Dave’s Wagon

That’s right, what trip to China would be complete without a hike up the Great Wall? Official Beijing Tourism Commission answer: none.

In all honesty, the Wall is a must-visit, if only to say that you’ve been there and to walk away with an “I Climbed the Great Wall” or “I took a dump in an absolutely squalid restroom in the third guard tower” t-shirt.

As our group’s bus approached the Wall, the conversation naturally turned to the structure itself and its history. When it was noted that the Wall had ultimately failed to keep out foreign invaders, someone made the inevitable and idiotic comment that “Walls never work”. I’m of the opinion that such people should be herded into residences immediately adjacent a maximum security prison surrounded only by neatly-trimmed shrubbery, but I digress.

It was a nice day for our visit to the Wall, and while the crowds were thick, the weather was warm and the majority of the tourists were elderly and overweight foreigners, which meant the throngs thinned out fast as we climbed.

And here come the photos:

The wall in distance, straddling the mountains like a giant, tourism money-generating dragon

What more necessary place for a defensive obstacle is there than the top of a jagged mountain?

On the wall, a cluster of interlinking locks left by visitors symbolizing unbroken love, or possibly the timeless defacement of historical monuments.

A praying mantis on the wall, praying to its State-sanctioned god

Huh? What have I been doing for the last hour?!

A pagoda, or possibly a pavilion. Either way, some Asian species of gazebo

The liveliest public security guards I’ve seen in China thus far

Yes, mortar and stone are generally fireproof, thanks.

Massive red tag sale on every Chinese tree! All our inventory MUST GO!

This should be a source of national shame. Who would settle for such shoddy stitching on their Maoerchandise?

And that’s the Great Wall!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006 @ 6:14 am on the category Chinglish, China, Photos, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

That’s right, what trip to China would be complete without a hike up the Great Wall? Official Beijing Tourism Commission answer: none.

In all honesty, the Wall is a must-visit, if only to say that you’ve been there and to walk away with an “I Climbed the Great Wall” or “I took a dump in an absolutely squalid restroom in the third guard tower” t-shirt.

As our group’s bus approached the Wall, the conversation naturally turned to the structure itself and its history. When it was noted that the Wall had ultimately failed to keep out foreign invaders, someone made the inevitable and idiotic comment that “Walls never work”. I’m of the opinion that such people should be herded into residences immediately adjacent a maximum security prison surrounded only by neatly-trimmed shrubbery, but I digress.

It was a nice day for our visit to the Wall, and while the crowds were thick, the weather was warm and the majority of the tourists were elderly and overweight foreigners, which meant the throngs thinned out fast as we climbed.

And here come the photos:

The wall in distance, straddling the mountains like a giant, tourism money-generating dragon

What more necessary place for a defensive obstacle is there than the top of a jagged mountain?

On the wall, a cluster of interlinking locks left by visitors symbolizing unbroken love, or possibly the timeless defacement of historical monuments.

A praying mantis on the wall, praying to its State-sanctioned god

Huh? What have I been doing for the last hour?!

A pagoda, or possibly a pavilion. Either way, some Asian species of gazebo

The liveliest public security guards I’ve seen in China thus far

Yes, mortar and stone are generally fireproof, thanks.

Massive red tag sale on every Chinese tree! All our inventory MUST GO!

This should be a source of national shame. Who would settle for such shoddy stitching on their Maoerchandise?

And that’s the Great Wall!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006 @ 6:14 am on the category Chinglish, China, Photos, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.