I was observing the activity around me this evening when I noticed that some people around me where walking in specific circles. What was the case? The bench I was sitting on, together with the trees around it, form a miniature park. To make this a bit more interesting it is paved with different kinds of rocks and in the middle a very large rock is placed with water streaming out of its top. One of the patterns consists of circles that are constructed out of pebbles stuck on its side, close together, in concrete. The people around me were walking bare foot on these circles. Around them it was very busy with traffic coming and going in all directions, bicyclists, bicycle cabs, rushing pedestrians but also strolling people and little children. But these people were relaxing and nothing could distract them from this. It was explained to me that this is a form of meditation that is very beneficial for mental relaxation. Basically it’s a simple “bottom-of-you-foot-reflection-therapy” for poor people.

What also caught my attention this summer is the fact that “hotpants” were very popular in Chengdu and especially those made out of denim. But you’ll also see pants made of normal fabric with very short pant legs, longer pant legs, wide and also very tight, plaid or plain, you name it. Chinese women in general are already nice to look at (European size 34-36,  US size 1-2), but add hotpants to that and they become even nicer to look at. I think I’ll stay here for 15 more minutes or so.

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