China 2013 Day 4

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Having trouble keeping up with the blog. Our itinerary is so packed that we have almost no free time. What I've been able to accomplish so far is mostly the fruit of my sleeplessness in the wee hours of the morning.

Breakfast at the hotel and an early start today, because we have a long bus ride ahead. We're going to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, northeast of Beijing. This area of the wall has been extensively renovated along a 5-kilometre stretch and is less crowded than the more dilapidated section of the wall closer to Beijing.

The traffic is heavy but not intolerable. We start to understand just how large Beijing actually is. We are driving through the business district, an endless parade of modern skyscrapers with some familiar and unfamiliar names. Beijing is clearly a throughly modern city in every sense of the word, one that has essentially remade itself in the past 20 years or so. I expected Beijing to be a city of contrasts between old and new–and that is certainly true–but the predominant atmosphere is completely modern, bustling, energetic–and bursting at the seams.

Wanda entertains us with factoids about China and stories from her personal life. She talks about relationships between the various familial generations, how the one-child policy works, and salient aspects of Chinese culture. She teaches us how to count to 10 in using one hand, including a cute mnemonic for numbers 6 through 10. She tells us about the five Cs that the modern Chinese woman is looking for in a man: condo, car, career, cash and character (not necessarily in that order). She, by the way, is considered an "old lady", being 28 and still unmarried. One of the other interesting things Wanda mentions is that a Chinese person, through his/her entire life, is never alone, and on the rare occasions when she has been momentarily by herself, she has felt quite uncomfortable.

Our first stop is a jade manufacturer and store. As an introduction, we receive a well-practised and interesting overview on jade and jade carving from the manager before being let loose on the merchandise. Some of the pieces offered for sale are simply stunning. The manager attaches himself to Violet and proves an amiable chaperone. Violet ends up purchasing a jade bangle for herself and a few other gifts for others.

Lunch is a stop along the way in a restaurant that offers an al fresco format: outside but covered in a garden setting. The food is very good, although truth be told, we are already growing a tad tired of the soup, rice plus stir fry formula.

Back on the bus and on to the main event. When we reach our the Great Wall, there is a fairly steep climb on foot up a road to reach the terminus for the gondola lift. The road is lined on either side with shops offering every possible item that could in any way be branded with the Great Wall. Vendors do their best to catch your attention, calling out "one dolla", catching your arm, waving their wares in your face, sometimes even coming right between you and a person you're talking to. As long as you act completely oblivious to their presence, you're safe; but if you make eye contact or respond verbally in any way or, worst of all, display some interest in their bricabrak, they will stick to you like glue until you are no longer physically reachable.

The majority of our party takes the gondola (more of a ski lift, actually) to the top of the mountain, but a few hardy souls including your humble scribe bravely elect to climb. The stairs are new and very well done, but the climb is quite arduous, requiring more than one pause to catch one's breath. But it's all worth it, because a breath-catching scene awaits.

I had quite a few "wow" moments in my travels, but the iconic view of the Great Wall snaking over mountain tops in both directions as far as the eye can see is one of the biggest wows ever. Amazing! The reconstruction work is fantastic. The wall is as solid as when it was constructed some two centuries ago. Moving around is still a challenge, however, because you're always either climbing or descending, and the surface is never completely in kilter, always slanted one way or the other.

I venture further afield in both directions, pausing to snap photographs and admire the view. It's fairly hazy, so the farther extents of the wall are not clearly visible, but the vistas are still fantastic. I notice that there are several school age girls sprinkled about, each ensconced in some corner and diligently working on something. I strike up a conversation with one and find out that they are from a Singapore girls' school, here on a trip. Their assignment is to climb to the wall, find a quiet corner and write a letter to themselves about who they want to be and what they want to do. Interesting homework.

All too soon it's time to return to earth. The ladies head for the gondola and I take the stairs again. Much easier going down, although a bit hard on the knees. I should mention that another option for the descent is a "toboggan" ride, essentially a magic carpet on a metal chute. One or two of our party try it out. Opinions are mixed.

We run the gantlet of merchants on the way back to the bus. Some people are able to get some good deals, almost always by playing the walking-away card.

On the trip back to Beijing, we stop at a cloisonné shop. Cloisonné is an ancient technique for making a variety of objects, but typically vases. It involves starting from a copper or bronze cast, gluing tiny copper wires to the cast to create the design, firing the item to fuse the wires to it, then repeatedly filling up the spaces with coloured dust and rebaking until the areas are filled. Then the item is polished and repolished until it takes on a permanent shine. We get an introductory talk on the cloisonné process and are able to view craftspeople at work, and then of course we are given the opportunity to contribute to China's growing economy. The workmanship on the pieces is incredible and the prices are not outrageous, and we are seduced into making some small purchases.

A long bus ride back in bad traffic. The routine near-misses of vehicles and people is really quite extraordinary. There must be thousands of accidents a day in this city, although we have so far only seen two minor ones. We also routinely see emergency vehicles, lights flashing, at a complete standstill. I wonder how many people don't make it to the hospital in time.

Finally make it back. Supper and bed. We have to ready to check out in the morning. We have one more day in Beijing then a night fight to Xian.

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Comments

[Gerry-Lynn]

Awesome descriptions..
Sounds like your having a wonderful but exhausting time..and the cusine could be improved upon. I love Jade (green being my favorite color) lol.

[Donna]

Karen's friend again
Thank you David for this wonderful account. I commend you for this and your walk up the steps. Amazing. Say HI to Karen for me. Tell her any souvenir from China, would be greatly appreciated. Give her a hug for me and send my love. Take care all of you.