Back to Gallery

Street Sweepers

I loved the street sweepers. We were between Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. People were really hot and families sitting on the ground, ice water was the big seller andhand fans. Out of no where people started scattering, here came the street sweepers with thier big bamboo brooms. They did not wait for people to move they just started sweeping the trash and it was up to you to just move. They were in teams of 3-5 and they just moved quickly.

Then suddenly they all stopped and a man in a white shirt and a woman with a camera showed up and someone else pushed a big cart out and all the sweepers where given white hand towels to wash with, it was dripping hot, and ice water bottles. They freeze water bottles there and you drink as they thaw. It's that hot!

This woman was taking pictures of them on their break. Still don't know what that was about. So I went over to get a closer look of the broom. I could see it was made of bamboo. I tried to communicate with them by pointing. I was pointing at the broom, then the man in the white shirt came over and point to me to take a picture with him. So I held one of the broom along with him and we posed for a picture. Have no clue how it turned out and what purpose that is serving. I keep looking online to see if I show up someplace. But he in turned posed for me.

It was a moment for sure.