walking The Wall
This city of Xi’an goes back a long way in history. In the days of bows, arrows, spears, horses and chariots and marauding hordes, the best way to defend a city was to build a strong wall around it. Of course there were walls and real walls: some walls were easily breached and cities fell, but the walls of this city were built by a master strategist and a good engineer to boot. And so it is that today, that original wall still stands.
This is no ordinary wall. Rectangular in shape, its total length is around 14km. The original walls were constructed of rammed earth, and the height and width almost defy the imagination: about 12m high, 18m at the base and 14m across at the top. The quantity of earth (clay) needed to do this job (by hand!) is staggering. Here’one of the gates:
If you want the real facts on the wall I suggest that you go here for Rach’s details.
and up the steps……..
If it sounds like I am trying to impress you – you are right, for today we all walked the wall. I know it’s not the Boston Marathon or even The Great Lake Challenge, but it was still a good day’s work, especially for the youngsters, and for those parents whose lot it was, to help the smaller ones through the day.
Total time taken was 5 1/4 hours and this included a lunch stop, snack stops and frequent pauses and deviations to look through the battlements at the changing scene below us.
This was a great time for everyone to do their own thing. We had space to burn, almost no traffic – just the occasional bike or tandem and a few pedestrians – none off whom were set on a 14km hike. So the kids could run, jump, dawdle, gawk, walk together, walk alone, walk with an adult, run races against each other or just against the clock. We had plenty of time an space to do all these things and how we enjoyed it! The kids played in harmony, applied themselves to the challenge, grizzled not at all and so we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.
We started off under an overcast sky, with our fleece jackets on. Once the sun came up and burned through the mist, it was hot! Time to dig out the hat and take off the jacket. unfortunately the hat, which I have lugged faithfully in my back-pack all this time, today was missing. When we got back, there it was sitting on the bed, right where I had left it. Needless to say, I got fried. Having just had a hair cut, the meager thatch which might have protected the noggin had been decimated, so there was nil protection. Rach did gallantly offer her shawl to me to wrap around the head, but vanity overcame common sense, and I declined the offer. Today I regret it!
So a day to remember. Interesting, in spite of 14km of the same ‘road’. Lots to see, not the least of which was the kid’s activities. And lots of good time together. Thank you Lord!
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