Travel Review – The Badaling Section of the Great Wall

Recently, I went to the Great Wall with a group of co-workers. We went to the Badaling section of the wall, which is about 50 miles northwest of Beijing. With traffic, it took us about two hours to get there.

If I had to describe the Badaling section of the Great Wall, I would say this: It stinks! Now, what do I mean by that? Do I mean that it’s boring or uninteresting? No, the Great Wall is amazing to look at. It’s incredible to think that it goes on for about 5,500 miles. What I mean is that, literally, it stinks.

The Badaling section of the Great Wall has a terrible odor to it. Let me try to give you an idea of the smell. First, imagine the world’s filthiest, smelliest Port-a-Potty.  Then, imagine an incredibly overcrowded cow pasture. Now, combine those two smells. That is how the Badaling section of the Great Wall smells.

I don’t know why this part of the Great Wall smells so badly. As this is the most crowded and touristy of the Great Wall’s sections, I imagine that the smell is the result of poor bathroom facilities and babies in backless pants. Whatever the reason, the Badaling section of the Great Wall should only be braved while wearing a mask. 

Though smelly, it really is beautiful.

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This section of the Wall is very crowded.

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Admission Fee	CNY 45 (Apr. 1 to Oct.31); CNY 40 (Nov.1 to Mar.31)
Cable Car	CNY 60 (single trip); CNY 80 (round trip)
Pulley	CNY 30 (single trip); CNY 60 (round trip)
Opening Hours	06:30-19:00 (In summer); 07:00-18:00 (In winter)

If you can stand the smell, here is some information from ChinaTravelGuide.com about the Badaling section of the Great Wall.

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Edit: My original trip was during the end of summer. I went back to the Badaling Section of the Great Wall during February and it did not smell! It was icy and cold but, odorless. :)

Funeral Floozies

While researching last week’s post on firecrackers, I came across some very interesting information about funerals in Taiwan (which some consider a province of China) and a few rural parts of mainland China. Apparently, these funerals sometimes have strippers. Yes, you read that correctly, strippers.

There seem to be a few theories as to why this practice occurs. Some believe that having strippers or scantily clad singers and dancers is a way to attract mourners to a funeral, which gives honor to the dead person. Others believe that this is a way to make the spirits happy by providing entertainment. Also, there is another theory that states that is simply a way to give the dead person a grand send-off.

From what I’ve read, it doesn’t matter much which theory you believe, the end result is the same. These women are hired by the dead person’s family to provide entertainment at the funeral. The women then show up on an Electric Flower Car, which is a truck that has had its bed converted into a neon lit stage. The women then sing, dance, and strip for the mourners.

Now, I can’t say how much of this is true. I have never been to a Chinese or Taiwanese funeral of any sort. So, I have never even had a chance to see a funeral stripper. Also, I find it a little suspicious that every article I found on the subject cited the same person, Dr. Marc L.  Moskowitz, as the source of the information on the practice. Dr. Moskowitz is the director of a documentary called Dancing for the Dead: Funeral Strippers in Taiwan. Unfortunately, I have not been able to view this documentary so, I can’t vouch for it in any way.

What do you think? Are the funeral strippers of rural Taiwan and rural mainland China fact or fiction?

4/26/2015: Slate.com ran an article (Some People in China Hire Sexy Dancers to Perform at Funeral) describing this phenomenon.

4/27/2015: Buzzfeed has also reported on this (China's Ministry of Culture is Cracking Down on "Funeral Strippers").

boom Boom BOOM!

On one of my first days in Beijing, I heard a series of loud, bomb-like sounds. At first, I thought there was an air raid going on. I considered going into one of the underground parking garages in our apartment complex. But, when I looked out of my window, no one outside seemed concerned about the bombs. So, then, I decided that the construction site about a block away must be using some sort of explosives. Since it was so far away, I decided that I was fine in my apartment and I went about my business.

Well, about two days later, the explosives were back. Then, they came back a third time and a fourth time. Now, it seems like four days a week, our apartment complex is under attack for about ten minutes at a time.

After asking around, I finally found out what these jolting sounds are – they are firecrackers! Apparently, Chinese people use firecrackers for a lot of reasons. Firecrackers are used to celebrate a birth, a wedding, a new home, a new business, some holidays, and during funeral processions.  With the exception of funerals, these are all happy occasions so, I guess it’s a good sign that I heard firecrackers so often in my neighborhood.

It makes sense that China, the place where gunpowder and fireworks were invented, and still the world’s leading manufacturer of fireworks and firecrackers, would have so many of them. However, it still startles me every time I hear one.

They may look like this...

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but, they sound like this.

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Firecracker Pic: http://www.thechildmindingshop.co.uk/mini-chinese-firecracker-decoration-4246-p.asp

Plane Pic: http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/us-bomb-database-useful-for-past-present-wars.html

Give Me a Toot Toot

Beijing has a population of around 20 million. As a result, there are millions of cars, millions of bicycles and motorcycles, hundreds of bus routes, and 19 subways routes (some are still under construction though). None of this is unique. What is unique about Beijing are the many types of unconventional vehicles that can be seen on the roads. I have seen cars with three wheels. I have also seen what appear to be adult tricycles with a small truck bed attached. Some of these contraptions, like the wagon/tricycle hybrid, are true feats of engineering because this vehicle can somehow carry as much as a rather large pick-up truck.

Now, keep in mind, the average resident of Beijing does not traverse the streets in the wagon bed of a tricycle. Most people drive cars (Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, and luxury European brands are the most common), ride a bicycle, take a taxi, or use public transportation. It is only a brave minority that will battle Beijing traffic in a three wheel car. While it’s not for me, I do admire their creativity and bravery.

This is the coolest tricycle I have ever seen. 

I'm not sure if it's electric or pedal powered. I have heard that these function as unofficial taxis and will give you a ride in the seat in the covered area. I have not actually seen this happening though so, I can't say for sure if this is true or not.

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My Neighbor's Three Wheel Car. 

I bet this is great on gas and wonderful to park.

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A tricycle with a flat bed attached to it. 

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A scooter with a little cargo area. 

This is actually the vehicle for a courier service. EMS also has trucks and vans.

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A scooter with a light load. 

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An electric tricycle with a flat bed.

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An electric scooter with a wagon bed.

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Baby Got Back

During my 2.5 weeks in China, I have seen more babies’ butts than I have during the rest of my life combined. This is because Chinese babies often wear backless pants without diapers or underwear. That is, if they are wearing any pants at all. I've also seen several babies without any clothing on below the waist. But, more seem to go the backless pants/ no undergarments route.

I started researching this and found that this has to do with a form of potty training called Elimination Communication. (This is also called Natural Infant Hygiene.) Basically, this is a way to avoid diapers and to keep children clean without them. Many people here believe that diapers, especially disposable diapers, are bad. They believe that diapers are expensive, bad for the environment, cause diaper rash, etc. So, they use the very old method of Elimination Communication.

Elimination Communication involved having a caregiver communicate with a child about when the child needs to go. They do this using timing, signals, cues, and intuition. To accomplish this, a parent or other caregiver will monitor a child’s elimination routine for a few weeks without the use of diapers. Then, they will gauge how often the child goes, the time of day, and any clues (for example, a facial expression) the child gives before they go. Also, the caregiver can teach the child signals to announce they must go. The caregiver can also give signals to the child to let the child know that they are in a bathroom area.  All of this leads to the child not needing diapers. They can simply be held over a toilet (or a bush in my neighborhood) to do their business.

Now, the backless pants come into play because there is only a small window of opportunity between when a child (really, a baby) gives a signal or some other clue and when they will go. So, the backless pants are so the caregiver can get the kid to an appropriate place before the kid goes and not have to bother undressing the kid.

Although I now know why the babies in my neighborhood are half naked all of the time, nothing will erase the memory of watching a three year old squat down on the sidewalk and defecate. The really bad part was that all his mother did was slide some newspaper under him to catch it. 

Here is an example of the backless pants. 

From: Yvonnebrill.tumblr.com

Note: This is not common in my area. I have yet to see a kid with backless pants and a diaper on. I just couldn't take a picture of what I usually see because it's creepy for adults to take pictures of strangers' half naked children.

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The tools of the trade for Elimination Communication.

From: ThePottyShop.com.au

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