We'd seen other people do it before, and at first we thought that the sign (see second from left, above) clearly indicated that this was, in fact, the place to pitch one's tent. So we pitched a tent on the big lawn on the north end of Chaoyang Park and had a little picnic on Saturday. Eventually a uniformed park guard (who looked approximately 13 years old) came over and told us we couldn't do that there, but couldn't say where it was posted. It's "in the regulations," apparently, that only he was privy to.Later we realized that we had no idea what these signs actually meant... since there were no generators or potable water nearby; and if camping wasn't allowed... and wait, what's that helicopter and truck unloading all about? At least we agreed that fire (in red) is always bad and clearly you weren't supposed to start any bonfires. Luckily, living in China has made us accustomed to living with profound confusion, so we were able to shrug it off and go on our way.
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