So it’s not just eBay Australia that knows how to “work hard, play hard”, turns out eBay Shanghai does too 😉 Our staff Fun Day @ Gongqing Forest Park fell smack bang on a brilliantly sunny and warm Saturday. It was an event for all staff, plus their families and children.. just a lazy day out in the sun.

Located just a short drive away, Gongqing Forest Park spans 131 hectares and has more than 300,000 trees plus tens of thousands of gorgeous tulips. It’s pretty hard to believe we’re still in Shanghai! Here, you can choose to go the quiet route and enjoy some bushwalking, horseriding and picnicking, or the amusement route with kite-flying, sky gliding and roller coaster riding.

It was such a delight to lie back on the picnic mats, soaking up the hot sun. It was also a great time for all of us to meet each other’s families.. though poor Chris was the token white guy and found it tough to speak to everyone, he could only talk to a handful of people that could speak English, lol. The kids loved him though, warming up to him quickly and running over each time to get him to tie their ballons (“qi qiu / ??” is what they’re called, I learned something new, haha!). They were sooo cute, and we also discovered little Chinese children are different to Australian kids. When they’re in a school group, they grip the clothing of the kid in front, forming a long line. They’re like little ducklings walking in a row!!! Both of us seriously squealed with amusement. In Australia, they walk hand-in-hand in pairs (called the “buddy system”) which isn’t nearly as cute, probably because we’re used to it, haha. The kids here are also a lot quieter and most are very silent, it’s tough to get them to jump around screaming and running around (actually, I don’t think any did). I reckon Chinese kids would be easier to look after 😉

Lunch was… KFC!!!!! The children went nuts. And so did I. I grabbed a big bucket to share with Chris and plowed through all of it, heh. It was JUST SO GOOD!!!!!! I love my fried chicken. The only downside is that they didn’t come with fries 🙁 I was craving it so badly, and ended up getting a Cornetto ice cream and chowing down on an assortment of biscuits and chocolates to try and sate the appetite, but it didn’t quite work. I’m STILL craving fries right now…

After that, we all wandered off in groups to check out the various activities. We decided to go on all the amusement park rides and boy it was fun! I can’t even remember the last time I went to an amusement park. This one was fun because it was all shrouded in the tree, and there were quite a few rides to check out. It’s waaaay more fun going this when you’re with a group of people, 10 in our case. Plus it was fun to let some steam off and get to know work people (and their families) better. What a fabulously organised day. Thanks eBay!

Spring has sprung!

The wheels on the bus go round and round…

Colourful balloons galore

Lots of sellers hawking bits and bobs

School children. They were adorable!!

Lots of people entering the park gates

Gorgeous

Thousands and thousands of tulips

Unusual deep purple tulips

The amusement rides hidden amongst the trees

Ready to rock n roll

The kids playing with their balloons

Kite flying

Kids playing games

Video of one of the kids singing – so adorable!

And now it’s the adults’ turn 😉 Chris gave it a great shot, despite the mega language barrier!

Pumped up on a bucketload of KFC, we decided to go on amusement park rides

Me go-kart racing!

Chris whizzing on the track

Levitating off

On some flier thing. WHEEEEEEEE!

A wee roller coaster ride, that was actually kinda scary (because I’m a chicken)

Water ride. It was superfun 🙂

Scary ride that went 360 degrees. Ahhhh!

BUMPERCARS!! The 10 of us went all at once, and bought 3 rounds.
My favourite – it’s waaaay more fun when everyone else in there is a friend!

The bunch of us

Gorgeous flowers

Fantastic weather

Sweaty, dirty and tired. It was a fab day!