Chinese opera on the Great Wall.

I took a few video clips on the snowy, misty Badaling section of the Great Wall. There was a loud speaker system all the way along the wall, which played the same message over and over again, which spoiled the atmosphere a little, particularly when I had walked past the tourist hoards, and found a section of the wall all to myself.

Lancy translated the message for me, telling me that it was a warning about the slippery, icy conditions, and to please take care.

Fortunately there was no such touristy nonsense on the much more remote sections of wall we visited a couple of days later at Jinshaling and Simatai, but I couldn’t resist getting Lancy to issue a stern Chinese warning.

And who would have thought before I began any of this, that my journey would take me to a remote section of the Great Wall Of China, without another soul in sight, where I would have some Chinese opera sung to me!! Awesome! One of the highlights of my journey so far.

Press the “Play” button to watch the video.

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David S - November 17, 2009 Reply

Fantastic footage of the wall!

Regarding the loudspeakers, I thought that kind of safety consciousness only happened in lawyer-crazy USA. It's kind of disappointing to know it goes on at a place like the Great Wall! Glad you were able to get away from it.

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