Sam I am

On the edge of the old city neighborhood of Shanghai is Yuyuan Garden. Yuyuan Garden is a a set of buildings surrounding a garden with a large water feature in the middle. The water contains a striking collection of goldfish. I bought a bag of fish food. After using around half the bag, I gave the remainder to a little girl and her grandmother.

The giant sculptures are of Shanghai’s hairy crabs. More on those in a later posting.

In the center of the pond is a tea house, where you can have a small tea ceremony for around 40 Yuan (approximately $6). It was very relaxing.

Here are some fun facts about the Great Wall:

• Peter Jackson totally ripped off the Great Wall for his tower signaling sequence in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• The Great Wall is not inaccurate. I know when you hear, “Great Wall,” you may think it is just a big wall. It isn’t just a big wall. It’s a really, really, big wall on the top of a mountain. And it runs for over 370 miles.
• You should be in decent shape before you climb the steps to the Great Wall. It’s over half a kilometer of steps at a 45 degree incline. There are places to rest, but your calves will probably ache for a day or two.
• There are 50 or 60 shopkeepers at the bottom of the Great Wall. They all sell the exact same merchandise at the exact same prices. T-shirts were as low as two for $1. Sharon, who works in apparel manufacturing, is not sure how they make any money at this price.
• It’s chilly at the Great Wall in November, but by the time you reach the top of the Great Wall you will be fairly warm

We left the hotel at seven in the morning. We decided to visit the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, around 90 minutes outside of Beijing by car. It was a nice day for a drive. The day I arrived was the worst day in terms of pollution; the days became colder, but clearer, as I stayed in Beijing.

We started our climb up the stairs immediately after we arrived. We were among the first tourists to arrive that day; at the top of the wall we were able to enjoy sections without seeing any other groups of people. The parts of the Wall we saw were in fantastic condition, and the sight was amazing. It’s worth visiting, as photos and a written description do not do the Wall justice.

First view of the Great Wall as we climbed the steps.

Mark, Sharon, and I (R to L) at the Great Wall. There was a small gazebo just before you reached the wall.

The photos make the Wall appear as if it is drastically dipping, twisting, and turning. This is not a trick of the camera–the Great Wall dips, twists, and turns as it hugs the peak of the mountain. The steepest stairs required a bit of minor climbing; as you went down the slope of the Wall you had to make sure not to slip on any frost. The Wall was also slightly angled towards one side. The angle allowed rain water to gather into drains.

A Chinese and Australian crew was shooting a promotional video for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. I took a few photos and also posted a video to YouTube.

This past Friday, I left New York City for Beijing and Shanghai for a week long vacation. I flew to Beijing on Continental flight 89, a 14-hour direct flight from Newark. I used a combination of frequent flier miles, American Express points, and cash to upgrade my coach-class seat to a Business class seat. Because of the extra room, I was able to get some good sleep and arrive in Beijing refreshed and ready for the evening.

Getting a visa to go to China was not difficult. There is a Chinese consulate in New York City, and I was able to dash up there during lunch a couple of weeks ago. The consular officials were concerned about the name and purpose of my company, but I was approved for a visa and was able to pick it up the next week. (PhotoShelter works with professional photographers; they were concerned about what I did for PhotoShelter and the kinds of photographers we worked with.)

My friend Anne pointed me to this book called Lingolook. It’s a card book secured on one corner that you can use to quickly find common phrases. The book also includes drawings and simplified Chinese in addition to Pinyin and English, so you can just point to a picture if you are without a clue. The book has been helpful, but I feel that I should have taken a Chinese language class. The language is not as difficult as it may first seem, but it is unlike any other languages I know. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to take a class before my trip.

As we were landing and getting off the plane, I was struck by the level of pollution. It’s terrible that my first impressions of China and Beijing are of a dusty yellow fog and a rust-colored disk in the sky that we call “the sun,” but Beijing is the most polluted city I have ever seen. I was unable to see more than two or three blocks, and it turns out that the smog was very bad the day I arrived. Since yesterday I have been able to see across the city from my hotel room window. Beijing has a problem that they must solve before the Olympics as athletes will not want to compete in the kind of conditions I saw on Saturday.

The night I arrived, Sharon, Mark, and I feasted on Peking Duck (now Beijing Duck?). Yesterday, we climbed the Great Wall. Sharon and Mark had to go back to Shanghai last night, and this morning I’m off to the Forbidden City. Most of my trip is documented with photos; I’ll post more as I get a chance.