Our house (read: giant apartment building) is right next to a lake. I have to admit that I only learned of that fact after buying a map of Nanjing, something that was on the top of my to do list ever since arriving in Nanjing. So we get the map, figure out where our house is and notice a giant blue spot on the map in what looked like walking distance. The weather was nice and the schedule opportune to undertake an outing to said lake. Thus, on a sunny saturday afternoon, we, together with friends Jonathan, Robin and Peter Nelson, went on our way to Xuanwu lake.
As I said, the map made it look like we could throw stones into the lake from our apartment, so we walked. And as with other typical map misunderstandings, the journey took a little bit longer. But it was fairly close nonetheless, and we had soon arrived at the rather large and impressive gates of bespoke Xuanwu lake.
The lake was very nice. It was easy to see that this was a popular spot for saturday family outings, as the whole area was full of families with plenty of Chinese kids! Lotus flowers and plants lined the shore of the lake. Certain areas of the lake park had red ribbons hanging from tree branches, giving these areas a certain ceremonial and traditional Chinese feeling. We found out that these red banners were wishes of luck and prosperity for the future or wishes of health for family members and friends. The banners themselves had a printed Chinese phrase of general good fortune, a basic fortune template, and people had written their own wishes with marker on them before hanging them in the branches. It was an impressive sight!
It was a great outing. Before returning home to our dreary inner city apartments, we sat and talked for a while in a shaded area in the lake park. Nearby, underneath a pavilion, two older gentlemen were listening to a certain Jazz piece over and over again, one of them singing along with the saxophone. Before we walked out of the majestic park doors, we enjoyed an ice cream cone from the McDonalds booth that can be found at any destination of interest in China. A great ending to a very pleasant afternoon in sunny and smoggy Nanjing!
It's a really nice lake. Jonny took me there my first day in Nanjing while Mark ran around it doing his marathon training. We saw the Red Ribbon Trees, I took pictures of Chinese people taking pictures and we took a boat out onto the lake for an hour of exploration and relaxation. We powered underneath the forbidden bridge and saw the Diving-Disappearing Ducks. It's a lovely place!
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