Siamak Hatami in China (great wall) summer 2003 

I went to China with a friend.  We went and walked along the Great Wall of China.  There were many stairs and the walking was very difficult.  After about two hours we walked to a big station in the Great Wall.  The walk and the station were very interesting.  As we were walking to the station, we each had our own backpack. After walking only the first hour, which was only half the way to the big station, my friend got very tired and I had to carry both backpacks, they were so heavy!

Instead of walking, many people went to the top in a train.  The Great Wall was always going up and down.  It was an experience to see how complex and the great difficulty that it was to make.  The rocks used to make the Great Wall were brought from a long way away. 

My friend and I stayed in China for ten days, five days in Beijing and five days in Shanghai.  Our guide was telling us that Shanghai was safe but you must be careful.  The guide said to never go to the main train station and never go to a small alley to buy gifts.

We still went to the main station anyway and there were many Chinese people that looked us all over from top to bottom.  The Chinese looked at our packs and our cameras.  We very soon left the station.

We next went to a Buddest temple.  He we saw a huge Buda made of gold.  When our guide spoke to the Buda, you could see that he really felt that the Buda was actually his god.   The other people in the temple spoke slowly and humbly to the Buda.

After leaving the Buda, we next went shopping.  When we bought clothes it was required to bargain for these clothes.  No one spoke English.  The Chinese people would say "Siamak" and then say "Lookie Look."  That's the only two phrases that they would say.  You must be careful when shopping, however.   For example, when we would buy a book, we would later discover that somehow the Chinese would have exchanged the book and you would end up with something that did not buy.