{"id":891,"date":"2011-11-09T09:55:16","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T14:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=891"},"modified":"2011-11-09T10:01:08","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T15:01:08","slug":"china-and-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2011\/11\/china-and-running.html","title":{"rendered":"China and Running"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

An odd pair of things seem to be on my mind (and floating around the internet) today: China and running.<\/p>\n

Perhaps not so odd. When I spent 3 weeks in China<\/a> a couple years back, I was training for my first marathon, so a lot of my fond memories of the country are connected with running. (Click on the map here<\/a> for a virtual tour of the trip.)<\/p>\n

So\u2026 China. Despite that trip and subsequent travels and reading, I still feel a sense of real vagueness in my understanding of East Asia and its religions. Coming across this video<\/a> about China helped, as part of the message is that China is a country and a people of many contradictions.<\/p>\n

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Shanghai, old and new, 2009.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After watching that, I highly recommend viewing this gallery<\/a> of family portraits representing the 56 ethnic groups in China. And if you have any lingering doubts about China being a place of contradictions, check out this operatic senior choir doing a Lady Gaga cover:
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