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Table of Contents
Introduction
PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION
Chapter 1 Background on the Great Wall of China
History of the Great Wall, Myths, Construction of the Great Wall, Conservation and development
Chapter 2 History and Politics in China
History of northern China, Governing institutions, Economy
Chapter 3 People and Culture
People, Language, Religion and beliefs, Culture, customs and habits, Cultural etiquette, Cuisine
Chapter 4 The Outdoors
Topography, Climate, Flora and fauna, Outdoor pursuits, Environmental efforts
Chapter 5 Practical Information
When to go, Where to go/what to see, Multi-day hikes and suggested itineraries, Tour operators, Red tape, Getting there and away, Health, Fitness, Security and safety, What to take, Money and budgeting, Getting around, Accommodation, Hotels, Food and drink, Public holidays and festivals, Shopping, Photography, Media and communications, Business, Giving something back
PART TWO THE WALL
Chapter 6 Liaoning and the border with North Korea
Chapter 7 Hebei and Tianjin
Chapter 8 Beijing
Chapter 9 Shanxi
Chapter 10 Shaanxi
Chapter 11 Ningxia
Chapter 12 Gansu
Appendix 1 Language
Appendix 2 Glossary
Appendix 3 Further Information
About the Author
Born of Welsh and Malay Chinese parents, Thammy Evans has travelled, lived and worked in China and southeast Europe. Her professional career has ranged from travel guide author (Bradt’s Macedonia), to business development and political analyst in Macedonia, and she has served in the Territorial Army in Bosnia and Iraq.
Other Titles by this Author
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Guidebook Updates
Updates Between Editions & Further Information
Great Wall of China Author Update
Notes from the Author
"After I had written the Bradt Guide to Macedonia, it never occurred to me to write another guidebook to somewhere else. But when Hilary Bradt suggested I take on their Great Wall of China guidebook, I jumped at the chance. Although I am half Chinese, I only started to study the language in 1989 and first visited China in 1990. Parts of the country have changed beyond recognition since. But much of it, especially in the north along the Great Wall is still little visited by tourists.
The image that most non-Chinese have of the Great Wall is of endless stretches of magnificent stonework snaking their way over mountain tops as far as the eye can see. In fact, I reckon that around 70% of the Great Wall, if not more, is made of rammed earth and meanders through semi-arid desert. It is this mud wall, much more so than its stone counterpart in Beijing and Hebei provinces, which has forged the path of China's expansion to the borders of Turkmenistan through harsh and inhospitable terrain, leaving garrison and trading towns behind it. This is the wall that has protected the Silk Road. It is the Great Wall that protects the life of the Yellow River and the beginnings of the Chinese civilisation we know today.
For most travellers to China, it is impossible to visit the whole country, yet few people are going to visit just the Great Wall on a first - or even subsequent - visit. Some may take the Great Wall as a theme for a visit that will also encompass Beijing, while others may be focusing on the broader spectrum of northern China. It is for this reason that I have included some of the most famous and worthwhile attractions along the wall, including ten of the best sites in Beijing; the Yungang Grottoes (housing some of the most magnificent Buddhist stone carvings in the world); the sacred mountain monastery complex of Wutaishan; and the little-known and extremely worthwhile Daoist temple complex, Erlangshan. There is much more to northern China, of course; this is just a start. In addition, this guide offers some insights into China, and how the Chinese tend to see themselves. Most importantly, there are also extensive menu translations in the book so that you too can enjoy the delights of hotpot, the latest Chinese fusion cuisine and many other Chinese culinary delights.
And to guide you around, almost a dozen of the guide's 38 maps are a first in English - and all the main maps are bilingual. Which brings us back to the Great Wall. Long just a frontier barrier, detested by forced labourers who met their death there, and incessantly breached by barbarians, it has only recently come to symbolise China itself: a long-standing civilisation, enduring, tolerant of change and built on hard work; but also ingenious, economic, dynamic and rightly proud.
And, no, it cannot be seen from space."
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