Great Wall of China

[gfell]

Teaching English around the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a truly a tremendous feat by mankind. If you are teaching in China, it's definitely worth a visit.

For those with a love for the Great Wall of China, you may even consider teaching in nearby schools. Like most of China, there is a strong demand for English teachers in villages along the Great Wall of China.

What makes The Great Wall of China so fascinating:

• Still standing after more than 2000 years.
• Stretches from the Gobi Desert to the mountains of Korea - 6,352km long!
• Constructed from the 14th to the 17th Century.

The Great Wall of China has obviously deteriorated over the years. Nowadays, 20% is said to be in good condition. The touristy areas are well preserved and even restored in some areas. However, once you go into the villages, you can see children using the Great Wall as a playground, and the broken rubble is sometimes used to build houses and roads.

It was initially built to keep wandering Mongolian nomads out of China. Due to the wall not being continuous, it was in the end unsuccessful and abandoned. The Mongolian nomads would simply go around the wall.

[Enoch83]

how far is it from beijing? and when is the best time to go and to what part?

[gfell]

Am heading there beginning of April. I think the best time to see it would be when the weather isn't too cold.

To visit the Great Wall of China in it's more natural state, then visit Simatai, 110km north-east of Beijing.

[waixingren]

Simatai is also touristy. Best ways to see the wall are well outside Beijing. Supposedly Tianjin has a nice area. There are also some older sections out in Xinjiang province.

[Hypiereon]

Hate to burst anyone's bubble, and maybe I'm just being cynical, but when I went to see the Great Wall it was a Great Disappointment.

History notwithstanding here were my observations:

1. "It is a wall."
2. "It is actually a rather short wall."
3. "It is set on the very edges of the local mountainous features - in the middle of nowhere."
4. "It is very difficult to walk on." (Extremely steep and slippery in some places, and dangerous.)
5. "The view is obscured by smog, fog, and/or pollution." (Take your pick).
6. "Let's take my picture with the wall and get back to BeiJing city proper."

I was more impressed when I saw the city walls of Xi'An.
Observation: "Now THAT'S a WALL!!!"

I felt more immersed in Chinese culture and history when visiting The Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven - all located in BeiJing and fairly close to each other. Taken together they are WAY too big to be able to see all three in a single day. Maybe the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven one day, and the Forbidden City on another day.

I felt actually "connected" to history when I walked across Tian An Men square where an "incident" occured on June 4th, 1989.

Guess I'm just harder to impress.

[waixingren]

I'll agree with Hypiereon here... I was very impressed with the city wall in Xi'an. I just wish it wasn't so damn hot when I went for a walk on it. It was almost deserted, unlike the Great Wall with its throngs of tourists crowding around the first few steps.

[Hypiereon]

That was another good point about the city wall of Xi'An - my group felt like it had the entire thing to itself. The Great Wall is such a tourist destination it was hard to get a decent pic without someone else sticking their mug into the shot by blindly walking in front of you.

The city walls of Xi'An would - in my book - be one of those secret tourist destinations you always wished you had known about before going. There are also the Terra Cotta warriors which is very touristy for a destination, but the city walls in Xi'An are an absolute Must See.

For a comparison, think of a standard 4th of July fireworks display in America versus the fireworks display of Chinese Spring festival. The first is of course worht seeing, the latter is an absolute Must Be Seen to be believed event.

[kdavid]

Touristy or not, you've gotta see it. There's a saying in Chinese: "He who goes to Beijing and does not visit the Great Wall is a bad patirot". Seeing the wall is a must.