ICE GAMES
In the cold Beijing winter, the picturesque Houhai Lake turns into a colorful playground where generations of Chinese meet to enjoy the frozen outdoor activities.
The lake is frozen solid and turns into a vast ice-skating rink, where the most improbable ice-rides are on display: bikes, ice-chairs, sleds, caterpillars, tanks (with loud Chinese music) in various shapes, colours and materials. Guards patrol the lake and assist in returning the scattered and abandoned ice-rides back to the base.
At the side of the lake, intrepid Beijingers are breaking the thick ice to have a refreshing swim in front of cheering and astonished crowds. The only comfort to warm up the frozen limbs after the swim, is a bucket of warm water as a shower. Winter swimmers are meeting here everyday, mainly elderly women and men gathering at sunrise, to share their "youth treatment" as well as some company, chatting and laughing.
The lake is frozen solid and turns into a vast ice-skating rink, where the most improbable ice-rides are on display: bikes, ice-chairs, sleds, caterpillars, tanks (with loud Chinese music) in various shapes, colours and materials. Guards patrol the lake and assist in returning the scattered and abandoned ice-rides back to the base.
At the side of the lake, intrepid Beijingers are breaking the thick ice to have a refreshing swim in front of cheering and astonished crowds. The only comfort to warm up the frozen limbs after the swim, is a bucket of warm water as a shower. Winter swimmers are meeting here everyday, mainly elderly women and men gathering at sunrise, to share their "youth treatment" as well as some company, chatting and laughing.