Best Documentary of All Time Best Documentary - The Great Wall of China

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For the Chinese the great wall is the symbol of national identity it's everywhere you look it's on teachers and stamps.
It's on every tourist visa it's the symbol of the National Police the Great Wall pickup is China's most popular brand the Great Wall lies at the very heart of Chinese culture for centuries it defined the nation's boards the people inside it were the hand Chinese goes beyond it the challenging outside it's not just the Chinese who are fascinated by the great wall it's a major international attraction here at the walls most well-known section at bottling just outside Beijing thousands of tourists come every day [Music].
For the visitors this is the very essence of the great wall except it's not it's a fake a reconstruction built in the 1960s as part of Mount satanas campaign booze Chinese pride the real wall as we shall see.
Doesn't look like this at all and there are other myths about the great goal for one thing you can't see the wall from space at least not with the unaided eye in October 2003 china's first astronaut yang liwei announced the earth look very beautiful from space but i did not see our great wall for another thing there's not one single continuous wall a great wall is in fact a series of barriers built up over 2,000 years in many different places nobody can say just how long the great wall is new sections are still being discovered so far a total of nearly four and a half thousand miles of wall have been identified now that's a long walk though some have done.
But we're going to walk a single section one of the oldest remotest and least visit.
It's also one of the most challenging this is a walk for people prepared to take a risk and who really like it hot and dry.
Our inspiration schwan zhang the 7th century scholar who walked the length of the ancient Silk Road in search of buddhist scriptures from indy he was the origin of the famous monkey legend stories describing his adventures with his companions brother Sande the river monster Pigface the glutton cast out from heaven the Dragon King transformed into a horse and of course monkey the trickster.
But the real schwan zhang walk below for thousands of miles and the shelter of the great wall and we're following in his footsteps or some of them at least we've come to lon cho a large vibrant city that straddles the Yellow River it's a chance to get acclimated to the heat and to absorb the unique atmosphere of this part of China for a walk this challenging we're going to need supplies and down a side street we find a market.
It's not immediately obvious what everything is there are all sorts of fruits and vegetables pastries that might be sweet or savory and they're all being sold at the tops of their voices in the local gansu dialogue there are even potato chips and crowding into the market a wide variety of people including the Muslim minorities will live all along the Silk Road along the riverbank there's an unexpected cite an ancient feat of engineering that once made the city possible by bringing life to this arid land these giant waterwheels more than 30 feet high are all that remain more than 250 one slide the river's edge extracting water from the mighty river to irrigate the parts or tools now the job is done by electric pumps but the skills that created the wheels are still alive and craftsmen like dang walk who look after the remaining wheels and makes small replicas as souvenirs just along the river what looks like a panel of blow up pigs turns out to be a sheepskin raft new chat is one of the few remaining Yellow River Rasmus but there's no time for a ride it's time to leave lon 0 and meet the first real challenge of our wall tomorrow we'll be heading out into the desert forget our first side of the oldest section of the Great Wall and from now on water so plentiful here will be our biggest luck sure in the second leg of our Great Wall war we're striking out in the footsteps of the great Walker Swan zhang our route takes us across the tender desert to the Great Silk Road cities beyond it seems a nun promising start with this small area of marshland is where the trail beginning and this is our first glimpse of the real original great wall of china it's a world away from the tourist site back near Beijing this is what remains of the high walls built 2,000 years ago to keep out the invaders from Mongolia there has been no attempt to restore or even preserving the trail through the marsh is a gentle beginning but just beyond why is the desert and that's a different matter in the shifting sands of the desert there's no clear trail in places the wall itself is all but buried we have to pick out a path for ourselves staying as close to the wall as possible fortunately the towers that punctuated the wall still reach above the sands marking out the route as the wall marches ahead.
It's early summer and the heat dryness and dust of the desert almost overwhelming it's hard to believe anything can survive here but life is all around.
Further into the desert the sand dunes reach up to 30 feet high this is the classic desert landscape to walk through it is an unforgettable experience a string of camels completes the picture once this was the only way for chinese merchants to trade with Central Asia and Europe beyond protected by the Great Wall make silk jade and porcelain along the winding trail returning with gold ivory Jules the camels carried the precious goods while the traders walk the long Sun but this isn't a real camel train for hidden between the dunes is a visitor center where more adventurous tourists come for a taste of the desk these are battery and camels with two humps their native to this part of China although in 2002 they were just 950 of them roaming while.
There will adapted for this dramatic climate some 4,000 feet above sea level the winters here are brutal with average temperatures of minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit the camels grow a shaggy coat to protect them then as temperatures soar and summer the winter coat drops away leaving the camels looking somewhat more fee as we walk the scenery is gradually changed.
Seeking refuge from the heat we head for a Buddhist temple built right onto the great wall as a resting place for travelers next to it a Shepherd has brought his sheep into a small patch of shade around us the sand dunes are giving way to stones and scrub there are small hillock scattered across the landscape according to the shepherd there the graves of local people his kinsmen dubai customer buried out in the desert.
After miles in the parched desert is only one thing a desert Walker really longs.
Great from the trail and green lush Oasis seems heaven sent to a Silk Road traveler thousand years ago with would have been literally a lifelike today the year round natural water supplies supports a large and thriving community we head for the ancient city of way guarded by a massive City game there's not much sign of the traditional city China's economic boom has reached even this far into the desert we're arriving on a Saturday afternoon the town square is where everyone gets together.
There's a market selling everything from insect spray to motor schools the giant statue was a familiar symbol for a while China.
But it has a special significance here original two-thousand-year-old statuette was found in what way for lunch we've come to a specialty food market in search of a local variation on a Chinese favor and stretch news madam soon after well-drilled team are producing what's known as the three packaged meat.
It's part cooking part somehow the noodles never ever touch the ground.
Noodles go into a suit part 2 of the package is a plate of sliced meat part3 the tea that goes on while the others prepare the meals madam soon encourages customers to come to her or woman store it's better than the competition she says they're pretty much all men and what do they know about cooking the legend goes that Marco Polo on his travels along the Silk Road discovered these noodles and took them back to Italy where they call them speak again and if the three package meal doesn't appeal.
You can always take your meat in a sandwich a burger on soos time con su has more surprises at the end of this nondescript street is a gateway leading to a hidden treasure.
The high zhang buddhist temple a painting here commemorates wands Aang who passed through here 14 centuries ago on his epic walk to India it said that he spent a whole year here and it's easy to see why the temple with its well-tended grounds is still a haven of peace within the busy modern city and voices within the Oasis just walking around the temple grounds is itself a meditation.
Towards the back a group of craftsmen is using a traditional method to restore the temper.
First the most junior practice of boys around 13 lays down the base coals then the senior apprentice fills in the rough shapes.
Finally the master paints in the details this is how it's been done for hundreds of years for the painters is a form of devotion in itself.
At the highest point of the temple there's a well according to legend the water comes straight from the holy city of Lhasa in Tibet it is believed the grant blessings to those who drink it anyone is welcome to jury as the monks themselves to every day for us the Oasis can be just a brief stopover tomorrow we'll be following the trail onwards through a stunning mountain corridor and for the first time glimpse the true scale of the mighty wall leaving the Oasis city of way we follow the Great Wall upwards into one of its most magnificent stretches the hershey course it's a sliver of China squeezed between the high plateaus of tibet and mongolia the walls still has gaps but here we begin to grasp it scale and the first idea of how it would have looked twenty three centuries ago it marches straight down the middle of the corridor protecting the Han Chinese farmers from the nomadic sangu tribes who threatened them and their trade close-up we can see how effective this massive barrier would have been.
The wall reaches up to 20 feet high and is almost 10 feet thick and it's made of nothing more than the surrounding earth soil that has been compressed to form a structure as hard as stone during periods of peace local people use sections of the wall to build their houses they even make gateways to give their animals fresh crazy later when danger threatened once more the Ming Dynasty Emperor's repaired the war most of what we see here dates from then the 14th century.
It feels as if time has Stood Still but even here the modern world is never far away a new highway cut straight through an ancient gateway within the wall.
It's hard to believe these towers have been standing for centuries they're made of nothing more than one the towers market transition beyond here lies one of the world's most extreme deserts the legendary goby it's the hottest and the coldest and it's one of the highest the Gobi is one of the greatest of walking challenges just looking out across its vast emptiness is our inspire here even the resilience of the Great Wall has been broken down by the extremes of the Gobi climate large sections have been eroded away there will be places where following the walls course will not be easy before we plunge further into the Gobi we make a stop at the city of Jean ye its bustling life is in stark contrast to the desert beyond it's a mixture of influences like all the Silk Road cities effortlessly changi blends ancient and modern in the newest part of the city people are doing traditional exercises Tai Chi come food and other ancient martial arts and while in the West it's the young people out exercising in China it's the.
Marco Polo the famous 13th century Italian traveler spend time drawn by the promise of trade.
There's still a flourishing market but hidden behind there's a circular doorway and to step through it is to enter a different.
The old town of Shang has probably changed little since Marco Polo was here people live much as they always have in the dusty houses built of desert soil round the corner there's another glimpse of life on the ancient Silk Road a hostel for merchants and officials from the nearby province of Shaanxi there's even a theater a distraction from the harshness of life with the camel trains for us to shawnee has been a welcome rest tomorrow we take on the Gobi and make a detour to see a very unusual horse raise these.
From Marco Polo Jean ye will be heading out along the Great Wall into the Gobi Desert and we'll make a detour into the cooler air of the mountains the section of wall were following is one of the oldest built and rebuild from 100 BC right through to the 14th century on and on it goes guiding us is stunning stark distance it looks harsh and utterly empty but not far from here will discover that this is an illusion we're making a detour to a nearby Valley of the chi n mountain range where we'll see just how much life there is in the seemingly desolate land see as we walk uphill the terrain changes the going gets tougher as we go higher the soil is poor all that grows here is short step grass but it's perfect for the hardy mountain sheep where there are sheep there must be people and soon they begin to appear these are you girls members of one of China's smallest minority groups for centuries these rolling uplands have been their homeland the you gharar no longer nomadic but they still keep livestock including yaks yak milk is a staple food for farming people the milk is shared between the cavs and the family yaks don't move they grunt it just shows that these animals aren't exactly counts one of the strongest youger traditions is to welcome travels and we're invited into a tent in the pastures the user make tea Tibetan style it's not a casual affair yak milk is stewed with water and tea leaves then flour and yak butter are added the farmer will chant I and his family don't usually dress so elaborately they getting ready to go like us for a special day out from go chant eyes farm it's only a short walk to our goal an open field outside a nearby you girl village there's an annual festival that few outsiders have ever witnessed the you go horse races the user are famous throughout China for their horses they're larger and therefore faster than Tibetan or Mongolian ponents for more than a thousand years the Emperor's army horses all came from here faster horses meant more success in battle in those days the annual race meeting was a testing ground for both horses and riders.
Now it's mainly a social occasion although competition is just as king already the crowds are growing it's a sign of the times that in daily life forces have been largely replaced by mo device which the local people called metal horses there are only about 14,000 guralt ol but most of them are gathered here today there are typical make silk road people their festival close we fled cultural backgrounds some pure you burn some more Tibetan in style and some more mongolia or kirkus watch anti-coup as well as livestock farmer is also principle of the local school is leading a group of the school the event begins with a parade people have come from all over the region to take part and each group has its own riders to support.
Bringing up the rear of the parade the stars of the day the horses and their rivals.
Next there's a dance display the music may not be alive but it's Hugo music nothing like the music of the majority chinese population.
After years of oppression minorities like the Yugen are now actively encouraged keep hold of their traditions night has fallen and the dancing continues.
This is the great social opportunity of the year when the user can meet old friends and make new ones and even keep an eye out for potential marriage partners.
The next day sees the start of the serious business of the festival bojan ty has a horse in the races but in the enormous gathering he's having a problem finding the first race is coming up the track is water to try to keep the dust down so it doesn't seem to work the spectators support their own riders but since gambling is illegal in all of mainland China the main tensions are among the competitors well has found his horse he doesn't ride in the races anymore he has a young writer to race horse for him but he's optimistic about his horses chances.
The first race gets underway these are time trials for later races and the horses don't gallop the truck though the pay seems none of the slower for that those horses through to the next round but we won't be here to see the races go on for another four day and we're moving on to the next leg of our walk tomorrow the Great Wall takes us away from the cool mountain homeland of the UK and onto the most difficult section of the wall in the burning heart of the Gobi Desert.
Heading once more towards the Great War we're facing our greatest challenge the intense heat of the Gobi Desert it's enough to test any Walker's limits up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit even in late spring but the air is clear and the setting stunning and despite the discomforts this is a rare exhilarating chance to experience one of the most extreme places on the planet the great wall is well preserved here and easy to follow and it leads us deeply upwards into the nearby hills here the wall has been built right across a valley effectively blocking it's a reminder of why the wall was built to keep out invaders here they would have been horsemen from Central Asian so-called are barriers pouring down the valley from their homeland beyond.
On the cliff face there are some surprising carvings they were probably made by those same horsemen around the time the wall was originally built and they show large do you like animals not what you'd expect in the middle of a disk.
It's hard to understand why the invaders was so eager to conquer this arid expands but not far away lies the answer the most precious commodity in a desert region an oasis.
Without these pockets of water no one could settle here and even travel would be impossible the wall put this away TSA's firmly on the Chinese side out of reach of the attacking enemy the wall looks different here it's been restored by the Chinese government on the neighboring section a local farmer is taking things into his own hands.
Virtually alone yang Jung food has restored the towers and war on an impressive stale he and a small team use age-old methods that seem to define modern building theory it's still all done by head logs pinned down with stone pegs and strong twist to form a frame soil brought up hill then spread and watered down then tamp down to form a solid structure hard as rock.
Finally the larger cut away to be reused leaving a distinctive pattern on the surface of the wall.
This was how thousands of miles of wall were built centuries ago an astounding a cheap.
But now Yang's for is threatened there's a national debate about restoration policy on the wall current feeling is that this sort of comprehensive restoration is more like replacement and that it hastens the destruction of the original yet as we've seen so often on this wall left to itself the wall inevitably falls into ruin it's a dilemma as yet unresolved Yang and his workers come from the village in the Oasis below their houses are built the earth to over the centuries they've used parts of the wall in their own houses then repaired the wall when danger threatened.
For them the wall as part of their lives before continuing into the desert we're going to take a break from the heat to visit a unique village in the foothills above.
There's an unexpected welcome at the village of chief on where our arrival has coincided with the festival visitors like us are automatically included with other guests a rare chance to see a local event from the inside in this poor desert land.
It's an honor to be treated to such a feast.
There's rice wine to be share the centerpiece is a whole lamb the host the mayor chooses the best parts for the guests including the islands [Applause].
But the reason we've come here lies beyond the village hole in this valley is an explosion of Buddhist hill temple there were once 365 of them one for every day of the year now there are only 52 but the number is growing after a period when religion was suppressed it is now tolerated and the government supports the temple reconstruction led by the month de and his wife fleeing de built his faith on his early of preventable Florida when he was very young.
His mother practice Buddhism in their home he remembers that they had a statue of Buddha and burnt incense as soon as he was free to practice his religion again he went with some friends to a local quarry and began bringing back stone to rebuild the temple he intends to carry on until all the temples have been rebuild.
The project is massive local monks revitalized by the resurgence in Buddhist belief i determined that the valley will once more be filled with hundreds of symbols of their faith in a nearby cave.
There's an astonishing sight a massive statues the 500 practices of boonton zhangye knows each one and the personalities they represent each apprentice has a lesson to teach this one is young bright energetic but impulse he knows he must learn to think calmly and take life more seriously this apprentice is older he teaches that success or fortune can never be guaranteed life is filled with surprises so he advises against spending life planning and scheming for advancement these statues and the moral stories they tell have strong chinese cultural overtones.
It's an example of how Buddhism and Indian religion has been adapted for local needs.
But there are many Buddhists and chief on who follow the form of Buddhism practice by their neighbors in Tibet they go to the when shoot temple where they Revere this man.
Danby nema was believed to be blessed with divine power.
The gods are thought to be very much alive here and this ceremony is designed to bring divine life to a statue it's a long elaborate ceremony chanting induces a meditative state in the monks the statue itself is believed to be transformed in their words it has its eyes open.
Spiritually it comes alive than Benny Marr wraps the statue and hands it to the man who has brought it to be blessed when it is taken into his home it will bring blessings and keep away harm this cave behind the temple has a special significance for Danby nema who is himself believed to be an indirect reincarnation of the Divine Being the when shoe pusa chin deliver presents to the first.
And this cave is the grand hole where the wind shoe Buddha first appeared they're gonna get the mission was to help the people to enlightenment a mission that continues to this day during the Chinese Cultural Revolution many such cases were destroyed by government decree that this one was spared because it was useful as a food store.
But all the old paintings were ruined only these fragments are left in Donbas Nima's private chambers were taken to see something extraordinary these venerated objects are human relics and only down be my himself a touch them they're gonna do the relics have been donated by relatives of the dead they're used at funerals to help cleanse the spirit of the divorce and it's believed that the donors will earn extra merit in their next incarnations does.
This cup is made from the top half of the skull of a young woman who died in an accident the leg bone has been turned into a ritual flu.
This is the skin of an old man's hand and forearm while this might seem shocking to outsiders for Tibetan Buddhist death even early death is a familiar part of life did it.
Department of funerals here are important and powerful rituals it may be that they offer comfort a way of coping with the harsh realities of mountain life.
Outside the temple the day ends with the raising of flat their every movement speeding prayers to heaven their bright colors a constant reminder of the resurgence of faith that this valley represents tomorrow we leave this tranquil valley and return to the wall will follow it to its end what was once China's last outpost today we set out along the last arduous stretch of the Great Wall passing statues of the wandering monk swans Aang and his group walking on towards India but as we approached the city of joy you want the only cameras we find are made of concrete.
This is a modern industrial city and here just outside jiu Guan is the last fortress the final outpost of Ming Dynasty China.
This marks the end of the great wall and as a tribute to its importance the government has rebuilt the four just as it once was beyond the end of the world why the mountains then outside china now an integral part of it the barrier one so vital is needed no longer we followed the great wall along its toughest and most extraordinary section which few visitors ever reach but the wall has other moves as it snakes its way through China and a walker could spend half a lifetime taking in all it has to before we leave China we return to the wall outside Beijing to me Joe one pink one of the many whose lives have been shaped by this icon he's passionate about the great wall and has spent his life photographing.
Hiding at Uncle Bill for him as for many Chinese the wall is more than an epic feat of engineering he sees it as a great treasure passed down through the generations it represents the spirit of eternity get the wall itself is not eternal and in many places while the conservation debate rages it slowly but inevitably falling into right now we're walking up Great Wall of China quick hike tons of people around to really steep pretty amazing though really foggy today.
Okay push yeah yeah okay we're going to beat me without you.
You let you do it already ready to go well what what what to do but well do three.
Thank you should be preserved for him the reconstructed sections are not only valid but essentially walking along the wall has taken us on a journey not only through some of the world's most stunning landscapes but into the heart of China's identity from its earliest struggles with would-be invaders to the economic miracle that has put modern cities in the desert it's an unforgettable experience t-shirts.
I love with someone that you know you baby time to the Great Hall of shiner in button yet in Chinese right.


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