Great Wall (Badaling) and Silk Street

Hi!

Here is my discussion paper about our trip to the Great Wall - Badaling section and the Silk Street market.... feel free to read or just skim over! Love to all!

On Saturday, May 17, the UF students had the opportunity to travel to the Badaling section of the Great Wall, enjoy a hearty lunch and then go shopping at the Silk Street and Pearl Market.

It is easy to see how the Great Wall is considered an ancient wonder of the world. The vast distance covered by the wall is an impressive feat, not to mention the amount of time dedicated to building over 2,000 years. Starting in the Qin dynasty, more than 2800 years ago, the wall has become a symbol for Chinese culture and power. Originally built for military defense, the wall built in most areas was established during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The wall runs over 344 miles throughout China. The area we explored, Badaling, is the most well-preserved section of the wall and a site most often visited by tourists. Located about one hour north of Beijing proper, the wall has an average altitude of 1,000 meters (3,282 feet). Upon arriving at Badaling, we were given two hours to explore the wall. Having been to this section of the wall before, I was aware that one side, leading to the North Gate was considerably more difficult than the other side, which leads to the South Gate. The majority of the UF students chose to climb the difficult side.

Having already traveled this route of the wall, I was familiar with the steep climb, the combination of stairs and ramps and the often 80 degree angle the surface of the wall takes. Donned with tennis shoes, we set out on the journey to the farthest point accessible (North gate). The day was overcast and the smog had set in, but the view of the mountains and ridgeline is breathtaking. The wall spans as far as the eye can see, winding between mountain tops and valleys. Along the wall are holes created for military defense – shooting arrows during battle. Also carved into the stone of the wall is graffiti, mostly in Chinese characters. Even in China, people want to leave their mark on a national landmark. The trek is covered with vendors selling souvenirs, including hats, t-shirts and collectibles. All are willing to negotiate, but most rip off the inexperienced bargainer. A billboard featuring the 2008 Olympics is posted near the wall and can be seen in many pictures taken.

As you climb, the small city below becomes more visible. Foreigners all climb to the fortresses found sporadically along the wall, stopping to take a break and enjoy the scenery. The fact that the wall was constructed with stones and earth is an incredible feat. The width of the wall is more than 20 feet and can accommodate the breadth of five horses (designed for military ventures). As we climbed the wall, each of us was tilted almost parallel to the ground, in order to keep our balance and, at times, push against the wind. There is a point along the difficult side of the wall where one can not see directly below someone standing – it is like a ledge with a steep drop. It was surprising to see older adults and young children climb this part of the wall; I expected to only see the young (and slightly foolish) seek this journey of the wall.

The Great Wall is a piece of Chinese culture that is hard to convey to someone who hasn’t experienced this same wonder. I would like to travel to the Simatai section of the Great Wall, in order to experience the sun rising along the ridge line. I believe the street vendors and attractions added for tourist benefit have negatively altered the view and experience of the Great Wall. I think being able to experience the magnitude of this creation without the modern distractions would allow you to see the wall as it was seen millennia ago.

After leaving the wall, we traveled by charter bus back to the restaurant visted on our first night for the welcome dinner. We dined again on lazy-suzannes, eating chicken, cow stomach, noodle soup, squash and egg custard pastries for dessert. The dining experience was enjoyable; we were even able to dine with our bus driver.

We were able to rest our feet for a short while at the restaurant. Afterward, we were off to the Silk Street market. The Silk market hosts an array of clothing, jewelry, shoes, antiques, fabrics and knock-off goods. The market is not on a literal street, but encompassed in a building with six floors. Each floor contains different goods and most signs are written in English. The vendors tend to sell similar goods on each floor, but bargaining is a must. The market was packed with American, German, French and other foreigners looking for a good bargain. The trick of negotiating is three-fold: 1) offer 15 percent of the asking price; 2) negotiate to a point you feel the good is worth; 3) walk away if the seller doesn’t concede to your price. More than likely these three tactics will bring the price down to a reasonable figure. Remember though, bargaining for that last 10 yuan is usually pointless because you are only paying roughly $1.30 more for the item. During our time at the market, I was able to haggle with several vendors and got a price my friend wanted for some gifts. Most interesting, we saw other foreigners walk away from a vendor only to be followed by the seller in an attempt to reach an agreed price. Usually the person was able to get the seller down to a better, more preferred price and would return to the stall to complete their purchase.

Several of our group members experienced the aggressive nature of the many of the vendors. Even when trying to leave, sellers would use any tactic, including blocking their exit, in order to detain someone and get them to purchase something. I was looking at different shoes and found a pair of knock-off, cheaply made Puma sneakers. The vendor, in English, originally asked for 180 yuan. After speaking to her a few moments in Chinese, she had dropped the price to 80 yuan. She also said, “because I was with my Chinese friends (two of my friends in the program) she would give me a good price.” This price wasn’t negotiated until I began speaking Chinese. Realizing I knew more than I originally let on, she was quick to negotiate and the price reached 50 yuan. I told her I would only pay 40 yuan and began to walk away. She renegotiated at 45 yuan. Having thought she said 40 yuan, I agreed. However, once the misunderstanding was realized I backed away from the deal. This was my first experience with Chinese-English language problems. I know backing away from a deal is considered impolite, but I didn’t believe the vendor was giving me a good price for the cheaply-made shoes (even though the price was equivalent to seven US dollars). After the transaction, I was excited to have interacted with someone for so long in Chinese. Even though I had a miscommunication, it was uplifting to be able to talk with a local.

Several students, including myself, didn’t make any purchases that day, but it was fun to see the different interactions and be in the bustling atmosphere. By the end of the day I realized that I do not like the aggressive nature of vendors. Unlike the United States, vendors tend to follow you and be increasingly pushy. I prefer to shop silently and not interact with sellers unless I am sincerely interested in making a purchase. I also prefer to not haggle over a price. I believe that as long as the price is competitively placed, then I am willing to pay for the product. Even though you could possibly get something at a slightly cheaper price, the amount of time taken to haggle over it is not generally worth my time and efforts.

Overall, the shopping experience was interesting and taught me about the Chinese shopping industry, especially in open markets. The Great Wall was a must-see in Beijing, and I was pleased we were able to see it early in the trip. I hope to see many more sites in Beijing before the end of our stay.