Snapshots of Ningguo Park: Sunny Skies and Lush Greens with Fading Reds, Unknowingly Approaching the Start of Summer

2020 is a very special year, severely impacted by the pandemic. The beautiful scenery of spring can be said to have been blocked, and summer seems to have arrived quickly. While visiting a small city park in China, I realized that the Start of Summer is just around the corner!

Small parks like this are everywhere in China. Compared to big cities, they seem less crowded but offer more tranquility. This park, located in the small city of Ningguo in southern Anhui, is a place where locals relax and take walks. But I really like this environment, so I decided to follow the local aunties and take a stroll here, snapping some photos along the way.

2020 is a very special year, severely impacted by the pandemic. The beauty of spring can be said to have been cut off. This small city park in early summer still has scenes that belong to spring everywhere. Parents bring their children to the park to fly kites, making up for the missed spring activities.

Ningyang was one of the ancient names of Ningguo, so this park is called Ningyang Park. The lush greenery in the park already tells us that summer is here. Later, I checked the calendar and found that the Start of Summer is just a few days away. I didn't realize that the Start of Summer would arrive so quietly.

If spring after the Start of Spring is a season of blooming flowers, then summer is the time of lush greens and fading reds. Wandering in this small park, all I see is green; red flowers seem to be retreating from this season. It is very fitting to define summer with the phrase "lush greens and fading reds."

Summer is full of green everywhere, which might be a bit monotonous, but green brings us more oxygen and nurtures the life of the earth. The seasonal cycle of spring growth, summer development, autumn harvest, and winter storage is indispensable. Seeing green feels like seeing growth and harvest.

The advantage of a small city is that the population is not crowded. Coupled with the pandemic, there are fewer people in Ningyang Park, making it an ideal environment for health preservation. Don't you think?

The green environment is very nourishing and also suitable for children. On weekends, you can bring your kids to this park with abundant green vegetation to relax. Watching children roam freely in the park, I couldn't help but sigh that the happiness index of Chinese people today is really high.

The climate before the Start of Summer is very pleasant, with the coolness of late spring and the warmth of early summer. On the lawn of Ningyang Park, you can see aunties singing and dancing there. When I heard an auntie singing beautifully, I couldn't help but take a photo. Singing in such a place neither disturbs others nor entertains oneself—what a wonderful thing!

At this time, Ningyang Park is full of leisure, comfort, and relaxation. Retired old artists also find a relatively hidden place to practice the erhu. Although the small city park is not as lively and bustling as those in big cities, it has its own unique atmosphere.

The small city of Ningguo in southern Anhui is also a place with a relatively rich historical culture. In 208 AD, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Huai'an County was established. Due to geographical and historical ties, the ancient city of Ningguo has absorbed the history of Huizhou and Xuanzhou, and embraced the cultures of the Wu and Yue states. In Ningyang Park, you can see some memorial archways and stone tablets related to the historical and cultural memory of Ningguo.

With sunny weather and a season of lush greens and fading reds, a unique beauty of the small city park emerges. Bring your children out to enjoy the atmosphere just before the Start of Summer!