I was writing not so long ago (see “The Art of Baguette”) about the fact that I find amazing the lunches in Provence, with barbecue all the time and fresh salads and baguette of course. I had also praised for a long time what I call “the Art of Leisure” in most of the Mediterranean Europe which consists of drinking a good coffee and chatting with friends all day long; something that I haven’t found in North America and that I miss very much.

Well I found it very much in China. The cliché of Chinese people hurrying all the time to “work more to earn more” (as our dear president Sarkozy loves to say) is really just a cliché. People are just hanging around, chilling, having nice time, drinking beer and having street barbecues everynights! It is absolutely wonderfull! And it’s great food for almost nothing (ok sometimes it can be a bit weird, but still)!

I feel absolutely respectful toward their ability of enjoying… life! That’s something that is too often forgotten in our mighty and so developed Occidental World!

And that’s without even mentionning the dancing! But this is for tomorrow (I have been invited to dance lessons by a Chinese grandma…).