Walls, walls, walls.
China is full of them. Today, I hiked one of them. The Okay Wall of China. Sure, it's really big, and I understand what attracts people toward it, but now, it's just a really long hike. To me, it's not the wall itself that is impressive, but the psyche behind it. Emperor Qin, he guy who built the wall, was a bit of a crazy guy. The audacious implications he sent with such a wall were huge. It is quite the hostile and belligerent motion to think yourself important enough for such a wall.
Of course, walls have a long and proud history in China as an open message toward others to keep out of their business. Those familiar in passing with the history of Beijing and Avatar: the Last Airbender, should have no trouble drawing the parallels between the forbidden city and Ba Sing Se. Up until 1911, Beijing was divided up into several rings, at the center of which was the imperial palace. Outside the wall, the wealthy merchants and government officials lived. Outside that wall, the middle class, and beyond, the commoners. For anybody who thinks America has large disparities between social classes, we've got nothing on Imperial China.
Although these walls went down over 100 years ago, their proud tradition still stands. As we arrived in Bejing, many of the streets we drove past also had walls. When we took an evening stroll by these same walls, we had a chance to look behind them. It became evident that we had driven in on the nice roads of the city. Behind was another world, filled with old tenements and one-man bike repair shops. There was a certain charm to this view. As I've said before, Beijing is Vegas, San Fransisco, New York. We were presented with the material face of the city. With a little searching, we caught glimpses of the city's soul.
I may not have Internet access for the next several days. Stay classy, readers.
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