Public sidewalks & recreation
The Chinese have so many uses for their sidewalks.
I am not quite finished writing about Chinese sidewalks. There is always something more that could be said about them.
One their day off work, the Pilipino domestic workers and nannies in Hong Kong gather on the sidewalks to socialize. They place cardboard over the concrete and play games, gossip, have meals and enjoy BBQs.
(In Toronto Pilipino families set up tents, play sports and have BBQs on the weekends in Earl Bales Park.)
These "Dancing Grannies" are on the plaza in front of the RT Mall in Changchun so they are not on the sidewalk but I have seen other groups dancing on the wide downtown sidewalks.
The Dancing Grannies are a popular way for retired people to socialize and get their daily exercise.
It is very common to see tables and chairs placed on the sidewalks for people to play Go, mahjong or cards. These games attract small crowds of spectators.
These three folding stools surrounding a Go game are on a downtown sidewalk in Dandong.
Mahjong is an extremely popular game in China. There are spare stools and tables for more to join in.
A sidewalk can be a handy place to put a make-shift clothesline.
Saving the best for last
I have two contestants for "Best in Class" award.
In the above photo, a fence in Nanjing was about to fall over. So, the wall was buttressed by a number of brick braces that takes up the full width of the city sidewalk.
This big wooden boat sitting on a sidewalk in Jinzhou would take the prize but it loses points for being on a dead-end street. The sidewalk ends about 50 metres further down the street.
Drivers can park their cars and motorbikes on the public sidewalks. Businesses can do their welding, store their goods and sell all kinds of merchandise on the sidewalks. Barbers can put a chair on the sidewalk and cut hair. It is okay for mechanics to repair bicycles, scooters and cars on the sidewalks so I guess it is okay for someone store their boat on a sidewalk.
It’s our past. Will this be our future?
When I walk along China’s sidewalks, or walk on the roads beside their crowded sidewalks, I am experiencing what the streets of London, Paris, New York and Toronto must have been like 120 years ago. They were streets that were full of life.
Now that the west is slowly falling into an economic decline for many people, when I visit China, am I not seeing what our future sidewalks may be like?
I have reasons to think so.
Our young are having trouble getting steady employment that offers good pay and benefits. Rent for retail outlets have become unaffordable even for stores, restaurants and services that are busy and should be profitable.
Many now are turning to the gig economy. Why can’t sidewalk vendors be next?
Are we going to limit the use of perfectly good sidewalks just to pedestrians? Are unlicensed vendors going to be given the opportunity to become self-employed?
It’s tough to make money operating a bicycle repair shop in Toronto if you have pay rent for a commercial unit but you may be able to make a living if you could operate out of a handcart like this man.