EAST SIDE GARDEN

Olfactory Memory

Old Wang

It is strange how the Chinese can live in a chaotic world, working like bees in a beehive, and at the same time be in harmony with the spirit and nature that surrounds them.
It was late July, I was west of Shanghai, in a geographical area full of lakes, it was early morning and the heat was unbearable, so I decided to go out and take a walk. The humidity had formed a thin mist that hovered over the lake in front of my hotel, which before long gave way to a beautiful sunrise. On the shores of the lake were local elders practicing Tai Chi at sunrise, not far away others in costume were bathing tied to a red buoy. The setting of the lake with the rising sunlight was framing a carpet of fuchsia-pink lotus flowers and the whole thing conveyed a great serenity and inner peace. An elderly gentleman somewhat stunned by my presence, perhaps by seeing a Westerner in that setting, approached and with a welcoming gesture handed me a cup of Oolong tea that had a slightly citrus note.