Blog #2: Magnificent

“Magnificent”. I smiled when I first heard my supervisor at the office repeating that word two or three times to describe the places I told her I was about to visit. I thought in the very bad Westernized habit that we are all guilty of having that her choice of term was a question of vocabulary. Well, I was wrong: to describe the Great Wall, the Beijing Acrobatics Show and the Summer Palace, we could not find a more accurate term than magnificent.

During our second weekend in Beijing, we were offered the opportunity to climb the Great Wall and to camp by it for a night. I had never camped in my whole life so, to me, this trip was the opportunity to brag about the fact that my first camping experience was on the Great Wall of China! Unique, right? Well, much more than expected! On Saturday morning, after an intense Friday night spent at KTV, singing our hearts out to “Roar”, “Livin’ On A Prayer” or “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”, we woke up excited to visit the longest man-made structure in the world and one of the most extraordinary legacies of mankind, the only one visible to the naked eye from space (or so they say).

On Saturday, we were not disappointed. Were we tired? Yes. But did we feel privileged to be here? More than ever! It seemed to me that I was living a fairy-tale that afternoon. On top of the Wall, we even saw a rainbow! I could never have imagined myself being there.

Then, we came back to the station to prepare our tents for the night and eat before the sunset. This is when things started to go wrong.

As we were eating with our tour guide, the very sweet Noodles, rain started to pour over our heads. As we saw some flashes of lightning, we immediately knew the night would be long! At 7:45pm, we slid under our tents to sleep and avoid the torrent. As time went by, even as the rain finally ceased, it got colder and colder and the wind started to blow… and lasted all night long! “I hope it’s worth it,” I told myself. We therefore spent our night freezing and unable to close our eyes, eager to finally capture that remarkable sunrise at 5:30am. Hopeful, at 5:30am, curled in my sleeping bag, I finally glimpsed some sparks of luminosity. Keen, I went to wake Noodles up because there was no way that we would miss that! Unfortunately, the saddened Noodles said: “Guys, it’s too cloudy, there is no sunrise this morning.” We had gone through this cold, rainy night for nothing!

I could not feel my hands. I could not feel my feet. All of my body was stiff. There was water under our tents because of the rain and, misfortunate as we were, Noodles told us with surprise that he had never (really, NEVER!) experienced such a windy night since he started doing this tour years ago! Oh, what a night! But you know what? I do not regret a second of that weekend. First, without a doubt, it made my first camping experience unforgettable! However, more than anything, this incident led me to go beyond my own limits. Isn’t it the purpose of crossing half the globe searching for the unknown?

***

Even though I had performed my own stunt on the Wall during the weekend, I was still very impressed by the Beijing Acrobatics Show last Thursday night! Although usually during these shows, I tend to be really afraid for the adventurous artists, they were fantastic! Even if it is a highly touristic activity, I do not think that anyone can go to Beijing for an extended period of time without seeing this classic of the Chaoyang Theatre, since the history of acrobatic shows in China has existed for more than two thousand years. Heights, speed, strength and agility, everything was there! I am very grateful for that fascinating evening. Thanks CRCC Asia!

And then, finally, came the Summer Palace. In order to get to know each other more, my supervisor at the office, Rosa, planned a day with all the young women of our department to visit this masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This place is absolutely majestic! No wonder it served as a summer resort for the emperors and empresses. Talking about pushing myself to my own limits, I even rode a boat on Kunmin Lake! None of us knew how to swim, so we could feel the tension on board! But I have learnt through time that fear is a choice. I chose to take that risk.

Beijing, you are gigantic. Beijing, you are astonishing. And, Beijing, it seems that you make me learn more about myself daily through your historical and cultural attractions.

That is your true magnificence.

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