Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Old Wall, New Invaders



















I've been told that you can see the Great Wall from space, which is good because all you can see from the ground are the tourists. The wall is a Unesco World Heritage sight and a veritable wonder of the world, but its heralding as a "must see" has been its destruction.

The wall is, no doubt, a marvel of engineering (not to mention hubris and paranoia). Somewhat overly optimistically, I had come to the Great Wall hoping for to see some storied relic of the past, something beautiful, something haunting. Haunting my visit was not, but telling it was.

When I bellied up to the t-shirt counter with the rest of the tourists to grab some quick mementos I reflected on the phrase printed on my shirt, "I Climbed the Great Wall," it said. And yes, I thought, I did, but what else did I do?

Maybe I am too critical (the verdict is in), but the symbolism and arresting grandeur is quickly squandered by the hordes of tourist who mob the attraction at the designated points from which it can be accessed.

When I arrived back in Beijing, proudly toting my humorous t-shirt, I was informed by my roommate that I, like most people, had not seen the true great wall, but rather the Disneyland-style production put on for the tourists. He, he pointed out, could take me to the true wall, the one that was slowly crumbling to pieces and falling down the hillsides that it spans.

Accessing the wall in more remote areas could be more dangerous he said, but when you go to see the real ruins he said, there are no lines, no handrails, and no one pushing t-shirts.

No comments:

Post a Comment