Click HERE For the Flickr Photo-stream of Days 4&5
Getting to the Great Wall of China
It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for almost a week. The schedule has been fast paced to put it mildly. On Tuesday afternoon we took off for the Great Wall. It was a bumpy and sometimes precarious ride out to the “compound” where we were staying. In never really felt that we were in danger or that the driver was being reckless, but to say that there is a different style of driving here is to understate. Apparently the horn is a key tool for driving. This comes into play in two situations: changing lanes and passing on narrow mountainous roads. I’m not really sure how the passing thing works. In general it seems as though bus drivers like to wait until the buss is both going over a hill and coming around a blind corner to pass cars or trucks ahead. Apparently this works as follows: Pulling into the oncoming lane until you’re neck-to-neck with the guy that you’re passing. As you pull up even, you start honking your horn in a succession of staccato beeps. The beeps could be considered some sort of Morse code, but I couldn’t find any pattern. As all this is happening, the cars in the on-coming lane start to divert onto the shoulder. This looks like a mechanized modern version of the parting of the Red Sea. At this point, one of two things happens. Either a hole miraculously opens up in front of the car you’re trying to pass or the bus driver access the situation as bad and slides back into position behind the vehicle he’s trying to pass. It all has a chaotic organization to it that I can appreciate but can’t come close to claiming how it works. I’m just thankful to have survived to tell.
The Compound
We arrived at what I called the Great Wall Compound. My impression was that this was some sort of gated community/village that the company hosting us had leased. IWNC (I Will Not Complain) facilitated our group for the two days that we were at the Wall. China is an extremely diverse country and the distance between having and not having is great. The almost complete absence of what we would consider middle-class in the United States is almost wholly missing. Generally in China you are either educated and live in the City and make a decent wage or you don’t and live out in the country and sell commodity items or souvenirs to get by. When we arrived at the compound, locals hawking books, tee shirts and other trinkets immediately surrounded us. I was conflicted about this. Part of me really felt uncomfortable with the relentlessness and tenacity. I was tired and really all I wanted was to settle a bit. Alternately, I knew that the opportunity was minimal for the villagers. You could see this just by looking around. I vowed to buy something, anything and hustled into the compound.
The Experience
Being on the wall was really a great experience and the context given by IWNC was really fantastic. Mei, Lee and Charles and staff really did a great job of facilitating discussions and thoughts regarding what it means to have an economic and cultural relationship with China. Mei, who was one of the facilitators, is married to an American and they both live in Beijing. She has a unique perspective having grown up here and at a certain point in the visit really put a finger on some of the cultural issues from a Chinese perspective. From her perspective, the west, by way of the media, is prone to a lot of preconceived notions, often negative, about China. In particular, we seem to be bombarded with a lot of critical thinking regarding Chinas socio-economic situation, human rights record and so on. This tends to negate the culture and feelings of the majority and breeds negative feelings on both cultural sides. Mei put it very succinctly: “How would you feel if somebody called you ugly all the time?”. That’s something to think about as we go home and again get bombarded with opinions from the “experts”.
Sleeping on the Wall
One of the highlights of the trip so far has been sleeping on the Wall. I know it doesn’t sound like that big of a deal and perhaps seems a little “barbaric” but it really was a neat experience. At the end of the first day, we saddled up and Marched up to our spot on the wall. It was about 11pm local time and we had the good fortune to have clears skies and a full moon. It was light there was a big flashlight turned on which made the walk up much less dangerous than the bus ride. I reflected a bit on the Wall before I popped an Ambien (the drug of choice on that night) and went to sleep. Apparently the Ambien got a little out of control. Eric thought it was a recreational drug and instead of sleeping, enjoyed the experience by babbling incoherently to his Wall-mates around him and texting. I feel straight off to sleep but apparently started snoring like a freight train. I don’t buy that, but can’t disprove it. I did save face as Michael apparently won Olympic gold in the snore-off.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
HA! What a fantastic entry. Your photos are incredible. Man, I’m so envious (and ready for you to come home!) We’re definitely framing that picture of the Wall.
Jbean
peter,
what pictures, what a story, can’t wait to see you in person, hope that
you are eating well and surviving even better.
love,
mom