The Great Wall of China Visited by Michael Jordan   by Roshana Ariel

Who'd have thought I'd travel half-way around the world and see a major sports legend from my own country at The Great Wall of China?!

A few years ago, my son, Kris, and I visited The Great Wall, going with a tour group (Chinese only, except for the two of us - it's cheaper that way!) out of Beijing. There are other ways you can see the Wall, places where you can do some heavy hiking and get off the beaten path, but I wanted to get the tourist version.

After getting off the bus, we were shuffled in line to climb into some little carts that would take us part way up -- like a miniature, very slow, roller coaster. But don't think that climbing the Wall is easy -- it's strenuous exercise, after you get off the carts.

For example, the steps are all different heights -- some are two or three feet high; others just a few inches high. So it was hard to get any kind of a rhythm going. Everyone I saw, young and old, athletic or not, would stop frequently along the way up to try to catch their breath. Many didn't make it all the way up to the top.

Some young women wore high heels for their climb! I imagined they were young newlyweds not wanting to put off the glamour of their honeymoon for even a devilishly strenuous task such as this.

Merchants at the top of the Wall sold lots of different souvenirs -- I bought a ball cap with "The Great Wall of China" embroidered on it, as well as a really cool engraved souvenir, which someone tried to sell to me for $20 U.S. My son found a table where he bought it for $5 U.S. instead.

But the most unbelievable thing (besides the mind-boggling history and enormity of The Great Wall itself!) happened after we came down from the Wall. While we were waiting for all of our fellow tourists to get down to our bus, the people who were in the bus already (all Chinese nationals, remember) started talking in a very animated way and looking out the bus windows and pointing. I asked my son why they were so excited, and from what he could gather, it sounded like there was a dignitary visiting the Wall that day.

The bus driver was getting impatient waiting for everyone, but people who were already on the bus started running off back toward the Wall. My son followed them. Our bus driver must have gotten curious himself because he actually turned the bus around and drove closer to the Wall. Kris came back to tell me that Michael Jordan was on the Wall, and people were clamoring to see him. He asked for his video camera and got pictures to document our "dignitary"!

(I had no idea that Michael Jordan was such a big star in China!)

It was a pretty exciting day. We saw a world-renowned place of incredible history and a world-famous sports legend all in one day!

About the Author

Roshana Ariel is a longtime writer and editor. She enjoys writing about her travels at www.adventuresinchinatravel.com, where you can see lots of pictures from China, including Michael Jordan at the Wall. She writes for her dogs at www.love-those-doggies.com. She also has a site devoted to another passion: brainwave technology and brain science at www.brainwavejourneys.com.