Wuhan Local Customs

Scarf dancing was very popular with the people from ancient times . We are told the Emporer of 2000 years ago was taken withthe beautiful slim girls preforming this dance. We enjoyed the show at the Hubei provincial Museum.

Not only in Wuhan, in every chinese city you will see the same picture in the morning and in the evening. Groups of people (sometimes more than 50) do Taiji (also with sword), Qi Gong or whatever else. (i am no expert). And they also dance. I have to admit, once I felt a little piece of Austria when they danced Vienna Waltz to the melody on Strauss' On the Beautiful Blue Danube.

For me singing is even worse than dancing. My expericance is that most of the Chinese like it. So, it was no surprise that I saw that Karaoke singer in the Zhongshan Park. (not only there). For my VT page I wanted to take some picture of it. Suddenly I noticed the people who organized the Karaoke singing moved around, talked with each other and suddenly one guy brought me a chair. Of course noone listened to the singers anymore, they just watched at me. And they wanted that I also sing a song. Impossible, especially because they just had chinese lyrics. Anyway, few minutes later I had to take a speech. And I had to explain, why I dont sing..

I dont like dancing. I never liked it. But of course in Wuhan I had no chance to avoid it.
It happened in Tingtao scenice spot (East Lake). There was a Festival of Xinjiang people. As you can see on the photo, there was also a group of dancer. I enjoyed to watch it, taking my pics till the end of the show. I though, its over. But suddenly all the dancer took "partners" of the spectator. I was the only Westerner so I even didnt think that they wont choose me. The result: a funny combination of an "Xinjiang-Alps" dance.....

Like everywhere in Wuhan you dont have a chance to stay alone (if you are foreigner and alone). Sometimes it seemed to me they just waited to talk with foreigners. But of course I dont have any problem to do so.
I have been there several times, especially in the evening its very nice.

Wuhan is rich in culture and history. Wuhan's civilization began about 3,500 years ago, and is of great importance in Chinese culture, the military, economy and politics. Famous scenic spots in Wuhan include Yellow Crane Tower, Guiyuan Temple, East Lake, and the Museum of the 1911 Revolution.
Today's Wuhan ranks in third position in China in the field of Science and Technology. More than 500 research institutes and universities give Wuhan powerful resources for her industries.

Wuhan, abbreviated to 'Han', the capital of Hubei Province, is the largest city in Central China, with a population of 7.3 million and an area of 8,467 square kilometers. She is the the center of economy, culture and politics in Central China and is one of the most important cities in China.

I don't think it is cool to have shoes clean on street like this. But what can they do, they cannot get a better jobs, and they have their lives going on...