The Great Wall of China

 

                                                        

There are many reasons to visit China, but what unites them is a visit to the Great Wall of China – one of human creation, which is visible from space. This applies in full force for us, that we are going in this country with the sole purpose to see what small helpless people are able to create when are united in one purpose.

We are now a few days in Beijing, reached some experience and know that it is okay to relax well and have a good breakfast, before to live the hotel.

Because I mentioned food I thought of the show, which we inadvertently made in a Chinese restaurant the first night of our arrival. We went there, driven by the desire to eat local food wherever we go and because we hadn't seen anything like it. We saw square-shaped high tops with high stools in front of them, with built-in electric stove and pots with hot broth to each visitor.

We stopped timidly to the entrance and the minute later we ensconced and handed a "menu". I had to figure out what it says, because, unlike elsewhere, there was no English translation. Many young Chinese know this language and came to us for help. Before us, the table fills with saucers filled with raw meats, vegetables, can safely say grasses, mushrooms and small plates with spices.

We looked around and we saw our neighbors put everything in a casserole, then take it from there, immersed in the plates with sauces and hot-hot suck it. Of course, the chopsticks were their and our unique cutlery. We started with feeding without waiting for an invitation to find that many things are not in order.We put the raw ingredients in the crock pot, but we didn't wait long enough. Our hasty clumsy attempts of the hungry people were forced all the surrounding to stop eating. With badly disguised smileys all were staring at us. The waitress came over and started pulling out of the dishes the row food that were served and spices, which were not to eat.

Our volunteer translator left the meal came and gave us the necessary guidance. Spirits calmed down a little and for us all to cope with the terrible spicy and heat food. On top of that, it was delicious and we – increasingly hungry to wait. From somewhere came the plastic forks and spoons. It took us a long time, but still left the restaurant satisfied with the food. For ten of our table neighbor stay an unforgettable entertainment. I have in my notebook the names of all vegetables and meats on the menu, written in Chinese, even with the pronunciation. In fact, in the hotel we chose Chinese food for breakfast but there everything was served like in America, that we passed to consumers with good manners.

We took the cooled van to the Great Chinese Wall, which was about 70-80 km from the hotel.  The day promised to be warm and cloudless. It sounds quite conditional, because air even at such a distance from the capital was not transparent. Surprisingly, a strong wind blowing there contributed not for cleanliness of atmosphere.

Our tour guide was a very pleasant young woman, a student of tourism at a local University and we were very satisfied with the optimized explanations that  she gave us for different objects. As the many imposing Chinese she had an umbrella and she wore gloves to protect of the Sun.

It makes no sense to say how great distance seen the Wall along the mountain ridges, nor what the steep places passes and how much effort is the cost of builders.

It is worth to describe the little funicular which climbed fairly close to one of the tops of the Wall. A very narrow line on which were small module shaped benches were created for the dimensions of the Chinese. They went through some dark tunnels, highly inclined hillsides and went for 20 minutes to the top.

I had to be quick, because the modules don't stop and had to  lay back down pretty quickly and close the belt. A bit more difficult is getting up there, you can't miss it, otherwise go to one channel, not especially convenient for passengers and go back to the beginning.

For people with my dimensions and those of my husband, it was not a problem, but I would not advise more fat people to get there. Light rail probably wouldn't agree a well.

The construction of the Great Wall followed the unification of China under Qin Shi Huangdi  (221-200) and in the period between 1368-1644 Ming dynasty added more about 6 500 km. As a result of the nearly three-century-old effort overall length becomes equal to the distance between Milan and New York.  The entire northern boundary of the State ought to be unapproachable to the barbarians. Of course, the history knows that the massive walls and towers have not stopped the Mongols. Nothing new, we've seen this  repeatedly on movies.

The towers of the Wall from a distance resemble castles. They are tall around 13-14 m and are used not only for monitoring but also for the relay of information. The type and frequency of fire extinguishing and firing showed what and how hostile troops are coming.  The speed of the messages sent between the towers thus reached more than 40 miles per hour.

By the time the Grand creation begins to crumble under the influence of human interference and weather conditions. In fact, this influence was programmed with the construction of the Wall.  The Emperor's security requirements imposed to destroy any vegetation beyond the wall at a distance of 96 km. The hurt is the north-western part of the wall, exposed to the harsh desert conditions in the province Ningšia. Somewhere the stone blocks were used as building material for roads and buildings.

In 1984, in many places the wall was reconstructed and is under the protection of the law.  David Spindler, an American who worked for several years with her research believes that the greatest danger to the wall are "repairs". In some provinces for restorative work been used tiles for the bathroom. Maybe that's an English Restorer told that once we determine what's left of the Great Wall, we can think of reconstruction works.

The great emperors are not assumed that their impressive creation will perform more successfully the role of one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world. Several million tourists visit the Wall every year. Not only famous artists sealed his images against the background of its battlements. Government heads as President. Nixon and Fidel Castro have not missed this opportunity. For Starbrg, Coca-Cola  Companies and other American harbingers in China, as well as the many enterprising Chinese traders make no sense and add.

And here we were in a hurry, our tour guide, of course, stayed down and gave us a few hours to the meeting for the way back. The good tourist training allow us to get to the top spot in this part of the wall, to enjoy all the sights and do so many images that the generations after us, there's no reason to go there…

 

The Chinese commercial spirit with undying enthusiasm agenda invited tourists to all temptations, but we learned with time and the economic crisis to limit our desires. Still more, the  purchases had to be transferred over sea.

Oh, I missed to say, we have a diploma, which testified to conquering the one of the towers of the Chinese Wall. The "climb" was performed in a package with other dozens of visitors – something like a marching band. Welcome, there was the only place where I met with ordinary Chinese, not the citizens of Beijing, I saw them behave, what they eat and dress. I sew also from far away, that for those who did not want nor could not clime is a gondola lift.



                                                           

I met an interesting material for the Wall in a very good magazine, the Smithsonian, to which we subscribed for years. To keep the Warriors in the army, where they are usually supposed to stay years, one Chinese general Ki Žiguang 450 years ago allowed their families to settle around the Wall and be responsible for their Tower. The thankful fighters and their families took the task of running the towers so serious that generations later they proudly said and until now, that this is their Tower.

Nice that the games were after ou visit in Beijing. This gave us the opportunity to glimpse again very familiar sights and sorry for this architectural treasures of this ancient country, for which we don't have options.

We watched two weeks the Olympics on TV at home, we have admired of exclusive ambition and the victories of so many sportsmen, regretted the other, lost the gold medal just tenths of a second. We saw children whose exceptional performances can be the envy of all adult riders, but we saw also how easy it is for Chinese leaders to manipulate facts, even replacing the age of an athlete in the passport, if that is necessary.

     Americans have a saying "never say never", while the Bulgarians say " do not conjure" I like them both. In this itinerary I do exactly that, I praised Chinese or deny them. For me, life is just never to be sure that what you say today is the absolute truth of tomorrow and later and what was the absolute truth for you is valid for everyone.

            Many things in the life of Beijing citizens was liberalized for the games, and then again on the old song, but what can you do? Right yet though for 17 days, they tasted the breath of freedom, alas not complete and not for everyone. Freedom will come to increasingly larger portions. These people who made Beijing a modern city that made one of the most beautiful, opening and closing of the Olympic Games, although it later will get theirs. Then we will have to go back to the Bible and to compare how a wrong or right she was.

The trip is also an obsession, I don't know if it has a name, but I know how it is manifested. I store my suitcase in the attic and immediately sit down at the computer looking for next available opportunity if I can, and when ...fate knows.



                                                                      
Isn't this land to big to protect it with wall?