The Great Wall
2011.05.20

Last weekend we took a pair of vans two hours north of Beijing to the Pearl Spring River Valley, passing the Great Wall along the way. After being hassled by a handful of locals, each demanding an increasing rate of payment for passage up to the Wall, I decided I’d have to return another time to enjoy the experience.

Equally epic plans are set for the weekend ahead. After another Burning (m)Eats session on Friday night, (our last with the Norwegians) a few of us are volunteering at a University of Michigan Alumni function at the Chinese National Centre for the Performing Arts. The event is formal, which I didn’t pack for (how I got talked out of bringing a suit in the first place is another story), meaning that I get to take my first Chinese shopping trip. Our first stop is the mecca of not-quite-legal designer goods. These aren’t knock-offs , just the clothes/shoes/handbags that happen to get produced after everyone has left the manufacturing plant for the night. How that happens is anyone’s guess.

If all goes to plan, I may start a small exporting business to help finance my trip. You can start placing orders on Monday. Cash only.