Page:A Pocket Guide to China (1943).pdf/31

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are peep shows and jugglers and contortionists, usually found in the public squares on market day.

If there is a canal running through or near the town, there will probably be pleasure boats to hire, "flower boats" they are called, and for a few cents you can be poled through shallow water studded, if it is summer­ time, with great rosy lotus blooms.

Your stay in China will be made more interesting if you develop a hobby through which you can really learn and enjoy some aspect of Chinese life. Even in limited spare time, you may be able to develop a special interest which will enrich for the rest of your life the memories you carry home from the Orient. Chinese friends will enjoy introducing you to these hobbies as much as you enjoy learning them.

For instance, if you like games requiring agility, you will find hours of fun in trying to master the whirling of a singing Diabolo, throwing it high in the air and catching it on a string; in kicking a shuttlecock with either side of either foot; or in learning the intricacies of Chinese boxing and swordplay, which are really difficult forms of calisthenics.

Chinese chess and Chinese checkers are every bit as interesting as their American equivalents. And the simple game of "Fingers," played during dinners and feasts, calls

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