Note: This post is followed up here

In the public area between the apartment-blocks in Beijing you can often find small parks. These parks often contain these kind of contraptions:

At first I was sure that they are simply children’s playgrounds, but it appears that they are actually meant for adults. There seems to be some special fund in Beijing dedicated for erecting public “exercise parks” so that people could keep in shape. Here is an example of how one of these is used:

My window overlooks one of these parks (the one I’ve just photographed), so every morning/evening I can see many adults - young and old, male and female - using these to exercise. In addition I often see in the mornings, in an open area to the side, a group of older women learning some kind of dance. I feel that these are quite nice ideas, and demonstrate China’s attitude towards health.

Another example of this attitude towards health can also be seen in those parks; I’ve seen a few booths with volunteer doctors/nurses which, free of charge, do a basic checkup on you - blood pressure, weight and so on - and then give you some health advice. I wonder whether these types of things can be seen only in well-off Beijing or in all of China.