Dispelling Some Myths
The lure of the Great Wall of China attracts thousands of people every day.
The Chinese have a saying (often attributed to Mao Zedong) that roughly translates "you are not a great man until you have climbed the Great Wall." Richard Nixon, in his 1972 visit, is quoted as saying, "It sure is a great wall." Most visitors simply utter a simple "wow" upon first sight. The Great Wall is one of those few tourist attractions that actually lives up to the hype.
The earliest attempts at keeping the nomadic tribes of the north from the settled villages started in the 6th century B.C. But it wasn't until the Qin dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC), when the Emperor, Qin Shihuang, united the warring states into what is now considered "unified" China, did the first major building begin. Literally hundreds of thousands of men were deployed to connect the smaller walls and to extend the fortifications all the way to the eastern coast. Think of it as the first major public works program, preceding Keynesian thought by thousands of years. It was from this first massive effort that the wall got its Chinese name, "wan li chang cheng" or literally "10,000 li long wall." (Note: a li is a Chinese unit of distance roughly equivalent to 500 meters.)
The second wall was built under the Han dynasty, immediately after the Qin. Realizing this new Qin wall was pretty neat, and effective, they built another brand new section of wall roughly 500 kilometers to the north of the existing one. It roughly parallels the present border of Mongolia. However, this wall was inferior in design to the Qin wall and little is left of it today.
What most visitors now consider
the Great Wall was built under the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644). After taking decades years to kick the Mongols out of their country, they spent the next 200 hundred years making sure they stayed out. They not only rebuilt sections of the old Qin wall, they also built entirely new sections. They ended up with a wall that measured over 12,000 li long, approximately 3,600 miles. It was, and still is, an impressive feat of civil engineering by any standard.
The Wall was built with materials indigenous to the location of construction. In the western Qin wall, it was largely rammed earth mixed with what ever they could find to give it some kind of cohesiveness, including egg yolks. The later Ming wall was created with stones quarried from local pits and huge, heavy kiln-dried bricks. The centuries of wind and water have reduced the western portions of the wall to little more than small berms in the desert. The Ming wall, newer and more solidly constructed, still stands proudly but is facing a more gradual disintegration. The wind and water, the freeze/thaw cycles, the sprouting vegetation, and poor conservation efforts are slowly taking their toll.
So how long is the Wall? The quick answer is nobody knows for sure. It would take a monumental effort to measure all the different sections, and to-date, no one has attempted it. One can find many different "estimates" even within Chinese government sources, sometimes different estimates within the same source. A concurrence, if you will, puts it at somewhere between 3,900 to 4,200 miles. Although the Chinese name puts it at 10,000 li, the word "wan" in Mandarin means "boundless" or "eternal", or "without end" depending on the context. It should not be taken literally.
The Wall has been called the "world's longest graveyard" as
it is said those dying while constructing the wall were buried in it. The Chinese tell the tale of a young wife whose husband was "selected" to work building the wall. She searched for him for years. At last she found he had died of hunger and was buried in the wall. She cried and cried until her tears caused the collapse of the wall. This is probably why they buried the dead bodies away from the wall. It weakened the stability. (But we still like the story.)
Another tale (still being told by Chinese tour guides) is the Great Wall can be seen from space, even the moon. Not true. Astronauts have had difficulty spotting the continents from the moon, let alone any man-made structures. And space traveler after space traveler has said it is impossible, with the naked eye, to see the Great Wall from earth orbit. Even if you know where to look.
Despite the years of neglect and deliberate destruction, there is one force acting to preserve the Wall...you, the tourist. Since the opening of China in 1979, millions of tourists have found their way to the Great Wall. This has prompted the government to reconstruct sites closest to Beijing to facilitate this pilgrimage. Some feel this "reconstruction" has gone too far, turning an historical monument into a Disney-like attraction.
Red Monkey trips visit the Wall at locations where the wall can be seen both in its natural state and with a little reconstruction to let you see how those soldiers of old viewed the Wall. Because after all, it sure is a great wall.
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Golden Weeks
In 1999, the Chinese government created two "Golden Weeks." Prior to this, International Labor Day (May 1) and National Day (October 1) were single-day holidays. This was primarily an effort to spur consumer spending. It has proven to be quite successful as these are the two of the biggest retail weeks of the year. Now, depending on which day of the week these particular days fall on, all government employees (and state-owned businesses still comprise over half the workforce) receive anywhere from 5 to 7 days off.
So how does this affect the traveler? Easily answered. The entire travel infrastructure goes on overload. International and domestic flights are difficult to book, getting train tickets is like pulling teeth, hotels are full (and prices are increased), and tourist sites are at maximum capacity. That is if there was such a concept as maximum capacity.
The most recent "Golden Week" was no exception. The central government reported 118 million citizens traveled on package tours during the week. They also reported 38 million people traveled by rail and over 3 million by air.
And to top it off, 1.18 billion (as in BILLION) tourists visited some tourist site on the mainland. While one should be careful about any statistic reported by the Chinese government, these numbers are easily believable To put it in perspective, it's as if every man, woman, child, and illegal alien west of the Rocky Mountains decided to take their vacation at the same time. It truly has to be experienced to be believed. The other great pilgrimage in the world, the Haj, receives much media attention as it affects the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world. However, this comparable "pilgrimage" happens three times a year (including Chinese New Years) on the mainland, affecting 1.3 billion Chinese, and foreign tourists that don't know better.
But if your vacation times can't be altered, here are some tricks to minimize stress levels. Try, to the extent humanly possible, to avoid trains, planes, subways, and taxis the day before and the first day of the holiday. Likewise, avoid the day before and the day the holiday ends. These are the heaviest travel days. Within the actual week, travel can be quite easy.
If you plan on visiting tourist sites during this week (and why else would you be here?), arrive as soon as the attraction opens or just before it closes. For visits to the Great Wall, this may mean getting on the road at 4:00 in the morning. Or to see the Forbidden City or the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'An, arrive 45 minutes before it closes and then let them try to chase you out. A closing time here means they don't let any more people in. It would be extremely rude, and a severe loss of face, to rush a foreign guest through an important tourist site.
Confirm any flight reservations. And then reconfirm them, especially international flights. It is getting better all the time, but this is a busy period and things can happen. The same holds true for hotel reservations. Try to get the names of the people you are talking to. In the case of a problem, this will help immensely.
And most importantly, if confronted by what you perceive as a surging, unending, unruly mob, just take a deep breath and mouth the mantra, "This is China."
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Currency Moves?
It is always interesting to watch the Chinese media. Rather, the real interest is in seeing how the western media and the government-controlled media here portray the same event, especially meetings with foreign dignitaries.
The usual scenario involves a head of state (accompanied by an entourage of frothing-at-the-mouth business people) meeting either the president, Hu Jintao, or the premier, Wen Jiabao. The photo op has both politicians seated and the voice-over pronouncing, "and this afternoon, (fill in the name) from (fill in the country) reemphasizes the (fill in the nationality) people's commitment to the one-China policy and looks forward to increased cooperation on economic, cultural, and security issues." Rarely a mention of what actually was discussed. However one day later, one can get on the internet and find out the purpose of the visit.
But when Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Chairman, and John Snow, Treasury Secretary visited in mid-October, they were greeted like rock stars. There was President Hu standing in the Great Hall of the People shaking hands with both of the appointees. It's rumored the embalmed body of Mao Zedong, lying not two hundred meters away, shook ever so perceptibly. The two scions of Running Dog Capitalism being greeted in the hall Mao had built less than 30 years ago. Why this great giving of face on the Chinese part? It's the economy, stupid.
For every ten articles you probably read of the phenomenal GDP growth,
the massive inflow on foreign investment, and the soaring export volume, you might catch just one of the insolvency of the banking system, the widening wealth gap, or the vanishing entitlement system. Riding herd on one of the world's largest economies is no small task. This was a meeting of economies more so than nation-states.
Earlier this year, Chinese officials stated time and again, there would be no revaluation of the Yuan in face of foreign (read: United States) pressure. Then, on July 21st, China did exactly that. It ended the decade-old peg to the Dollar, raised its value, and announced the currency would henceforth "float" against a basket of currencies. But the minuscule 2% change fell far short of where many experts felt it needed to go. So perhaps the visit by the American financiers was but a different approach to the same end.
How much stronger the Yuan will become is anybody's guess. However, no one is predicting the Chinese currency to get weaker. It is a long-term trend and this means visiting China is not going to get any cheaper in your lifetime. The sooner you go, the less expensive it will be. To see how Red Monkey Travel goes even further in protecting your travel dollar against currency fluctuations, click here.
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Winter in China!
It's a fact China receives most of her visitors from May to October. And outside of Spring Festival (Chinese New Years), the travel industry goes into hibernation for the winter months. Why in the world would anyone want to visit China in January?
It is also much cheaper. Hotel rooms are offered at deep discounts. In-week flights are cheaper. Even most tourist sites lower their entrance fees in the low season. Since all of Red Monkey Travel's planned travel dates fall in the high season, even our prices are lower in the winter months!
Winter is also the time of the year that offers sights and activities that can't be seen or done at other times of the year.
The Harbin Ice Festival is a prime example. This event features amazing ice and snow sculptures. It runs for a one-month period in deep winter in the furthest northern province of China. Ice skating on Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, or getting on the slopes of a Chinese ski resort (yes, they exist) are great ways to experience winter here. And if you are lucky enough to visit the Great Wall or the Summer Palace or the Forbidden City after a snowfall, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The winter weather in Beijing is cold and dry. An average winter will experience three to five snowfalls. And when it snows, Beijing becomes a different city. Because it stays relatively cold, it escapes that "slush" period of winter. The central part of China is chilly and damp. The Silk Road area is cold. Period. The mountainous areas are usually closed. The south is chilly, but not uncomfortably so. In fact, the winter months are a great time for the Southern Explorer trip.
So if you find yourself with a couple of weeks this winter and nothing to do, drop us a line and we'd be happy to show you what you could be doing.
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Some Cold Vegetables
We continue with our recipes for those of you wanting to learn "home-style" Chinese cuisine. This month we offer two cold vegetable dishes. We know, they're boring, but again, you have to have the basics. Perhaps next month we'll advance you to "Pock-marked Grandmothers Tofu."
Smashed Cucumbers (pai huanggua)拍黄瓜
This is a cold vegetable that can be found on almost every menu in Beijing. It is especially popular during the summer months.
Take two medium-sized cucumbers. In the States this means, take the two smallest cucumbers you can find. (If you can, get "English Cucumbers".) Wash them and then smash them, skins and all. Slice, if necessary, into half-inch bits. Smash again. Add two cloves of minced garlic. Jumble (yes, that's a word) them up. Pour a liberal amount of rice vinegar. Eat with chopsticks.
Deep-Fried Peanuts (lao cu hua sheng), literally, "old vinegar peanuts" 老粗花生
This is a simple recipe, IF you can find uncooked, unsalted, unroasted, unadulterated peanuts. And that may not be that simple. Check your local Asian market. But here's how it goes:
Heat just enough oil to cover the peanuts. Use a low heat. Add the peanuts to the oil. Constantly stir. The trick is to cook the peanuts without bringing the oil to a boil. Remove the pot from the fire if you have to. Constantly stir. Once, the peanuts have changed their color, stop. The peanuts will change color as they absorb a little of the oil. Remove from fire, strain oil out, and let dry on paper napkins. Let cool. Add a bit of cilantro for garnish and a bit of rice vinegar, enough to cover the bottom of the plate. Voila! you have it.
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See you in China!