Nanshan District

So as some of you may remember, I discovered at the end of November that I had about two weeks to move into a new apartment. In December, I moved to Nanshan (a district of Shenzhen). Nanshan literally translates to "South Mountain," and I just assumed that the name came from the fact that Shenzhen is south of the mountain ranges in this part of China.

HOWEVER, turns out there is a very literal, actual mountain in the middle of the city.

There it is folks, Nanshan itself.

It's a public park with free entry to all (I'm pretty sure), and I know at least one person who likes to hiking there regularly. When she told me she liked mountain climbing I thought it was her ideal vacation, but it's actually just how she spends her days off, haha.

The start of the trail

View from the bottom

idk where this leads but it was artsy and I saw it near the trail, so it gets to go on the blog

So I didn't actually climb it, haha. I had found a flyer (MONTHS AGO, but hey) for a dance studio pretty close to my house that offered adult classes, and I decided to walk over and check it out last week. The first day I went it was closed, so I just wandered around the area and remembered that the mountain was pretty close, so I walked over there to have a quick look.

Anyway, now I'm signed up for yoga and belly dance classes four days a week (two yoga, two belly dance) because that's what they offered. I meant to only buy a month of yoga classes, but I think the way they were selling classes was as a whole package, so I ended up buying both. They were super cheap, regardless, and I figure it won't hurt to try and new dance style. The yoga's really been kicking my butt though.... But it's all good. Gotta stay in shape 💪💪💪

The best part is that I can walk to the studio, so I don't have to get up super early to catch the bus 🙏

It's a really nice walk!

This is the corner of the park where I used to run every morning (until my knee began to give out - that's a separate story)

I love this tree

My favorite thing I pass on my way to class is this:

Which is just a sign for the local community center...

...that features THE cutest rendition of the sickle and hammer I've ever seen.

I really like this logo because I grew up being conditioned to view that symbol (and the color red) as something to fear and be weary of. There's good reason for it of course, considering how tumultuous and dangerous of a place China was for much of the 20th century, but it's cool to see some proof that for most people, their friendly neighborhood CCP is just another branch of a too-convoluted bureaucracy, staffed mostly by people who are actually trying to help. Makes a girl feel like we're not so different after all 😊

Peace, y'all.