2/3/09, The Great Wall

Today was my happiest day by far in Beijing, and I couldn't say exactly why. I was in a good mood and comfortable even when I was lost. It's my last night in Beijing, and I'm sorry that I'm leaving here just as I was starting to get accustomed to it. Still probably don't want to live here, though. There's just not enough from block to block, way too much sprawl. But today was a good day. Here was my route:
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Just once, I'd like to have a day without a major transportation snafu. I was so sure that today was going to be a cinch, because I was following exact instructions given to me by both the guidebook and the Beijing subway system: line 2 to Jishuiping, line 919 to Badaling. Of course, however, something did happen. What neither source told me was that there are multiple 919s, and unless I walked to the exact right station, I would not catch the one going to Badaling. I rode the wrong 919 to the end of the line and only then asked about the Great Wall, earning a bemused response from the bus driver and the conductor. So once again, in the middle of nowhere, I allowed myself to be hustled into a ripoff, definitely not on the level cab. This time, my Mandarin really did save me. I was able to nail him down to a price (still way too much, 100 yuan) and not let him drag me to anywhere I didn't want to go. At the end of the day, I'm ok with it, since I'd rather be where I want to be then wander on endlessly just to avoid spending a few yuan.

I'm not entirely sure what to say about the Great Wall, and feel like quoting President Nixon, whose response was "This is a Great Wall". It is unimaginably majestic, sweeping views of gorgeous mountains and valleys, and with an elegant simplicity. I spent three hours just walking up and down and looking, and even having people take my picture. I also got my second picture request on the Great Wall. I accepted it, of course. I owe my adoring public.

On the Wall, besides gaping in awe and being happy to be around all this beauty, I thought about a couple of things. I've always been sort of a military history buff, and so I thought about the military efficacy of the wall. The Great Wall is a massive failure, and the main reason, as Genghis Khan famously put it, is that, ultimately, the strength of a wall depends on the courage of its fortifications. But outside of that, walking the wall today, I thought of another reason why the Great Wall was not particularly wise. The terrain there is already rough, and a wall on those mountains only serves to waste men by forcing them to spread out. A better strategy would be, along the lines of the Maginot line, to fortify the difficult to defend terrain to force the enemy over the bad terrain. Or that's what it seems like to me, anyhow. Really, it struck me, the purposes of the Great Wall must have been internal political reasons: Qin Huangdi showing his sheer might, chutzpah and ability. I also thought, in a more abstract sense, about the way some of our greatest achievements and demonstrations of human capability are also products of tyranny, how monuments of great beauty often come directly out of deep oppression.

I almost forgot! While I was climbing the Great Wall, I heard two familiar beeps. Impossible, I thought, it's someone else. My cell phone hasn't worked since I got to China. But sho'nuff, it was two text messages welcoming me to China. I guess the height of the Great Wall allowed the satellite to find it, or something. This is great, because now I have a reliable alarm clock, and I can be reached if there's an emergency, or if I'm just totally lost. Nothing else though, please; it'd cost a fortune. In the understatement of the century, my cell phone says that I'm "roaming".

Another cute little story on the Great Wall. A little Chinese kid came running at me, pointing and shouting a not so nice word for foreigner. I looked at him, smiled, and said softly in Mandarin, you're not very polite. He was immediately chastened and me and his family both laughed. Me 1, the Chinese a couple hundred yuan.

I often, btw, get complimented on my Mandarin, but generally, my conversations consist of the same four or five questions: what nationality are you, where did you learn Mandarin, where are you going, your chinese is very good, etc. Also, generally, these are people who are recieving my money. Whenever something comes out of left field, or comes very fast, my comprehension and speaking skill breaks down crazy quickly. And it varies, from day to day, and from interaction to interaction.

I caught the right bus back from Badaling. I was originally planning to see the Ming Tombs, but I percieved what a transportation nightmare that'd likely be, and chose to skip it. I tried to fit in a visit to a Taoist Temple here in Beijing, but I got back too late. Which was fine by me, I could have spent all day at the Great Wall. For once, I just stayed in my hotel and relaxed a bit, watching the CCTV english station (even CCTV's english speakers aren't very good) and a couple of rare Max Fleischer cartoons that are hard to find in the states. After chilling for an hour, I headed out to a restaurant in East Beijing recommended by the guidebook for Beijing style food. Today, I ordered the recommended dish, fried spareribs, and some noodles to go with it. I thought I wouldn't be in the mood for fried spareribs, and I was right, but I have to say, I've never had something so delicately fried, and the pepper salt that went with it had a neat, numbing heat. I was expecting half a rack and got a whole one, and could barely finish half, so I saved some for lunch tomorrow. The noodles, on the other hand, were just American lo mein, nothing special, and the guy laughed when I said I didn't want them packed up to go, I think he knew what was up.

Tomorrow's kind of a wild card day, and I've left it wide open. Depending on how it goes at the train station, I might try to squeeze in a trip to the Marco Polo Bridge or Tianning Temple, but we'll see. I'm extremely anxious about my trip to Taishan, now that I'm in China aware of everything that can go wrong: my bag might be too big, I might have to check my bag, I might not be able to get my bag back, I'll miss my stop, I won't be able to find my hotel (which I don't even have an exact address for), I won't be able to get a train out. And those aren't even the unknown unknowns. As the Chinese say, don't worry about ten thousand, just worry about one in ten thousand. I'm getting sick of moving around at this point, and just want the assurance that I'll be somewhere safe. I've learned my lesson; no more travelling alone. Next time I do something like this, I don't care if I get physically pulled around with a leash by the tour guide, better that than dealing with this stuff. Well, maybe not quite that much. But I definitely am never travelling alone again.

Eh, things always tend to end up right side up for me, though. I might not be able to blog tomorrow, unless I can find an internet cafe near the train station. We'll see. Till tomorrow.