Water Festival (Away from the River)

There are 300 boats racing in the Water Festival this year with 200,000+ rowers and another million or two people crowded along the riverfront enjoying all the excitement. Away from the river the holidays bring some changes to traffic and business, but a lot of life just goes on.

First of all there are the personal tasks that MUST be done. Every morning everyone must go out and sweep up the street in front of their house!
People keep wearing clothes and getting them dirty so someone has to keep washing them, too.
And in a culture that doesn’t use refrigeration, there are always markets open for daily shopping.
This group of children, with mother trailing behind, is headed for one of the markets to get the ingredients for a special holiday meal.
And because there’s little refrigeration, the ice men are out and busy also.