Darci, My travels throughout the eastern half of China these past five weeks have found me going in a huge circle that took me as far west as Tibet, as far south as Hong Kong, as far north as Beijing, and as far east as the Yellow Sea. I’ve traveled probably well over six thousand miles in total via private cars, a filthy sleeper bus, more than half a dozen domestic airliners, a couple of boats, too many taxis, and …

Darci, Former China premier Chairman Mao once said that it was the “responsibility” of the Chinese people to “Love the Great Wall.” To him, the 4,000-mile-long Great Wall symbolized not only the tremendous potential of collective Chinese spirit and thought but also the grandeur of a national history unmatched in length and riches and achievements. To Mao, the Wall was a highly visible example of what China was capable of when it took command of its millions of individual talents …

Darci, Surely the guide must be mistaken, I had thought. How could it take seven hours to climb back down the mountain? But he was not mistaken. In fact, it would be more than eight hours before we reached the village we would spend the night at.

Darci, On the fifth day of my trek along the ruins of the original Great Wall located between the coastal city of Qinhuangdoa and China’s capital, Beijing, I was greeted by a fresh team of climbing guides. Each was loaded down with an ungainly backpack half the length of me. I greeted the ruddy-faced gents and invited them politely into the courtyard of the simple village home I’d spent the night at. Knowing that their job was to protect me …