Tourists Falling Down the Great Wall of China

What better way to say good bye to the old year than a trek up the Great Wall of China, visits to Chinese factories and palaces, and a stunning Chinese acrobatic show? As a matter of fact, I have seen so much excitement today that I don't know if I will make it until midnight. A drink in the hotel bar with strangers would just be anti-climactic anyway, considering the fact that my lively sisters are already sleeping for the night.

We met up with our tour last night and made acquaintances with fellow whities --mostly Canucks-- over a traditional, but delicious, Chinese roast duck dinner.

We started today bright and early and saw some neat things such as Chinese factories where they make beautiful artifacts and carve jade. Also the Summer Palace, a massive and lavish summer home and grounds for the Chinese Emperors of old.

But the highlight was climbing the Great Wall of China. It is as magnificent as the pictures in books depict. It's an incredible artifact- 3000 years old, built by the Emperor's workers (read slaves), and apparently for every meter of the very long wall, one life was claimed while building it. About 60-70% of the wall is in ruins. It slithers up and down the mountains like a snake and is more than a wall; rather thick cement stairs with lookout towers sprinkled around.

It snowed here yesterday and the terrain was actually beautiful as the trees and wall were frosted with snow. The problem is that the steps to climb the wall are quite steep. Put on a layer of snow and ice, and it's danger zone. Add a zillion tourists and it's downright entertaining. If I learned a Chinese word for every person I saw fall on their ass on the trek either up or down, I'd be bilingual. I hesitated to laugh too hard thinking I might meet my own demise, but when I landed safely with no mishaps, I couldn't stop laughing at all the people I saw tumble and slip down the Great Wall of China. I know those of you who know my sadistic side would expect nothing less from me. But trust me, it was hilarious to see every sex and race and age fall on their ass, and hear the matching exclamations in different languages.


The only disappointment was that we couldn't see too far around us from the lookout towers. The Chinese government and media call it fog; our local tour guide who grew up here tells us it's actually smog. Yes, Chinese pollution prohibited us from seeing the wall clearly from the top of the mountains. There is a major pollution problem in Beijing and it's sad that it leaves a hazy cloud looming over the city. We've seen it on chilly winter days- I can't imagine what humid summer days would bring. That is the reason the pictures are a little fuzzy, which is too bad, but it shows how serious the pollution problem really is here.

The other highlight of the day was an entertaining Chinese acrobatic show. The Chinese invented acrobatics thousands of years ago, and tonight's show surpassed entertaining. It was downright shocking seeing what these people could do with the human body in terms of bending and balance. It was almost stressful at some points. Imagine seeing a guy stack 8 chairs about 40 feet in the air, and then doing a headstand on top of the chair with no wires or net as a safeguard. It was remarkable, but nerve racking as well. The show was spectacular. I haven't even seen stunts like this on TV. We're talking 12 girls riding a bicycle (all balancing on top of each other), men juggling Asian boys, ladies walking across each other's heads...with every stunt the show just got more and more surreal. It was amazing and very well done.

Have a happy new year everyone! I'm having the time of my life out here, but I do miss my amazing family and crazy friends. Hard to believe that a week from today I will be on a plane ride home. I'm not sure I'm ready to starting thinking of that quite yet...