Really Strange China (Part 4)

Let’s continue with our exploration of cute and unique China with these following examples…

Many people that I met were curious about China, but their impressions of China would end up with words like ‘communist,’ ‘pollution’ and ‘no Facebook.’ While many facts are true, the contemporary, living and multifaceted Chinese life is rarely heard of. 

-Tinyeyescomics

Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.

Disco Swimming Party

The Chinese have a great love for being together and having fun and partying. Often they mix singing, dancing, and (of course) drinking with their other pleasures. As any other normal adult would. Here, we look at a typical swimming pool and their weekend festivities.

And, yes… this is TYPICAL.

I, myself, enjoy swimming. As a boy we would swim in the ocean and in the various pools around the community. This was true whether it was a private club, or at a friends house. I have always associated Summer with pools, and I think that all kids should have the same kind of fond memories attached to swimming and Summer as I have.

After all, who doesn’t want to go have fun?

Beach Scene
Photo from the late 1940s and early 1950s of some gals on the beach. You can well imagine a nice day, some fine food and friendship. Not to mention walking and swimming along the shore. Such memories I have of those times.

Back in my middle school days, all of us kids were part of the YMCA after-school swimming program. When ever they had one of these programs, my parents were the first to sign us kids up for the classes. I became quite good at swimming, and that later turned into an asset once I joined the US Navy.

After school, we would hop onto a bus and it would carry us over to a nearby town for our lessons. I seem to recall that the trip would last around a half an hour, and the entire time at the YMCA might have lasted around three hours. I suppose that gave our parents enough time away from us kids for some private time. Heh heh.

The YMCA had an indoor pool, but we would also go use outside pools during the Summer months. I had friends who loved to swim in the rivers and lakes, but they were way too dirty for my personal sensibilities.

Swimming in the Summer
For me, my time around the pools pretty much looked like this. Even at the pool where we were a member, my parents would pay for me to take swimming and diving lessons. I learned well how to do many dives.

Being with friends and noisy kids is part of the swimming experience. And, you know what? I think that it is great. I really do.

There will be plenty of opportunities for other kinds of beach and swimming pool adventures in your future. That’s life. Some will be great. Some will be not so great. Some will have you walking on the beach hand-in-hand with someone you love and care for dearly. Some experiences will involve alcohol. Some experiences will involve a group of close friends, with music, food and other pleasures.

I think that the best thing about life is to enjoy it as it is happening.

What I mean is that time is short and it is fleeting. You need to know that if you are always goal oriented, you will miss out in the opportunities and adventures that lie all around you right now. There is a saying to “take the time to smell the flowers”, and that is very true, but the saying has become trite and over used.

Appreciate you life as it is happening TODAY right now. You might not get another moment exactly like this one in the future.

1960s swimming pool
What are your favorite moments when you grew up? Can you be evocative of them? Was your childhood like the movie “On Golden Pond”? Or, maybe it was like the movie “The Goonies”? Enjoy what you have while you are living it.

OK, now going back to China.

Yes there are all kinds of ways that you can have fun at pools and on the beach. Just like in the United States or in an exotic holiday resort. You can go to pools, public water and pool parks, and even have your own pool where you would invite your friends over for some fun and frolic.

Here is a micro-video of a Chinese public pool. There are some things to note.

Unlike the video above, this one isn’t so rambunctious. It is quieter and more peaceful. It is not designed for groups of people to party and have a good time at. It is, instead, designed to relax and have a nice spa-like experience with friends and family. You will also notice that there is a huge canvas awning overhead. This is typical in China and most gals do not want their beautiful white skin to get dark.

You will note that the water is not deep either, and that there is a bench all along the sides of the pool for people to sit up and rest within the water. In this pool it is sort of like a cross between a whirl-pool and a regular pool. It is a place to relax, while the other video was a place to get crazy and have fun in.

Studying with Roommates

Most colleges and schools in China are dorms where there are from four to eight students crammed into one room. It is cozy, and over time, everyone develops a very close bond together. I used to think that this was terrible, but once I started to make Chinese friends, I saw the advantages of this.

You form “tribes” or “families” what are self-supporting.

G-friends dorm room
It is common all over Asia to form close-knit “tribes” or extended family as part of close living conditions. Seriously, you cannot get much closer together than living in Tokyo or Hong Kong. Here is the dorm that the K-Pop group “g-friends” live in.

This is very important when you are away from home for the first time, and need to have friends and associations for support, emotional health and friendship. In China, having friends and family is of extreme importance.

Dorm room occupancy comic
The Chinese typically share a room with four to eight others. The American often shares with one other person, and the British get their own private rooms to themselves.
I’ve experienced student dormitories in three countries: In the U.K. I have my own private room with shared public space; In the U.S. I shared my dorm with one roommate; In China, I used to live with 5 girls in the same room. 

This lack of privacy must be shocking for some of you, but in a country with 1.3 billion population, space is always a problem. 

While there are many inconveniences for not having enough private space, on the bright side, sharing a room with someone also makes you learn quite a deal about communication, responsibilities and tolerance. 
 
-Tinyeyescomics 

Here is a typical dorm room scene.

You will note that the room is rectangular with beds on stilts that lie over the study desks. This is not everywhere, but seems to work well. I have seen other arrangements, of course. You will also note that, like college dorm rooms all over the globe, the students decorate it to their own personal tastes.

I particularly like the swing chair. It’s actually pretty popular in Chinese dorm rooms.

Japanese Invasion

There is a movement toward wearing traditional Chinese clothing all over China. I personally love it, and enjoy watching girls wearing their really cute outfits. Well, girls (all over the world) enjoy dressing up and wearing different outfits. From time to time you will see these girls getting dressed up in period fashion and Japanese fashion. It’s all pretty darn cute.

Here we have some Chinese gals getting involved in some of the Japanese fashions in Shanghai.

Pretty Crazy, huh?

Of course, you do need to put this into perspective. Any “invasion” from Japan is not about displacing traditional Chinese culture. Rather it is about enjoying your own uniqueness within China. You see, in China there is no such thing as “cultural appropriation” that is a bunch of progressive hooey that is all the rage in the United States. In China you can pretty much be who ever you want to, and no fat overweight pink-haired feminist is going to scream in your face about it.

That enables the Chinese to enjoy their history, and their culture without any disdain or apologies.

And they do so. They are very proud of their culture and when given the opportunity, they will happily don traditional clothing and be themselves. Here we have a girl from one of the Southern regions of China. I believe (but am not sure) that her culture is from the Hainan island area. (Incidentally, the women have traditionally covered themselves in tribal tattoos. This is something that is NOT carried over with modern Chinese ladies. They prefer to leave their bodies unadorned.)

You can see the cross-cultural influences from other ethnic regions within China here.

The headdress is borrowed from some central Chinese cultures, and the flower in the hair is from the South Pacific with a relationship influence (flower on the right if married, on the left if single). In the Northern part of China, you will see the ladies wear long dresses with coverings on their arms. In the Southern sections (where it is HOT) you will find them wearing mini-skirts and loose clothing.

OK. At numerous videos for this part, let’s go and move on to the next past which covers even more strangeness inside of China this month…

Continued-graphic-arrow

If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.

Links about China

Popular Music of China
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year

China and America Comparisons

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Articles & Links

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