Back on campus again and today is 11.11, which is the so called singles' day in China where single people go out eating together and go (online) shopping.

Today the weather was very good here in Jinan and there was no sign of pollution, a perfectly clear sky. So after class and lunch I went for a walk off campus to an area where I hadn't been before. I ended up near a large lake, surrounded by mountains, a swimming pool, a theme park and several restaurants. This lake is just across the street of the campus but I didn't go there yet. It is a national park in which this lake is situated, but I didn't go there. I went walking around the park. On my way a passed a bridge and was able to take some photos of the sunset behind the mountains, just like on the photo. It was a pretty big park and to walk around took me about 4.5 hours, but I got some nice photos. I'll upload them here on my blog so you can take a look if you're interested.

About the Chinese singles' day; it is a day where single people either celebrate or suppress their single lives. The two most common and traditional way to do so is to go out eating with friends and to go shopping, basically just spending money. Many shops and only shops have discounts and encourage people to go shopping. A traditional breakfast on 11.11 is deep fried rice bread sticks, which are long sticks. They're available every morning in the canteen but today many people bought them. It is special for this day because it is a stick, which is the shape of a one, so it is said to eat four of those sticks and one ball of rice bread that represents the dot between the 11 and 11.

According to our teacher China is the only country in the world where a day for singles is being celebrated. Still, many people of this day because of the discounts on online shopping. So it is always a good day for the internet shops.