My lifetime in Taiyuan

If you visit Yingze Park in spring you will be enchanted by white, pink or yellow tulips. There are people doing morning physical exercise, men and women, young and old. Some practice swordplay, some shadowboxing and others ballroom dancing.

In the past, there were fewer parks in Taiyuan, so people had very little space for activity. Over the years efforts have been made to improve living conditions, enlarge public green areas and expand activity space.

More than 10 high-level parks have been built in and around the city. People do physical exercise on weekdays and climb mountains in the suburbs at weekends.

A retired teacher, who has lived in Taiyuan for more than 50 years, says that in the past the air in winter was almost suffocating because of pollution from the coal-heating.

His son had to buy a house for his parents in Hainan and the old couple flew there to spend winter, like migrating birds. But from 2012 the environmental quality has improved and they are accustomed to the weather so have never gone to Hainan for winter since. The couple has lived in Taiyuan all their lives and considers it the best place to live.

Tulips blossom in Yingze Park in Taiyuan city, capital city of North China's Shanxi province.

Like the retired teacher, many residents agree that Taiyuan is now a livable city. It has four distinct seasons, as a poem says: "there are spring flowers, autumn moon, summer cool wind and winter snow." Every season has its own features, which can never happen in the south.

The parks and public green areas have also been improved, for example Shanxi Grand Theatre in Changfeng Business District, the library, museum, art gallery, science museum and Shanxi Sports Center.

Native people think Taiyuan has a culture that is hard to give up and which is an indispensable part of their spirit.

Taiyuan has a history of more than 2,500 years dating from the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 B.C.), so it has been endowed with a profound cultural background.

The lanes and streets in the old town have their own stories. Natives miss traditional food no matter how far they are away from their hometown.