And the horse you rode in on!

I can see our house from here...well, almost

After a burst of travel-related activity leading up to and during the Lunar New Year (a weekend trip to Macau 澳門 in the middle of January; a week spent exploring Zhangjiajie 张家界 and Fenghang 凤凰 here in China; and an LNY excursion to Chiang Mai in Thailand) we've remainded largely bound to our neighborhood as the Year of the Horse came riding in. But that isn't to say we've retreated from the outside world since our travels. What follows is a brief round-up of some of our activities in this new year. 

The last day of the Lunar New Year is marked by the Lantern Festival 元宵节, celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month according to the lunar calendar (which this year fell on March 3). In Guangzhou 广州 the biggest Lantern Festival celebration was held in Yuexiu Park 越秀公园, the entrance to which is pictured below:

But a celebration as important as the Lantern Festival draws the masses, and avoiding China's dense crowds is a serious (bordering on obsessive) priority of mine. So instead of plunging into the sea of humanity my wife and I remained on the opposite side of the road where our destination was located. The Canton Orchid Park 广州兰圃 was created from a botanical garden in 1957 and opened to the public in 1976. Its 3.9 hectares/9.6 acres are home to more than 200 species of orchids, as well as over 300 species of other plants: 

This Buddhist-looking plant is called 地涌金莲, which Google Translate renders as a "Ground Golden Lotus". Wikipedia, however, provides several different English names for Musella lasiocarpa:

Though the garden provides many photo opportunities it was relatively uncrowded (emphasis on "relatively") despite the Lunar New Year holiday period: 

According to Shu-E the orchid park is known for its resident feline community, though we only spotted three during the time we were there. This one was the second, and the first to be approachable:  

A park highlight is the Fanghua Garden 芳华园, which represented China at the 1983 International Garden Exhibition in Munich where it won two gold medals:

Feeling pretty, oh so pretty...:

The third cat we came across was also friendly:

A Tripod Bronze Ding 三足铜鼎, dating from 1810:

风调雨顺钟, the Bell of Favorable Winds and Timely Rains:

A local craft beer that I picked up from an international supermarket on our way back from the orchid park. More 啤酒 to come (see below): 

Though I was back at work soon after we returned from Chiang Mai, LNY celebrations continued. This scene was taken by a colleague who later shared it on WeChat. I heard the explosion from a distance as I was heading home for lunch: 

Later, I passed a set-up for a lion dance to be performed the next day at 10:00 (while I was at work):

That evening the troupe was holding a rehearsal so Shu-E and I went downstairs to watch. Soon an extremely angry woman arrived on the scene, claiming she couldn't sleep because of the noise, even though it was only 21:30. She then proceeded to aggressively film everyone with her phone as if that was going to scare the performers into submission. Karens unfortunately are a universal phenomenon: 

My wife has taken to buying different kinds of Chinese craft beers for me to sample with dinner, such as this Baby IPA at 5.2% ABV: 

秦始皇 China Pale Ale (5% ABV), named after the founder of the Qin dynasty and China's first emperor, notorious for banning and burning books and executing scholars, and the man behind the Terracotta Warriors:

I couldn't find any information online about this one:

A limited edition wheat beer for the Year of the Horse. The name on the label is the character for "horse", Mă 马, written in a cursive style:

Ruinsbrew Doube VI:  

The Ruinsbrew Stout at 5.5% was officially weaker than the above but had more of an impact: 

What could be more Chinese than a Jack Panda craft wheat beer - "Crafted Beer for Young People"?:

Vedett is a Belgian brand and not Chinese...:

...but turning the four bottles around they read gōngxǐfācái 恭喜發财, the traditional Lunar New Year greeting meaning "May you have a prosperous New Year!" This is how you appeal to the Chinese market:

All of the above beers were pretty good. The weakest of the lot is this one below. When a world-renowned fashion designer collaborates with China's largest beer producer the result is a tasteless brew with a label design bordering on the lame: 

A recent bout of rainy weather left the upper floors of the surrounding skyscrapers shrouded in mist:

Roses in bloom in the aptly-named Flower Square 花城广场:

Morning breaks on another work day: 

The two of us visited the Grandview Mall 正佳广场 shopping center to see its take on the Lantern Festival:

Unagi rice for dinner at one of the mall's many eateries, chosen because it was the only restaurant where we wouldn't have to wait outside for a table to become free:

Outside the mall were a couple of circular beer stations, where I partook of the Strong Amber Ale (8% alcohol by volume):

On our way home we passed by this bizarre scene outside a Mixue Ice Cream & Tea 蜜雪冰城:

Further on we came across an ethnic group doing a slow, hypnotic dance:

Some people have expressed surprise that I would wear this jersey in public in China but I've yet to encounter any issues. My feeling is that most people here either don't know or don't care. And why would those who are aware be triggered? After all, "Chinese Taipei" 中華台北 is the name China insists Taiwan use for international sporting events such as the recently completed World Baseball Classic. I donned this as Taiwan's...er, Chinese Taipei's game against South Korea was starting, a contest they eventually won 5-4 in 10 innings, a result I take full credit for making happen. Just ignore the Lotte Giants cap I was also sporting that day: 

Taking care of a pair of young cats can be exhausting at times: 

Going for a stroll along the Qian Hangdao river, and admiring the ingenuity of this gentleman in adapting to his surroundings in order to take a nap:

On one recent weekend afternoon Shu-E and I took the metro out to Guangzhou Haizhu National Wetland Park 广州海珠国家湿地公园, an urban wetland park in the center of the Guangzhou metropolis:

This video partially explains the phenomenon behind young Chinese women getting dressed up to take photos in scenic areas: 

My wife thought some sort of beauty contest was taking place, hence all the male photographers. "Miss Urban Wetland"?:

The park was crowded, but not national holiday-level crowded, and the vastness of the site enabled the masses to thin out in places:

A flower identified as a Bauhinia Sister: 

My attire for the day seamlessly blended a Super Bowl-winning football team jersey with a cap belonging to one of Major League Baseball's worst clubs (though one with arguably the most attractive ballpark in the big leagues, and where my daughter and I watched a game back in 2021):

At one point the two of us embarked on a leisurely boat cruise:

Approaching the Guangzhou Cultural Center 广州市文化馆...:

...which looked surprisingly Japanese at first, until I remembered that the ancient capitals of Nara 奈良 and Kyōto 京都 were originally modeled after the ancient Chinese dynastic capital city, Chang'an 长安: 

The main reason my wife suggeted visiting the wetland was to see the "Guangzhou Cherry Blossoms" 广州樱 in bloom, but in retrospect she thinks we might have gotten there too early:

It was a long walk to reach the exit at the opposite end of the park from where we entered, but the path did provide more views of the wetland:

We have a car with us here in Guanghou, but it's because of scenes like this that we took the subway to get there, and a Didi for the trip home: 

Another sunrise...: 

...and another rainy weekend: 

The Canton Tower 广州塔 may dominate the Tianhe district 天河区 skyline with its 600 meters/1969 feet, but on this afternoon most of it was swallowed up by clouds. Nevertheless there were still tourists taking photos of themselves with the tower somewhere in the background behind them: 

The following day I went for another walk and came across a patch of greenery a half-hour on foot from our building that I wasn't aware existed:

A lot of other people, however, did know of the Pearl River Park 广州珠江公园, ensuring I was hardly alone on a Sunday afternoon:

Some kind of contest similar to the one seen the week before at the wetlands was taking place:

As always there was a lot of dressing up and photography taking place:  

That evening my wife and I had dinner at Kajiken 歌志軒, a Nagoya 名古屋 restaurant specializing in aburasoba 油そば, a dry noodle dish. So for some mysterious reason I ordered a bowl of garlic rāmen instead:

Coneheads. The boys have been suffering from ringworm recently, no doubt exacerbated by the fact they're constantly grooming each other:

And with that this post brings you up to date with the happenings and goings on (or lack thereof) 39 days into the Year of the Horse. Life has settled down with the end of the holiday travels but that means we can resume exploring more of Guangzhou itself, while we await our first R&R trip this summer. See you next time!