Chinese Army Heads to London. You Can Hang With Them!

by Willy Volk on

Though you might be thinking about heading to China to check out the Great Wall, dozens of Chinese soldiers are heading to London. Okay, so the soldiers are part of the famed Terracotta Army, and their destination is the British Museum, but they’re still coming.

For those who don’t know, the Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 by farmers seeking water. Imagine their surprise when they overturned the soil, and the face of an ancient warrior glowered back at them. So far, about 1000 terracotta figures have been unearthed; experts believe there may be 7000 more buried under ground. (Can’t picture what thousands of clay warriors look like? Check out this pano of them in an exhibition hall.)

The army attacks London in September, and in addition to the warriors, the exhibition will include bureaucrats, musicians, and acrobats. Wait — bureaucrats?! According to Jane Portal, the museum’s curator, “Since China is famous for inventing bureaucracy, it is appropriate that the First Emperor felt the need for officials in his afterlife.” Apparently, the figures are thought to be bureaucrats because they wear no armor, and because they carry knives and knife-sharpeners for scraping off and erasing mistakes. Despite thousands of years, it appears the role of the bureaucrat hasn’t changed much.

Photo of the Day (2/12/07)

by Iva Skoch on

Sticking with the Great Wall theme, this is the “Peach Blossom River” that runs through Guilin, China (Guang Xi Zhuang province), on a lazy day. It feeds the Li River.

Researchers to Measure The Great Wall

by Willy Volk on

The Great Wall of China, built to protect the northern border of the Chinese Empire, is an amazing spectacle. In fact, the Great Wall — known to the Chinese as the “Long Wall of 10,000 Li” — is actually a series of walls and earthen works begun in the 5th Century BC and connected centuries later. Since it’s so old, it seems odd that no one really knows the precise dimensions of the iconic structure. Didn’t anybody bother to measure it when they were building it? Or when David Copperfield penetrated it? So weird.

In any event, researchers with both the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping are planning to undertake a detailed survey to establish just how long the ancient barricade is. In addition, they also plan to map the wall’s exact route and check its fortification. After all, a wall over 2000 years old probably needs some patching.

Though you can’t really tag along on the 4-year project, you can walk the Wall yourself with a tour company like China Hiking Adventures or the Adventure Center. Alternatively, you can arrange for the permits and try to tackle it yourself, like Eddie Davis and Beau Bacevicius did in 1997. It took them 109 days, and they clocked it at a paltry 1800 miles. Curiosity piqued? Brendan Fletcher and Emma Nicholas are walking the Wall right now — and blogging their adventure!

Vanishing Chinglish

by Iva Skoch on

China will never be the same; at least Beijing, that is. As the Olympics approach, a quasi-government group in Beijing has set out to correct the city’s English menus and signs.

The WSJ just ran an article detailing these efforts: to date, for example, these language cops from the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program have replaced 6,300 road signs with often odd, sometimes downright hilarious, English phrasing, the result of bad translations.

We’ll definitely miss the restroom signs saying “Genitl Emen” (aka, gentlemen), such great attractions as the “Beijing Hospital for Anus and Intestinal Disease” (aka Hospital of Proctology), and street signs telling us “To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty” (aka, be careful: slippery). Or, “Little grass is smiling slightly, Please walk on pavement” (aka ?).

Fortunately, we’ll still be able to relive the good ol’ days on various websites, such as pocopico.com, flickr’s chinglish pool, chinglish.de, and google images, of course. Any other good collections out there, dear readers?

Protecting Antarctica from Tourists

by Dave Luna on

Chinese government officials have asked Chinese citizens to avoid Antarctica as a travel destination. Officials cited the fragility of the continent’s ecosystem as the driving force behind the request. The country has not made this an official travel restriction, but the government has plans to regulate its travel agencies if South Pole tourism continues.

The number of all vacationing travelers visiting Antarctica has quadrupled over the last eight years, and this has scientists worried. Conservation and preservation of the icy land may be impeded by the rising tourism market. If left unchecked, the number of tourists might keep rising, and the environmental repercussions could be damaging. Also, more tourists might lead to hotels, and that might even lead to an Applebee’s here or a Trump McMurdo Casino there. As I’m sure you’re aware, once we change that landscape, it will be very difficult to return it to its previous glory.

The Reuters article did not mention the current impact of Antarctic tourism, but China’s appeal left me questioning my own interest in visiting the penguin haven. I was a bit interested in an educational Antarctic trip I recently found in Road Scholar, but now I think I’ll mull over a more eco-friendly way to explore the polar region. Wikipedia, perhaps?