Whenever I take visitors to one of the Great Wall tourist sites outside of Beijing, I have to break the news to them that the Wall is not visible from space, nor is it one complete wall stretching from west to east. The disappointment is usually palpable.
It turns out that there are quite a few ‘facts’ that we think we know about the Great Wall, that are actually ‘fantasy.’ Watch this funny video clip from the folks at Off the Great Wall to see how one poor fellow handles his encounter with reality.
And hey, you’ll learn stuff in the process.
(if you receive this post by email and cannot see the video player, please click here to watch the clip)
And if you’d like to read up on the history of the wall, I recommend the following books and articles:
The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC – 2000 AD, by Julia Lovell
Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, by Peter Hessler
David Spindler’s Great Wall (Danwei)
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Thanks for the information, Joann. I shouldhave kept up on my reading about China, but I’m 25yrs behind: thanks for keeping the present thoughts on life in China flowing.
Thanks, Paul. Glad you are enjoying it.