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The Chinese have a saying that translates roughly to
"You've not really lived until you've climbed the great Wall"
and it's true
I didn't understand at first but a few trips and multiple hours later it dawned on me
It's not the trophy of saying that I've climbed the Wall
but the experience while up there that counts
Ascending the great Wall lead to an escape above the city and above the smog
on top
some tourists stuck together
seemingly uninterested in the history or the culture around them
many of my classmates ran along the Wall
by contrast I took my time
this escape provided a platform from which to reflect
I thought of the scenery in China
the Great Wall flowing with the mountain
peaks rising out of the thousand island lake
people floating down the canal of Wu Zhen
I don't know that pictures can ever fully capture the experience of each location
and I thought of the Chinese people
many old weathered Chinese spent their days on the great Wall
peddling souvenirs and cold drinks
I saw that they were farmers that lived just off the Wall
one old man was herding his guts
from this I recalled a visit to a few tea farms called nine streams
There
I drank tea at a Chinese house while lunch was prepared
I don't think I could have found food more authentically Chinese or more delicious
before the final tower of that day
I came to a wooden bridge
this bridge challenged my idea of the Great Wall's purpose
it was built
brick by brick
to keep outsiders out
but by seeing this bridge I felt that the Great Wall now serves as a bridge itself
a bridge from Western culture into Chinese culture
truly I hadn't lived in China
until I climbed the great Wall