I have always thought Australia had a good number of public parks and gardens, and for the lifestyle there I suppose we do. Here though, because virtually everyone lives in high rise apartment blocks, having somewhere to go with your kids, or just for a nice walk, is extremely important.
Some compounds have really lovely gardens like this one on the 5th floor of my old complex.
Lower down, on the second floor, was a larger area where the kids could ride their bikes safely and grannies and nannies could sit and talk while their young charges pottered about.
The compound I live in now is sorely lacking in these facilities. It is in an older part of town, but it is closer to work and my apartment is much better/bigger than my last one. The shopping is not as easy (language-wise) as before either, but the area is more family orientated and as such, is quieter, and more what we would call ‘respectable’. It is true that you simply can’t have it all.
With no real play areas in the compound, we are left with the plaza around the building complex. Here kids can ride bikes fairly safely, taking into account that some people are there for shopping only. There are outdoor tables and these are usually occupied by people playing cards and the bench seats are almost always occupied by elderly men, out for some fresh air, some friendly conversation, or just to watch the world go by.
But back to parks – the number of parks here is astounding!
Shenzhen is an ecological garden city and half of its total area – approx 2000 square kilometres, half of which is water – is under a form of environmental protection that bans construction. The urban green belt in developed areas is a whopping 45%! This, within a bustling city of some 15 million people; a city that is now officially the most crowded city in China; that is ranked the 5th most densely populated city in the world – 7500 people per square kilometre – behind only Bombay, Calcutta, Lagos and Karachi. All that greenery makes living in a city this size, very pleasant.
Every day, we walk to and from school, almost exclusively through a park. It is cooler under the shade trees and there are small hillocks which are a lot of fun to run up, and even more fun to roll down.
One of our favourite weekend parks is laced with paved pathways and shaded seating areas. There are larger paved areas too, where small children can roller blade or cycle, or where they can play with the large wooden spinning tops which seem to be very popular here. There is a pond where carp can sometimes be seen and in the wooded areas, the sound of traffic fades and birds twitter away feeling quite safe from the hustle.
On any given weekend, you will find the parks full of people by mid afternoon (we tend to go much earlier to avoid the crowds). It is a popular place for families and their children. The open grassy areas allow for informal games of badminton, picnics, kite flying, or just plain running around.
Kite flying is very popular with all ages. From the small child’s kite bouncing around to the huge kites that soar to heights way above the high rise buildings, controlled by reels so large they are strapped to the flier’s body. I particularly love the ones with the very long tails. We have yet to try our small one…
So enjoy reading all about Casper’s and your life there and your photos are just marvellous and portray it as a very relaxing and green place, well done on that considering the actual bustle of the place!. What a great idea having gardens on a roof terrace of a high rise!
Cheers Di. The gardens on different floors of buildings are a sight to behold here with large mature trees and all manner of garden beds and hedges. they are amazing…..but very necessary I think. They get a lot of use. They are rarely on the actual rooftop of the building…not sure why, but my building was 30 floors and the garden and pool were on the 5th. :o)
The kite flying was very interesting. I believe the long tails will twist when there is not much wind.
Chinese are very famous in kine flying especially dragon or snake types. The one I see in the photo is very odd for me. We do kite flying in this part of the world with a maximum 10″. To control one with longer tail should be tested, but I need to ask my kids for this as it is not my time for kite flying now.
There are many with very long tails here. I think they must be hard to get up into the air, but they are really gorgeous once they are flying. Yes there are many dragon and snake kites; birds are also very popular, but they dont have the lovely tails. :o)
when i was young , my father did many kites for me and brothers. lots of fun…. now during winter, take care your kid and yourself. much loves…
I never flew a kite when I was a child…I will have to make up for it now. :o)