Simple Pleasures/Businesses

The first sunny days in Taizhou have brought out kites.
It's still holiday for many, and it's not the first time I've seen people fly kites here. It's a simple pleasure, but I appreciate the fact families take the time to go out together and play a little.

Since we're in China, it's a small business too. The local park where kites are flown gathers kite peddlers. The average salesman has about a dozen kites, sold from either the back of a bicycle or laid out on the grass. And there are quite a few. On the first day people were out I counted about 50 kites in the sky. I also saw at least 10 hawkers with kites.

Similar small businesses can be found in most parks around here. The largerst are regular kiosks selling snacks, toys and drinks. These are often surrounded by various other merchants. I've seen fishing games for kids (plastic pool filled with plastic fish,) the usual flower salesgirls, radio-controlled boats for rent, bird seed salesmen and the food stalls. Like other businesses these clump together so that potential customers have an easier time finding them. This is especially true for food - the larger park here will have a minimum of five carts at any time there are potential customers.

This time I'm not going to go on a rant on how everything is made commercial, I'll reserve that for cultural landmarks. Instead, I will say the parks are serviced parks. Actually, last time I was out I made a small detour just to grab a cola from the stalls, since the places are so lively. The small businesses don't detract from the small joys.

OP Out.