One thing you have to give the Chinese credit for: they don’t hide anything. Part of it is that so much of their lives are lived outdoors. Just walk around the city, and you’ll see so many little intimate moments that are a part of everyday life around here.

A nap in the shade.

How many more minutes until the end of my shift?

Two brothers square off in Groucho glasses.

One thing that really impressed us here at 12FOOT3: Chinese people really know how to use public spaces. Everywhere you look in Beijing, there are people hanging out, talking, sitting in the shade, playing with the grandkids. I mentioned in our last post that we were charmed by a Sunday spent in the Temple of Heaven Park watching hundreds of people mingling about, doing their Sunday thing (which included ballroom dancing, playing games, singing, hacky sack, calligraphy, and more).

Women ballroom dancing in the park. How cute is it that the two on the right are wearing matching skirts?

Practicing calligraphy in the park.

Playing “catch-the-ring.” You play the game in pairs—your partner throws three soft rings from about 100 yards away, and your objective is to catch them around your neck.

As far as we could tell, it seemed like this woman just showed up in the park with a full band, and people wandering through the park spontaneously gathered around them to sing traditional Chinese songs (I even recognized a few from my Dad’s karaoke hits!).

A more intimate version of the big brass band pictured above: just one musician and his dedicated singer.

The other reason why it’s all on display in Beijing is that Chinese people just have different notions of privacy than we do in the west.

Yes, kids are still wearing the split pants around Beijing. Though I saw a LOT fewer kids wearing these in Beijing than I did in 2000.

OK, this particular photo was actually taken in Xian, but you see these big Buddha belly guys walking around EVERYWHERE. And I mean everywhere—museums, hotel lobbies, fancy restaurants…

Um, we don’t really know what’s going on here either.

Things HAVE changed around here since the Olympics. For one, people don’t stare…as much (don’t worry, they still stare). I guess they got their fill of wai guo ren’s in 2008. And it does seem that things are a little less raw around the capital city than they were in 2000. There are public bathrooms every two blocks, and they are clean! But the important thing is: the Beijing flavor is still there, and it seems that the Olympics just served to elevate this beautiful city to a more international/cosmopolitan level.

Chinese acrobat at the Summer Palace.

Funky guy at the Temple of Heaven Park.

Chilling out in the shade at the Forbidden City.