Taking my own advice over the weekend, we headed off as a family to our new-favorite park, the Jing'an Sculpture Park. It has wide areas of grass, fun large-scale sculptures, water features, rocks - all the things a five- and one-year-old could desire.
After spending a very long time watching the dancing fountains near the entrance at Shimen Yi Road and Beijing Road, we made our way to the wide-open grassy space where large sculptures of cows sit placidly and children were gallivanting around. The kids immediately ran over to play and we followed after them.
***WHISTLE***
Our tranquil, happy mood was interrupted by the omnipresent guard in a gray uniform hooting at us to get off the grass. "But look at all the people?" I asked in wonder. Why us? Why were we being singled out? "Only kids," he answered in a huff. "Adults are not allowed."
We looked around and sure enough, all the adults were sitting around the edge of the grass, only the children were playing. Ridiculous. Usually the whistle is blown at all of us and usually the children are the transgressors. To have this lovely green grass to run around on and not allow the adults is utterly stupid, in my opinion. But rules are rules. We broke it surreptitiously, sneaking off of our concrete perches to pick the one-year-old up from her frequent face-plants in the grass.
So intrepid travelers, be warned. You're in a park, you hear a whistle (that somehow you can always tell is directed at you) and you'll just have to get off the grass. There are a few parks where rollicking on the green is allowed and you'll be able to tell because it will look like a normal scene in a park - kids kicking balls, adults flying kites, yet probably no unlawful grass activities (whatever they may be).