Day 3: The Great Wall of China

From David Rotter, Scheck & Siress prosthetist:

I met some of Melissa’s very nice friends and four of us chartered a mini-van and hired a tour guide to take us to The Great Wall of China.
We were very fortunate in that our guide, Snow, was very thorough and extremely knowledgeable in Chinese history. I truly enjoy learning and understanding about local cultures when I travel and Snow did not disappoint.

We learned about the different dynasties of Chinese history and why there was a need for the great wall. First, a staggering figure: The Great Wall is 5,000 kilometers long (more than 3,000 miles, roughly the expanse of the continental United States). It was built almost exclusively on the highest peaks around Beijing. The Great Wall protected the heart of China from invading nomadic tribes of the north, primarily Mongolian tribes. The peoples of the north were hunter/gatherers compared to the peoples of the south who were primarily farmers.

The Great Wall served to protect the less aggressive people of the south. To add perspective, 70% of modern Chinese are still of the peasant class (about 900 million people!).

The Great Wall is an amazing site to behold. What is more amazing is that this structure was built by hand, brick by brick. We climbed the wall and were able to see the different generations of bricks that were laid. The Great Wall was built and rebuilt from as early as 900 B.C. all the way to the 1600s when construction was finally abandoned.

The opening ceremonies took place this evening. Along with some others from the group who did not have tickets, I watched the ceremony from a big screen in the hotel. This was a spectacle that rivaled the Olympic opening ceremonies. It was absolutely spectacular. Future opening ceremonies will be hard pressed to top the grand theatrical productions that the Chinese put on.