Day… 6?
Posted on June 11, 2007 - Filed Under China | Leave a Comment
I’m kind of losing track of the time. We arrived a whole day after we left, so it’s hard to know where to begin counting, and overnight trains mess up your sense of time. It’s only 11:55 am now and Anthony has been asleep for about two hours.
We walked the Great Wall two days ago; it was incredible. Amazing views, even with the all-pervasive smog that slowly chokes this beautiful country. It’s an absolute brute to walk, but entirely worth it. A few of the group got up at 3:30 to see the sunrise from a high tower on the Wall (it was an hour’s walk), and I now wish that I’d joined them.
I came here with a completely false notion of what China would be like. You can access pretty much anything on the internet, it’s not all blocked off like I imagined. Well, maybe some things are, but you can certainly read the Economist website. Emails are difficult to access, but accessible nonetheless. Similarly, our guide in Tianemen Square was remarkably open about both the Square’s recent history and the regard that young Chinese people have for Chairmen Mao. Apart from a sometimes very visible military and police presence, we could be anywhere.
I remember that in a recent interview with Jeremy Paxman, John Bolton opined that he would much rather live in a chaotic but “free” country like Iraq than in one where the populace did not choose who ruled them. The Chinese may not elect their leaders, but this place seems to run like clockwork. I’m not trying to offer Platonic arguments for paternalism here, but just observing a simple truth. This requires further consideration, so I’ll wrap up here.
Oh yeah, I don’t have a camera with me, so no pics, sorry. I’ll get some from the other 3 when I get home.
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