We set off this morning in our little bus for the
Jinshanling section of the Great Wall, which is relatively distant and so less
visited than the nearer sections. On the
way, our guide explained that farmers displaced by the highway that had been
built to this section were given permission to sell souvenirs to visiting
tourists, and that they also helped people over the steeper parts of the path
from the cable car to the Wall itself.
OK, we got to the cable cars, and I paired up with B (who is relatively thin, has a PhD in anthropology and also a law degree --
taught at John Jay and then worked in mental health law) and tried not to look
down too much as the cable car inched up.
Meanwhile, several local women had tried to chat us up before we got on
the cable car. They went up by foot and
were there before the cable car landed.
One attached herself to me, and, as the trail got steeper and turned into steep steps, she (all 90
lbs of her) grabbed my elbow and all but hauled me up the steps.
I guess I'm afraid of heights.
When we got to the watch tower on the wall, I ate my
lunch, posted some pictures of the Wall on Facebook, and then started crying
and texting Leon and Aaron that just in case my weight broke the cable car
cable or I tumbled down the mountain, I loved them. (Did I say there was cell phone reception in
this rugged, remote place?). Leon and Aaron, bemused, texted back
reassuringly.
Meanwhile, the lady who'd hauled me up the steps refused
to accept money for her help; she wanted to sell souvenirs. I bought a paper cut book from her for
$40. Then she started showing me little
silk handbags ($14 each), and saying she made them herself and needed money for
her little children at home (maybe grandchildren?) and I thought what the heck,
and bought two. I thought, it's rural
development, I guess. Her name is Ms.
Chin. I took a couple of pictures of
her.
I was really quite scared of going down, but of course it
wasn't as bad as I feared, and Ms. Chin had a VERY firm grasp on my elbow all
the time (Leon had sent me his hiking sticks -- they helped too). B and I survived the cable car descent
(the local ladies scampered down the hillside and met us at the bottom, and
continued their selling efforts with the others in the group.). Ms. Chin,
however, just nodded and smiled at me.
Did I say that my cell phone seems not to be blocked at
all? I can get Facebook and Google -- I
even googled "grass mud horse",
a meme from 2009 in response to efforts by Chinese censors to clean up
the internet, and got results. On the
other hand, when I use my iPad in the hotel, I can't get the NYT or the Wash
Post, or Google or FB.
We journeyed back to Beijing, to Tianamen Square, which
is truly vast (109 acres). I was too
tired to walk around much in the allotted time, and talked to Cindy, our
guide. She was curious how I'd made my
way around Beijing on my own for 2 days, and I explained Chinese friends from
Beijing had given me advice. I explained
there were lots of Chinese actuaries (she had to look that up).
I gave her my copy of Evan Osnos' Age of Ambition
(otherwise I'd just schlepp it home & give it to the Swarthmore
Library)--she was interested in reading it.
Actually, I'm impressed how many in our group have read some of the
recommended background books.
At any rate, our guides are taking good care of us. They cancelled tonight's dinner in the hotel
(they thought Sat night's dinner wasn't that good) and took us instead to a
restaurant a block away, and also moved back our train trip to Xi'an tomorrow
so we could eat lunch at a restaurant instead of on the train. I told Cindy about the saying that an army
marches on its stomach and she laughed.
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