One Big Wall (and not the great one)
by Superwoman
Xi’an, China
As well as being the most complete city wall that has survived in China, Xi’an’s wall is one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. And today after one cold false start we set out with polarfleece jackets and then got sunburnt as we walked around the top of it!
stones
strong
Just this morning we sang together “The name of the Lord is a strong and mighty tower” – this wall with its regular ramparts brings alive that “word picture”!
stable
secure
scenic
sights
surreal
striding
So if you’re really observant you’ll see we’re wearing different clothes – this photo was taken on another walk the other day, right smack bang outside our hostel.
stylish posing
well, posing anyway!
sling
On long days and in busy crowds the sling reigns supreme, but today ER2 must have managed a good 5km under her own steam. Go Girl!
solitude
It’s not often we get time to ourselves. Today was one of those days.
And only a handful of people photographed the kids even.
Everyone was free to roam and run and walk and amble and fend off the advancing enemy and play peek-a-boo as they wished. Or just walk alone.
sleepy
About the 12km mark
stamina….sixteen kilometres….success
Our internet research had suggested the perimeter of the wall was 13.7km – we added a couple with all our zigzagging back and forth to peer over the edge.
We started the day in song, and as we climbed down the wall, one of our memory verses, now dosed up with meaning ran round my head: Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.
Statistics
Built: 1374-1378
Height: 12m
Width at top: 12-14m
Width at base:15-18m
Watchtowers: 4 (one at each corner)
Watching enemy platforms: 98
City gates: 4
Tags: children, God, history, numbers, postcard: China, recreation, weather
rayres
my goodness you must be getting strong(er) rach! i don’t know about ER, but my girl is pushing 17kg, so no way could i sling her for long!
lol the ‘striding’ pic reminds me of the beatles on the crossing 😉
Xi’an looks to be an interesting city. Buildings certainly look solid. Some great photos of all. Thanks. Hey Kboy, you bette watch out, Kgirl is catching you up. Everyone looks healthy.
Hey you fellas! A big KIA ORA from the NZ
What absolutely FABULOUS photos. Wow! that wall sure is a sight to behold.
Great to see you all looking so well. And Rach…I go with Nova on the sling-ing of a 2 year old. LJ is a heaving 16kgs….i’m not sure how long i’ld last with him…..although I’m sure he would just love it! Was carrying MF today and commented that he’s so wonderfully light at all of 5 months.
Continue to soak in all the wonder-filled sights and sounds (and tastes) of your journey….what an awesome experience.
Beatles nova? Didn’t you know we’re the von trapps!!!!
Hi there G&P! Hope you don’t mind us removing the kids’ names from your comment – really would have been easier if we’d given them all different initials, wouldn’t it!
Lau-ra. Long time no anything! Of course you *might* have postred something on your blog in the last seven weeks (but highly unlikely right?) – if you have, we won’t have seen it yet coz Mr China Internet Policeman doesn’t like bloglines and so I can’t get any of my feeds!!! (and I don’t have addies saved to look up manually)