What were you doing at 5.00 a.m. this morning, or any morning? I expect most of you were still engaged in blissful inactivity, still snoozing away happily. That is usually my condition, but I decided to have a change to my routine in order to bring you a first-hand report about what Tianjiners are doing early in the morning, hence when a friend suggested we go to shui shang park early to "exercise" I readily agreed. I dragged my sorry carcass out of bed at 5.30 and had a nice cold shower, that woke me up nicely and then I stumbled down the road and staggered into the park at 6.30. On the way several buses roared past me, the passengers inside already nodding off although the day had just started.

When I entered the park I was greeted by an amazing sight, it was literally bursting with people engaged in various activities. If you like people watching, I heartily recommend you take an early morning stroll around any of the parks. I watched several groups of people. One group were practising a martial art with lethal looking swords. They were all dressed in turquoise traditional Chinese outfits, and with the sun shining on the water which was behind them, they made for a stunning scene, straight out of a kung fu movie. I proceeded with caution, I assume they were all experts, but I didn't want to take any chances. If a sword flew out of a novice's hand………

As I rounded a bend I was presented with a dance group who were shaking their stuff. There was a lone man dancing with them who was attempting to keep up, but he looked quite sheepish. The only other male there was left to guard their bags. Dancing is one of the main activities in the park and there are many different "gangs" of women, each group has a leader and different music. The aforementioned group really make an effort and all wear the same clothes so they are quite striking, although they are completely out of step with the music. I am going to make a pejorative statement and say that many Asian people have no natural rhythm. This is based on what I see of the dancing ladies and my own failed attempts to teach my Japanese, Korean and Chinese friends Salsa. They tell me that they can follow the steps but not feel the rhythm, hence their dancing is robotic. Something that further complicates things for the dancing ladies is that they are using salsa or other western music, but rigidly stick to synchronised steps more suited to Chinese traditional music. Nevertheless their enthusiasm is great. I got talking to a lady who was watching one group dancing and she said "I come here every morning at 5.00 a.m." 5.00 a.m.! And I thought I was early.

I want to tell you about some of the interesting people I have met through my early morning perambulations. I really like talking to the locals, I can get a keen understanding of what life is like for most of them. Here are a couple of experiences that I had recently. I started watching a group of old ladies dancing, and one caught my eye. She was in her 70s and was wearing a brightly coloured top that was covered in sequinned flowers, really glamorous. Another lady was watching from the side-lines and told me that the well-dressed lady was her mother who had terminal cancer, so her daughter brought her out every day to dance and let her enjoy herself. Her daughter told me "She doesn't know she has cancer, she doesn't know she is dying. The doctors told us she only had six months to live, but she has already lasted for one year. They say it is a miracle". Why she confided in a complete stranger and a foreigner at that, I don't know, but I am glad she did. I had a lump in my throat as I watched the old lady delightedly performing all the moves like an expert. Who knows how much longer she has left, but at least getting out every day and dancing with her friends is bringing her happiness.

I also made another new friend when her dog came up to me and introduced himself. He is a British Bulldog and no doubt recognised a fellow Bit. His owner told me that she was very worried as his hair was falling out and he had lumps all over him. It only happened in spring and summer and she did not know what to do. She had already seen many vets but had been unable to find a resolution. She was worried that her dog was sick because of something that she was doing. I told her that her dog was a little too chubby, many owners here overfeed their dogs which causes them myriad health problems. I said I would check some information on this breed of dog and get back to her. I found out the cause of the dog's problems and went back to tell her. She was so relieved that it wasn't her fault that she almost cried. Many of the animals here have problems simply because their owners do not know the correct way to deal with them, but they really do love them.

There are various hobbies that people carry out in the parks and a fascinating one is using a giant brush to write characters on the ground using water instead of ink. Of course the sun quickly evaporates the water, but it is still interesting to try to work out what wise saying they want to impart to us before this happens. I like to test out my Chinese characters, but it is not always easy as they use traditional ones. One particularly gifted gentleman is ambidextrous and uses one hand to write Chinese characters, and the other hand to write English simultaneously.

Another benefit is that now it is so hot, it is difficult for me to motivate myself, therefore the early morning is extremely comfortable for me. If you are also suffering from the heat but want to get out and about, then why not think about the early morning life. At 5.00 a.m. Tianjin is already awake and alive with activity. To date I have still only managed to leave my house at 6.00 a.m. - so far a 5.00 a.m. arrival at the park has eluded me but I haven't given up. By 8.30 a.m. just about everyone has ceased their activities and already gone home. Incidentally the earliest bus from the terminal near to my home leaves at 5.00 a.m.

I am learning so much about Chinese people, and the more I get to know them, the more I love them. My advice is if you really want to understand Chinese people and make real friends with them, don't just stick to the people you know through your work, get out and about, especially early in the morning and you will soon find yourself having new experiences, learning new things and making new friends.