Thursday, November 8, 2007

The Great Wall



Yesterday Ellie and I hiked up easily more than 2500 feet to get to an untouristed section of the great wall - it was easily one of the top 5 experiences of my life. The Jian Kou section that we visited was completely unrestored (crumbling in some parts) but very authentic. If you ever come to Beijing you must visit this section and no other. Apparently the other sections that most people visit have been rebuilt and are more like a Disney attraction, with gift shops, restaurants and a chairlift, than a historical site.

After a long trek to the top, I let out a very satisfying guttural scream. Hiking along this section was like walking right into every middle school history textbook that I've ever had. The wall was beautiful and awesome - it is impossible to take a bad picture up there.The most striking feature of the wall is its size - you can see it stretching on for miles in each direction. The amount of manpower that went into building the wall is just incomprehensible. Apparently those that couldn't handle the rigors of building the wall became part of it - I was very glad to be visiting and not building that wall!

2 comments:

Teddy Pendergas said...

DONKS,

IT'S BOBES

READING YOUR SHIT

BOTH YOU AND DIRT HAVE BLOGS, GENIUS

I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS SO YOU CAN READ THIS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

<3

BOBES

Unknown said...

The Great Wall's on my before-I-expire list... and now I know which exact section to go to! Awesome. Thanks for posting...We check your blog daily to see what's happening. Take care...All's well on this side of the world.