The Nationalities Park, which is also known as the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park, celebrates the ethnic cultures of China, with a focus on traditional architecture, music and dance. Most Chinese are 'Han Chinese' - about 95%, but there are 56 ethnic groups in the Chinese family altogether.

It seems like every time I visit Beijing my taxi drives past the Nationalities Park and I ask someone about the strange buildings along the skyline above the road. This time (2007) I was determined to solve the mystery with Meixin as my guide.

The weather was a bit miserable so the crowds were thin (at times the young performers seemed almost to outnumber them) but I was fascinated. You get to see "China in a day" and the quality of the displays are excellent. There are plenty of signs in English (but more would be good). It's not very whizz-bang but more like a huge open-air museum with live demonstrations.

Meixin buys our tickets	Entrance, notice olympics promotion	Well, everybody else was posing for snaps	Young performer heading for the stage area
Covered Bridge	This is cotton - I must confess I was expecting a more impressive plant.	Canoes looking almost polynesian.	Inside the elaborate covered bridge,
Beautiful Meixin as I shall always remember her (click for my tribute).	That's a water wheel, irrigating a rice paddy,	There's the rice paddy as backdrop to a souvenir snap.	And there's the actual rice.
Now it's Meixin's turn to pose with the rice paddy...	...and a nearby doorway.	Bamboo and china vessels inside an ethnic house	The interior of that same house
Another view of the interior.
		Yes, there's the famous Birdsnest Olympic Stadium again - right next to the park...	... and also right next to the Australian-designed Water Cube swimming stadium.
Korean Restaurant		Chinese tudor?	Ethnic handicrafts shop.
	These hanging things are gourds- traditionally dried to store liquids. Meixin waits patiently.		Mongolian yurt and...
Suddenly, dancing mongolians	More dancing mongolians
The same covered bridge plus Meixin			Soon to be another craftshop
	Dancers repairing their costumes
	Meixin walks too fast for me
	We saw a strange land...
The Tibetan area - Meixin bought lots of souvenirs
	The water dance which seems to involve thowing water at the dancers.
			It had been a long day for me and Meixin is teasing me over my eagerness to leave.

			Tibetan area	Tibetan door
			Disneyland?
			Craft shop