My daughter Keirsin graduated from the International Schools for Tourism in Breda (The Netherlands) and Macao. We set off on "our final trek together", a backpacking trip through Tibet & Yunan, leaving mom at home.
It is our last day in Kunming. In the early morning we walk to the large square along one of the main streets in the centre to have a look at the morning exercises. I love these places. Here is where the Chinese, all of a sudden, publicly show something personal, something private. People work mainly in groups, but there are some individuals too. Many of them practicing Taiqi (tai-chi), including the fan and sword variations. Groups of older people enjoy themselves in a dance with clackers. There are two dance groups doing a mix of ballroom dance and morning gymnastics.
Initiators are very important. Without them little would happen. A stern Taiqi teacher submits his followers to an hour long combination of the regular and the sword form. An elegant lady leads a group practicing the fan form. A dance group moves to the rhythms coming from a large amplifier that someone rode to the square on a delivery bicycle. A granny places a ghetto blaster on a mat on the ground for the ladies-fitness. A group of girls in polyester ethno-wear arrive by bike. We wait to see what is going to happen. When the group lines up, the leader tells them that the teacher can't show up today. The group disperses, disappointed. No teacher, no action.
We fly back to Chengdu around noon. We leave our large backpacks in the lockers at Chengdu airport and check in at Sam's guesthouse in a lovely old building with a teagarden in the centre of town. We want to see some Sichuan opera tonight. The weather forecast is heavy rainfall, so the outdoor option in Renmin Park is out of the question. Alas, the performance in the theatre is rather a variety show than real opera. Only three fragments can bear that name. It is fun, but it still is cheating the customers
