I went to a city park this morning. As soon as I entered, I heard cracking sounds and a high-pitched hum. At first I thought that the sound came from some kind of machinery. Then I saw a group of old people playing a type of top that I had never seen before.
The top is made of metal, and is shaped like a big bullet. Holes in the side make the whistling sound as the top spins. The whipping action keeps spinning the top.
One of the many reasons that Shenyang was my first choice of posts was that I wanted to see more of the traditional China, before modernization erases it. I think that I saw a little piece of the old China today.