China, Day 3
Laura Ford Hall
Getting ready to climb the Great Wall of China.
AMAZING!!!!!!!
That is the word of the day. We actually climbed the Great Wall of China! I would have never believed that I would ever be at The Great Wall, much less climb it!
The day started with breakfast in the hotel lobby and today they had TOAST! That’s right, toast and strawberry jelly. Suddenly Handel’s Messiah came to my head and I literally sang “Hallelujah, Hallelujah.” A few Chinese people looked at me, as if my blonde hair was not enough, I had to start singing from the Messiah, but I couldn’t help it… it was bread! So, the day started off wonderfully.
We then took an hour-long bus ride outside of Beijing to The Great Wall. The Wall came into view and all of the members of the delegation began taking photos from the bus windows. We were in awe of being there. Governor and Mrs. Patton had been there before, to a different section that was less touristy and had walked part of the wall, however, for us, it was the climb ahead that awaited.
From left: Laura Ford Hall, Menette May, Greg May
Several decided to stay at the bottom of the wall and enjoy the view, but eight of us took off… to make the trek up to the top: Jimmy and Kim Carter, Donovan and Debbie Blackburn, Greg and Menette May, and Brad and myself. Figuring we would never be back again, we were gave it our best shot. Well, the other day, when I blogged about the plane ride, I said I was happy to be 5′1″, but NOT today. The Great Wall, built in Third Century B.C., is over 1,500 miles long, is an average of 25′ in height and width, and took 700,000 people to build. To say the least, the steps are very uneven, with some steps higher than the length of my legs, which made the climbing very difficult.
From left: Greg and Mennette May, Debbie and Donovan Blackburn
Jimmy and Kim Carter and Donovan Blackburn made it to the first tower. I went on to the third tower, which was very difficult, and when I got there, I cried and everyone was looking at me, even Chinese asking if I were ok, but I was just overwhelmed that I had just climbed very high onto one of the seven wonders, looking out onto God’s creation of the surrounding nature, and wanting to pick up my cellular phone to call my mother to tell her that I was on top of the Great Wall, but unable to because of her passing. I could not help but cry.
And then, there were the final four and ½ who made it all the way to the top of the fifth tower: Greg and Menette May, Debbie Blackburn, and Brad Hall (I am counting myself as the ½ because I made it almost there… I just couldn’t go anymore).
From left: Laura Ford Hall, Greg May, Menette May, Debbie Blackburn
After the climb of the Wall, we visited the Summer Palace of the Emperor Qui, which was first built in 1100 A.D. We had a community and idea exchange with our Chinese counterparts, which included talk about garbage services, drug problems, roadways and highways, and health care and cancer survival rates. During the talks, we found that we had much in common with our Sister City, but many things are different. Some of the differences included garbage pickup, which is only allowed during the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. so garbage pickup trucks are never seen. Like eastern Kentucky, the Chinese also have a drug problem in their area but not with prescription medication, rather they mainly have trouble with cocaine and opiates… and this is mainly in the cities and among the high school and college student population.
Regarding health care and cancer survival rates, we learned that over 300 million Chinese are claimed smokers. There are no smoking bans in China whatsoever, including no “smoking” or “non-smoking” sections in restaurants. Lung cancer kills a significant amount of Chinese people, followed by esophageal cancer due to the hot temperature of their foods… it damages the esophagus. The Chinese government has recognized that America has the greatest healthcare, especially when it comes to cancer and the country cannot even touch our “five-year survival rate” that they are striving for.
Beginning on Friday, even more business talks will take place, and when we arrive in our Sister City of Ankang, the business leaders will sign the Sister City agreement and discuss all various areas of the economy, coal mining, crime rate, etc.
However, tomorrow, we head out by plane for a 2 hour flight to Xi’an, China to see more of the country… I am especially excited to see the terra cotta soldiers and horses at the Emperor’s Tomb because my mother, who taught art at Pikeville College for 41 years, taught me about these amazing statues from the time I was a young girl. I brought copies of all of her textbook notes with me so I could be reminded of all of the information my mother taught me and have a part of her with me, as I know she would have loved to be there.
Finally, the closing thought of the day is another addition to the China Diet… climbing the Great Wall. If the Chinese do this often, it will DEFINITELY help them to stay slim. Climbing to the third tower was the most difficult physical thing I have ever done in my life. If I continue to eat only rice and my occasional sneaky Nutter Butter or Pop Tart, and if I continue to walk the amount we have been trekking across China, I am sure to come back at least 15 pounds slimmer from my China Diet.
The worst thing about today… as I was struggling up the stone steps complaining about my legs, two approximately 90-year-old Chinese women with white hair passed me as if I were the tortoise and they were the hare. Even more proof that the China Diet does work!
Laura Ford Hall
