University of Nationalities
We visited the University of Nationalities this morning, where we had a fascinating lecture on the history of China's relationship with its minorities over the past 2000+ years. China currently recognizes 56 ethnic groups-- the Han represent 90% of the population, and the other 55 minorities collectively make up the other 10%. The University of Nationalities is for minority students only. It's stated purpose is to educate and develop leadership talent among the minorities, although a few graduates thought that they didn't have equal access to the best jobs.
I enjoyed our tour of the campus museum of traditional ethnic clothing and artifacts of daily life of the 56 groups. We had lunch in the cafeteria, and the food wasn't bad.
Badaling, Changcheng – Great Wall
After lunch we went to the Ming dynasty portion of the Great Wall in Badaling, 70 km northwest of Beijing. Rain was threatening just as we arrived, so we needed to climb fairly quickly. Five of our group (2 women and 3 men, including 3 of us from PCC) made it up to a high tower, the destination which Chairman Mao designated for attaining manhood. Hurrying before the rain hit, John Sparks and I got up to the tower in 40 minutes and down in 20, although the tour leader said it was about a 90 minute round trip. I was a bit winded at the top, but not too badly. There was a distant boom of thunder but no lightning just as we reached the top, and the rain started before we got back to the bottom. The rain made some of the stones were a bit slippery but others, interestingly, seemed to absorb the water and maintained a safe surface. Everyone got down safely.
This part of the wall is made of big blocks of stone. The wall is wide enough that you could drive a modern car along the top, so it may have served not only to keep northern invaders out but also as an efficient transportation route, especially for the armies who guarded it. This portion of the wall runs along the mountain ridge, twisting and turning to conform with the mountainous landscape, so there are splendid views from the top.
He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.
--Mao Zedong
Lonely Planet--> Most visitors encounter the Great Wall at Badaling, its most photographed section, located 70 km northwest of Beijing. The raw scenery yields choice views of the wall snaking into the distance over undulating hills. Two sections of wall trail off from the main entrance. The restored wall crawls for a distance before nobly disintegrating into ruins. The section at Badaling was first built during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and was heavily restored in both the 1950s and 1980s. Punctuated with dilou (watchtowers), the 6 meter wide wall is clad in brick, typical of the stonework employed by the Ming when they expanded and fortified the Wall. Filled with dirt, rubble, and the bodies of workers who died building the wall, the Chinese also call the wall the longest cemetery in the world. As communists, they are quick to point out that the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, and several other historical monuments were built by a “slave society.”
Rainstorm
While we were driving back to Beijing (normally 1 hr to the Great Wall) a major thunder storm began. Thunder, occasional lightning, heavy rain, and some wind. The storm snarled up all the traffic and drenched the poor bicyclists and pedestrians, some of whom retreated to random doorways to wait it out and others of whom continued valiantly on for the 1 1/2 hr duration. In some areas the streets filled with water up to the curb, so pedestrians were crossing the street ankle deep in water. Bicyclists put on brightly-colored, specially cut ponchos that had a long front and back but shorter sides. The tires splashed up lots of water on riders' legs.
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