As the Wind Blows

Walls are built for two reasons either to keep things out or to keep things in. In most cases they are built for keeping out like burglars, sticky beaks or invading armies. The latter of course being the reason the Great Wall of China came into existence (and probably Hadrian’s Wall and other walls that were built by conquering emperors paranoid that other emperors may want to steal what they have).

Being the unfit person that I am, I honestly can’t imagine there was ever a need to build a wall to keep people out, because the section of the mountain we climbed in order to reach the wall in the first place wasn’t the easiest activity in the world. Though I suppose it shouldn’t be a hard for army officers or people who grew up in mountainous regions to climb up steep and rocky terrain in order to conquer their neighbouring countries. The sad part of all that conquering is that the armies would not have had much of a chance to stop and admire the beautiful views from the top of the mountains. With or without a wall running along the tops of the mountain, the whole area is quite impressive.  

I know they say you can see the Great Wall from space, but the enormity of the wall did not hit me until I was on the wall itself.  Until I actually saw the wall twisting and turning over the tops of the mountains, never seeming like it ends did I start entertain the idea that it might be possible to see the Great Wall from space.

There’s only a small section of the wall that’s been restored and is referred to as the ‘tourist section’ of the Great Wall. It was lots of fun walking down the tourist section, passing huffing and puffing older American tourists and then young and fit Aussie students who decided to do the ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’ chat when we were at least a mile away. It’s even better to go to the non-touristy sections and walk up and down uneven steps and through the jungle of trees that have somehow managed to grow on top of the wall, leaving very little room to walk along the wall itself. And the great thing about the Great Wall is that it was built by many different teams of people over a long period of time, so there is no consistency in the building materials or the wall itself. It’s one very dynamic wall!

While the Great Wall was built of keep people out, the firewalls of China are designed to keep people within the country. There’s nothing too restrictive about it because the Chinese have come up with alternatives to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and even Google to keep the denizens happy. However due my increased dependence on social networking sites, stemming from being away from home, I felt like the country was trying to help me break a bad habit.

Walls whether they're built to keep people out or in have their purpose. The walls I like the best are the ones that don't restrict me and that I can admire and appreciate from a distance - after my calves no longer feel sore from walking along them! :)