One of the Seven Great Wonders of the World

Monday, May 12, 2008 - The Great Wall at Badaling

Today Meg and I experienced one of the highlights of our trip - we climbed the Great Wall of China. The section of wall that we visited is called "The Great Wall at Badaling". This section is located approximately 44 miles to the northwest of Beijing and protects the Juyongguan Pass. This pass held strategic military significance because it led from the north to the capital city Beijing.

The Wall of Badaling has a length of 3,741 meters (~2.3 miles) with an average height of 8 meters (~26 feet) and an average width of 5.7 meters (~19 feet). It is written that the top of the wall can permit five horses to be ridden abreast. Signal towers were placed at the highest points of the wall so soldiers could warn each other of advancing enemies. The number of fires with smoke indicated roughly the size of the enemy. One fire with smoke meant about 100 men, two fires with smoke meant about 500 men, and three fires with smoke meant more than 1,000 men.

We traveled to the Wall from our hotel by bus. We were with my whole class for this journey. The trip took us about 75 minutes from our hotel in inner Beijing. We arrived at the lowest point between the north and south sections of the Badaling Wall. The weather was cold (~55 degrees), rainy, and there was a haze outside. Luckily Meg and I had purchased some new windbreakers at the Silk Market a few days earlier so we stayed warm throughout the hike. Below are pics of our arrival area from up on the Wall, my classmates waiting anxiously to climb, and a few pics from the arrival area.

I was surprised by how daunting the climb up the Wall was. For some reason both Meg and I were under the impression that once you were on top of the Wall it was pretty flat. That was a silly assumption because this section of Wall was built throughout a large range of mountains. Simply put, it was anything but flat.

There was one section specifically that got my attention. Not only was the top of the Wall steep with different size steps, there were sheer drop offs one either side in this section. It made you believe if you slipped and fell you were going to tumble a long way down. Take a look at few pics I took to show how steep it was.

As you know, I am scared of heights, so as we were walking up the steps in this section, I had to sit down and catch my breath. Fortunately, Meg made me feel like a big baby so I pushed on and made it to the top. I am glad I did because it is not everyday you get to climb the Great Wall.

The first goal on the climb is to reach the highest point of the section of the Wall we were climbing. There is a signal tower at this point that provides some great views of the countryside and other sections of the Wall. I took the following pics from this signal tower.

After spending a bit of time at the signal tower we decided to move on and compete the remainder of our trek on the Great Wall. We descended down about 100 feet to another signal tower and then ascended up to a final lookout tower (pics follow).

The lookout tower was as far as we were allowed to go on this section of the Wall. This was a much easier walk than the ascent to the first signal tower. Since I was comfortable with the heights, I was able to snap a few more good pics (below).

Once we reached the end Meg and I took a pic together and created the video below before starting our return trek back to the arrival point.

The climb down was uneventful with exception to my descent down the narrow section. Let's just say I made it down by taking one step at a time while both my hands were clenched, white knuckles and all, to the middle rail. On the way to the bottom we met up with a few of my classmates and took the pics and created the video below. My buddies Ken and Mitch were horsing around, I am glad neither one of them got thrown over.

This was by far my favorite part of the China trip. It is truly amazing that this Wall was constructed over 500 years ago. The seventeenth century observer Ferdinand Verbiest recorded that 'the seven wonders of the world put together are not comparable to this work; and all Fame hath published concerning it among the Europeans, come far short of what I myself have seen'. I have to agree, it is truly amazing.

Following our trek on the Great Wall we boarded buses and headed back to Beijing. Somewhere along the drive home is when the massive earthquake struck near Chengdu in Sichuan province. The epicenter of the quake was ~900 miles away from Beijing, but evidently buildings shook and people were evacuated in Beijing. We did not feel anything on the bus ride, but Meg was nauseated the whole drive. Maybe that was her pre-warning system for the coming earthquake. The ironic thing is that we did not even know of the earthquake until we got back to our hotel and someone mentioned it.

Fortunately, Beijing seemed to miss any damage and everyone was intact. Unfortunately, that was not the same story for the people of Sichuan province. As I write, they are still searching for missing bodies and the death toll has climbed to 15,000 people. A large portion of the dead are children that were trapped in their schools. This tragedy definitely highlights the rapid expansion that is taking place in China as millions of people are migrating from rural to urban areas. The infrastructure constructed to support these people migrating into the urban areas is not up to par and many people were killed in their houses, schools, and place of work. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that have died.

Today was our last official day in China. We concluded with a very nice dinner at the hotel with all my classmates. It was the final time that all 61 of us will probably be in the same room together. The past two years have been an unbelievable experience in my life. I have grown both my intellect and circle of friends and it has been a true pleasure to have shared the accomplishment of my MBA with my 60 classmates.

I plan to write a summary of my trip, but let me simply conclude by saying that I am impressed by the Chinese people, their pragmatism, their culture, and their drive. They have eroded a large number of pretenses and beliefs that I came to China holding, and I look forward to establishing more direct relationships with the Chinese people as they continue to establish a free market system. Love to all.

Jason and Meg

America's favorite past time in Tokyo

Monday, May 5, 2008 - Tokyo Swallows vs. Tokyo Giants

Prior to coming to Japan, Meg and I decided to purchase some tickets to a Japanese professional baseball game. I had heard many good things about Japanese baseball, especially the fans. Meg found a website, www.japanball.com, that sold tickets. The website was opened by an American who had traveled to Japan numerous times and enjoyed watching games. He decided to make it easy for others traveling to Japan to purchase tickets and started a joint venture with a local Japanese man.

The seats to the game were in a good location. We were on the first base side, between first base and right field, and 12 rows back from the field. We arrived early so we could watch the teams warm up and catch the pre-game festivities. The game was between the Yakult Swallows and the Yomiuri Giants. Both teams were based in Tokyo. The Giants are akin to the our Yankees from a Japanese perspective. The game was at the Swallows outdoor stadium. The Giants play in the Tokyo dome.

The pregame festivities were very high energy. They had a group of dancers, a DJ, and the Blue Men. The Blue Men threw out the first pitch (see pic below). During pregame I was busy snapping pics and not paying attention when Meg started to hit me on the arm. The Swallows mascot was standing on the field shooting free shirts into the crowd with a cannon. She was trying to get my attention because one was headed right in our direction. I looked up and instinctively threw my arm and hand in the air. The Japanese fans around me were all standing up trying to catch the shirt, I was still sitting. All I remember is that somehow my arm and hand went above everyone else and I snatched the shirt out of mid-air. We know had one of our baseball souvenirs for the boys. Take a look at some of the pregame pics I took below.

Once the game got going the crowd energy did not change. The best way I can describe the crowd is a mixture between Aggie football fans doing coordinated yells and World Cup Soccer fans cheering wildly for their teams. The Swallows had a dedicated fan section in right field and the Giants had a dedicated fan section in left field. Every time their respective team would do something good the entire section would erupt into chants and cheers complete with banners and large flags flying. I tried to capture some of it in video and pics below.

The best part of the game for me was the 7th inning stretch. Right after the top of the inning was over, all the fans around us pulled out their umbrellas. They then opened them and started singing and chanting. It was hilarious. Take a look at the video below.

Meg and I decided to leave the game in the bottom of the 8th inning to beat the crowd. We also wanted to stop by a couple of booths selling baseball caps and souvenirs on the way out. We found out later the Giants beat the Swallows 6 to 4.

Needless to say, this was a great experience. The Japanese fans definitely have adopted their own style of cheering for their team. I am glad we got the opportunity to experience this. Love to all!

Jason and Meg

A great Buddha

Monday, May 5, 2008 - Day trip to Kamakura

Today we decided to take a day trip one hour outside of Tokyo to Kamakura. Kamakura, a small town located to the southwest of Tokyo on Sagami Bay, is home to no less than 65 Buddhist temples and 19 Shinto shrines.

The most famous attraction in Kamakura is the Great Buddha, called the Daibutsu in Japanse and located at Kotokuin Temple. The Great Buddha is a 37 ft. bronze statue that weighs 93 tons. It is so big that you can walk inside of it. Take a look at the video and pics that follow.

The thing I found most striking about the Great Buddha other than its sheer size is how peaceful it looks. As a Frommer's author puts it, "I find it more inspiring and divine, as though with its half-closed eyes and calm, serene face it's above the worries of the world. It seems to represent the plane above human suffering, the point at which birth and death, joy and sadness merge and become one." I am not sure I buy all that, but it definitely looked peaceful and serene. I have no doubt this was in part due to the surroundings.

Kamakura is enclosed on three sides by wooded hills and the fourth side by the sea (Sagami Bay). You can smell the sea water when you get off the train at the subway station. The village, now town, was built up in the 12th century when Yoritomo Minamoto sized political power from the emperor and established his own shogunate government. This is a fancy way of saying a military government. Yoritomo chose Kamakura as the location for his village because he could easily protect it with the wooded hills on three sides and the sea on the fourth.

Yoritomo was a warrior and one of the most important shrines he constructed was Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. Try to say that as fast as you can five times in a row :) The Shrine is dedicated to Hachiman, the Shinto god of war.

We actually visited this shrine first because it is an easy walk from the train station. You actually walk down a cherry tree-lined (too bad they had already bloomed) pedestrian lane that was constructed by Yoritomo in the 1190s. As you walk down the lane you pass through massive red toriis at set intervals (look below for a pic of Meg in front of one). Anywhere you find a shrine you will find at least one torii, this is the traditional entry gate. According to Frommer's the pedestrian lane was constructed just so his oldest son could make his first visit in style with an elaborate procession. Wow, I wish my parent's would have been that cool :) Take a look at some pics of the pathway and the Shrine below.

We visited one other shrine and the best part was the views we got once we climbed to the top of the steps. Take a look at a few of the pics below.

The highlight of the trip for Meg was lunch. I think the main reason is because she got to watch me suffer through an entire lunch sitting cross-legged on a tatami mat. The food was actually pretty good once my legs went numb. Man, I would never make it over here :)

After lunch, we packed up and headed back for the train station. On our way we were fortunate enough to walk past a little road side restaurant where they made homemade crepes. Meg and I went for the banana, whipped cream, and chocolate. It was excellent and made up for all the pain I experienced during lunch. Take a look at the pic below of the lady making our delicious crepe.

We were headed back to the train station because we needed to get back to Tokyo to catch a 6:20PM professional baseball game. That experience is worthy of an entire post in itself, so I am going to wrap this one up and post the other one later. Love to all!

Jason and Meg