Shanghai Streetz and The Ritz: Fitness
Having over a billion people in a country is impressive. What's even more impressive is that the vast majority of the population, specifically seniors, are incredibly healthy. The new generation is on pace to be just as healthy, so I took to the streets and the sky to see how China's past and future can maintain their health.
Just trying to figure out how to dance like these wonderful women
We'll start on the streets. In China, working out in public is totally normal. Parks are turned into full gym facilities and public squares are turned into dancing centers. Women born before World War II perform Tai-Chi. There's a term for dancing in public squares in Chinese, and these women take it seriously. I, along with a few friends, decided to hop in and dance alongside the elderly Chinese women on a few occasions, but only did so for about 15 minutes each time. These ladies will go on for 2 hours on average, usually right after a meal.
Let me tell you, it was such a fun experience! The women were more than willing to help me and my two other foreign friends learn the choreography and we definitely influenced the formation of a solid crowd. Watching white people do Asian people stuff is pretty entertaining to them. After just the 15 minutes, we were pretty tired, and definitely gained a heightened appreciation for this seemingly easy workout.
Along with these amazingly graceful public dancers, you'll see Chinese people of all ages and sizes doing workouts that range from walking around a track for literally hours wearing a full button up and pants to doing handstand push-ups. China, and much of Asia really, is littered with little pull up bars and outdoor workout stations. I went up to a few and tried working out with some of the more fit Chinese men and I was totally shown up. In my defense, I can't do pull ups for my life. Put me in a race with any of those guys and it isn't even close. Personal competitiveness aside, it's an interesting observation for the people here. They value their health an impressive amount and it is shown clearly in any park with countless public spaces to workout (no need to go to LA Fitness here).
And of course, as you'll find in almost any foreign country, once the work day is over, the sports day begins. And on our campus, the fields and courts were flooded with men and women of all ages and skill levels playing soccer and basketball. Of course, I had no choice but to join a few soccer games, and these guys loved it! Generally speaking, they were not bad players, but they all had great attitudes and loved to have fun while playing. It was a joy playing with them both for the fact that I love soccer and to practice my Chinese on a more competitive and urgent level.
Still trying to figure it out
The lovely Michelle Tan and I posing next to (yes next to, not below nor above) the Oriental Pearl Tower
Now let's go up to the skies. I was honored to be invited to do Yoga with one of Hong Kong's best yoga instructors, Seri Wang, at the top of the Ritz Carlton. They cleared out the seating for the Flair bar and replaced it with 20 Shanghai Wow Mats for 20 of Shanghai's best yogis and VIP guests of the Ritz. Most of the guests here were women, and they were all in great shape. Yoga did not originate in China, but they love this form of physical activity. Me, not so much. But hey, I do it for the experience and to lose some weight.
Shanghai's VIP guests and influencers, along with other yogis. Then there's me, feeling very out of place but loving the experience!
This teacher was not messing around. She was absolutely incredible, and it looked like she was legitimately floating above the city. Posing on one leg with the Oriental Pearl Tower as the backdrop made it seem like she was effortlessly hovering over Shanghai. Me on the other hand, not so much. I looked like a Camel walking on ice-not graceful. At all. But regardless, being able to experience this form of workout in a radically different environment made for an interesting comparison, juxtaposing the traditional forms of the Shanghai streets. Obviously there's a difference between a class with an instructor and just a group of old friends coming together to dance for a few hours, but regardless the atmosphere of each workout garnered varying experiences. One was relaxed, yet centered on tradition, while the other was structured and focused on the future.
The Ritz Shanghai offers many classes to help you thrive like the locals do. The hotel does a fantastic job at bringing the local culture into the workouts (which as a general point for Ritz Carlton's around the world is true-they love to bring the region into the hotel experience). Learn from a teacher how to perform Tai-Chi, yoga, and more! Definitely worth it to learn because let me tell you, whatever the old Chinese people do works, as they are much more in shape than most American senior citizens (no offense American senior citizens, I love you)!
When it comes to fitness in China, I was thoroughly surprised at how vastly embraced healthy lifestyles were in this massive society. They thrive when it comes to health, and it really isn't hard to see why with such easy access to workout facilities all around the city (and above if you're lucky enough!)