Today in Changchun we had our first snow of the winter. Fresh snow always makes me want to go for a walk, so I poked around in Nanhu Park and took some pictures.
The lake has frozen thick (or deep) enough for people to walk and skate on it. I think this is the first time in my life I’ve ever seen a frozen lake. I chickened out and didn’t walk out on the ice since I was at the park by myself. I had a very clear mental image of the ice cracking under me, plunging into the freezing water, and the people around me saying to one another, “Don’t walk over there, that’s where the foreigner fell through.”
My worries about falling through the ice were probably unfounded. Whole families were out on the lake, falling down and sliding around together. Some people had apple boxes mounted on short skis, and they would take turns pushing each other around on the box until the combination of speed and centrifugal force knocked the rider off. There was also a small group of very serious looking men in hockey gear who were shoveling snow off the ice so they would have enough space to scrimmage. I also saw a woman wearing a skin tight body suit taking her speed skates out for a run. My ignorance about the sport of speed skating is probably why it seems odd someone that serious about the sport would choose to train on a snow covered lake full of families.
Parks in China really are gorgeous