When traveling to Asia, Logan and I had the opportunity to spend two days in China. We flew in on China Southern Airlines and the experience was amazing! Since we had a long layover (12 hours) they offered a complimentary hotel which included breakfast. They shuttled us out to the hotel where we got to eat and shower from the long flight. We walked around as much as we could to soak in the amazing culture. We couldn’t believe the community spirit! It was so beautiful to see the people so happy and spending quality time with one another. We gave the community spirit a 10/10. It was out of this world.

We went to a nearby park in our adventures and it was packed! There were card games at every table, people exercising on the park ‘machines’, singing at every pavilion, and so many dance classes. It seemed like this park was a central hub, and everyone was there spending time together on a Wednesday afternoon. The people were so genuinely happy. When we went in, Logan encouraged me to jump in on one of the dance classes… My first response was “no”, but then I figured I would miss out! So, here I am, sticking out like a sore thumb, dancing with a bunch of highly amused Chinese people.

I did the whole dance, which lasted about 5 minutes. Everyone was staring and laughing, probably because they had never seen anything like it! Near the people exercising, mainly elderly, there were teeter-totters. We couldn’t resist!! Haha.

As I mentioned, we also went around the markets. The area that we were in was not a tourist area, so it was very Chinese, which Logan and I were both grateful for. We enjoy traveling so much to experience different cultures, and when you are in a tourist area, so much is missed out of the true culture. Below are a few shots we took while in the markets of China. I spared the guts and gore that we saw of animals, but suffice it to say, these markets are not designed for the squeamish.  Regardless, it was amazing to see the hustle and bustle of the day to day life for these people. We loved it!!

While our time in China was short, we had an amazing experience! While we hope to go back to visit to do more tourist attractions, we are so grateful to see the simple, beautiful lives that these people had. They were so happy, even though they didn’t have much.

Truly inspiring!