I was very impressed by the beginning of the Lonely Planet China Guide book. “The Best of China” page offered a quick summary of the classic highlights of the country that one should never miss – The Forbidden City and the Great Wall of Beijing, the Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an, etc. The photos are beautiful. I also liked the section that introduced the writers, bringing a human face to advice they are dispensing. Then the Rural China, Eat China, Hike China and Red China pages all offered some interesting sites, and are very helpful for those who want to venture off the Yangtze Cruise to experience the real China.

But, to me, it also demonstrated the lack of access due to language constraint. For example, the Hike China section is a bit limited. Having hiked most of the trails listed in that section, I beg to differ. For example, the Yubeng hike, or Pilgrimage Trail to Mt. Kawagebo, is among the most breathtaking and spiritual hike. WildChina team members first hiked in this area in the late ’90s, and only now that trail is gaining some awareness among Chinese speakers. Not sure if the guide book is outdated or the writer didn’t know about it. Either way, I think there could be a better guide on hiking opportunities in China.

Then I went straight for the section on lodging (called “Sleeping” in the guidebook) in Beijing. It is unfortunately written by a backpacker who is too well-versed in adjectives such as “top notch”, “elegant,” “gorgeous,” “stunning,” “impressive,” “outstanding,” “splendid,” “enticing,” etc. I’ll save you the rest, but seriously, these words all appeared in 3 paragraph describing the St. Regis, Grand Hyatt, and China World Hotel. You can basically randomly re-allocate these words, and the information you are getting won’t change a bit.

Obviously, the writer hasn’t stayed in any of these places. I wish there were a few more details, such as the Made In China restaurant in the Grand Hyatt serves the best “Begger’s Chicken” and is one of the most interesting Chinese restaurants to dine in because of the open kitchen layout. You get to see the chefs tossing the greens in a wok alight with fire! Also, for families traveling with children, the China World Hotel Service Apartments offer the best option- with large rooms, ensuite kitchen, etc. (By the way, I think the Frommers Guide does a much better job with restaurant recommendations.)

Also, among the top notch is The Opposite House for its zen-like design and personal service – not to mention the beautiful Aman at the Summer Palace. These are the more boutique hotels that really make Beijng an interesting place in which to stay.

What got me most is the section on “Beijing for Children.” I have a feeling that the authors didn’t really travel to Beijing with kids. The hardest thing I found upon arriving in Beijing is how to kill the early morning hours due to jet lag.

Two very important things for me: breakfast at 金湖茶餐厅 / GL Cafe Restaurant，and morning walks in Ritan Park. The Café is a 24-hour Hong Kong style restaurant – very helpful at 4am when there is no other place to eat and the kids are crying! They have branch locations next to the St. Regis and the China World Hotel, and they have high chairs. Ritan Park is a major source of entertainment, as it opens at 6 am for the morning exercises. It’s an entertaining place for the kids to watch others play badminton, or do taiqi. Maybe it’s me, but I need to have the jetlag bunch taken care off before I can think of ice skating in Beijing.

For a good source of ideas and tips on what to do with kids in China’s capital, follow @BeijingWithKids on Twitter.

If you’ll be in the New York City area on March 1, don’t miss the reception for “China’s Great Wall: The Forgotten Story,” a series of large-scale, historically based photos of the Great Wall, being held at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund office from 6:00 to 9:00 pm (RSVP by Feb. 22).

This project is a collaboration between Jonathan Ball, a California-based photographer, and David Spindler, one of the world’s leading authorities on Great Wall history and a member of WildChina’s expert network. The event will include a conversation moderated by Christopher Phillips, a curator at the International Center of Photography and co-author of a recently published book on contemporary Chinese photography and video.

WildChina recently interviewed David and Jonathan to learn more about their photo project:

WildChina (WCT): Where did the idea for the Forgotten Wall project come from?

David Spindler (DS): Jonathan and I were both living in Beijing in late 2006 and we started talking about how we could do a project combining his photography and my work on Great Wall history. As we started to think about our angle, the idea of photographing Great Wall battle sites from the points of view of raiders or defenders, on the anniversary of the battles and at the same time of day as the battles, came to us quite soon.

WCT: What skills and background did each of you bring to this project?

DS: I’m a historian who focuses on the Great Wall. I do my research in libraries all over the world and in the field. During the spring and fall, I spend a lot of time speaking to travel or study-abroad groups about this history. In this project, I was interested in applying what I had learned in a powerful, easily absorbed media—in this case, photography.

Jonathan Ball (JB): I’ve been a photographer nearly as long as I can remember – since I was about 11 years old. I have done many different kinds of photographic work over the years. My projects are varied; they include landscape work, portraiture, looser “slice of life” photos, building panoramic and other unusual pinhole cameras … I love new challenges and figuring out ways to solve them – this project provided them in spades, not least of which were the challenges of producing and displaying such large photographs.

WCT: What do you want to accomplish with this project?

DS: One of our goals is to bring the viewer back to the time and place of the battles, and to see them from the vantage point of a participant. Because of the methodology we’ve used, the light and vegetation in the images are nearly the same as what someone would have seen on the original battlefield. Because of the enormous size of the subject, we’ve made extremely large prints. We hope this makes it easier for viewers to more easily experience the time and place of the original events in a direct and powerful manner.

JB: I share the goals David states. Another aim of ours has been to produce a series of Great Wall photographs that is unlike the vast majority of Great Wall photos that have already been made. We have done this two ways: first, by underpinning the project with a rigorous historical approach that drove our decisions about what to photograph and when; and second, by making photographs that capture the points of view of participants in the battles that took place at the sites we depict.

The photographs in this project feature the landscape as much as they feature the Wall; they don’t simply romanticize the Wall. It’s an important contribution both to Great Wall scholarship and to fine art photography.

WCT: How did you first get interested in the Great Wall?

DS: My interest in Great Wall history stems from a general interest in history, in discovery and research and in endurance sports. My field and library research activities are an excellent way to satisfy these interests.

WCT: What are the key things a first-time visitor to the Great Wall should know?

DS: Probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that its sole purpose was defensive and there are many instances where the wall was a helpful part of successful defenses against Mongol attacks. Many of the myths in wide circulation have come about because people see a small section of wall and quickly extrapolate, using unfounded assumptions. It’s also important to keep in mind what we don’t know—that there’s no reliable figure for the overall length of the various Great Walls or even a consensus definition of what a Great Wall is. Great Wall Studies, if it’s even proper to use the word, is a field still in gestation. There is not a single academic anywhere in the world who focuses on this topic.

WCT: What/where is your favorite Great Wall spot?

DS: I dont have a personal favorite. When I’m speaking to groups in the field, I think it’s important to visit spots that are historically significant, visually appealing, and free of heavy human traffic. Jinshanling fits these requirements quite nicely.

WCT: What if people like your work from this project so much they would like to take it home with them?

DS: Collectors may acquire signed limited editions of the prints and captions – and six of the images in the series are available as 360-degree panoramas mounted in a circular frame that literally surround the viewer.

For more information about “China’s Great Wall: The Forgotten Story,” please contact Jonathan Ball or David Spindler.

One of my new favorite reads is ExpatPackage.com. A weekly newsletter with info on lesser-known Beijing sites and activities, it’s a fun and humorous take on life in China’s capital.

Their latest issue is on traveling with WildChina, and it makes a great case for sending visiting friends and family out for a day (or 10) with a guide. Enjoy!

This October, Michael Yamashita will lead a 9-day photography journey on the Silk Road. We caught up with Michael Yamashita to chat about photography tips, his passion for the Silk Road, and the lessons he hopes to share on the road this fall.

For over 25 years, Michael Yamashita has covered the world, with a concentration on all things Asia, as a photographer for the National Geographic. In his work, he has combined his dual passions for photography and travel, and shot on assignment on six continents. In addition, he has authored seven books, including Marco Polo: A Photographer’s Journey, Zheng He and The Great Wall, and produced two full-length documentary films, featuring Mr. Yamashita as writer and host. Mr. Yamashita has received numerous awards for his work. His photographs have been shown in major exhibitions in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Rome, Venice, Frankfurt, Perpignan, France and Massachusetts, USA. Mr. Yamashita is a frequent lecturer and instructor for photography workshops around the world.

When not on assignment, Mr. Yamashita lives in rural New Jersey where he is a volunteer firefighter.

WildChina (WC): How did you first become interested in the Silk Road?

Michael Yamashita (MY): I did a three-part story for the National Geographic about Marco Polo in 2001.  I retraced his route to China, much of which followed the Silk Road. I used Marco’s book, The Description of the World, written in the 13th century, as a sort of travel guide. Working on that story was an incredible eye-opener, mainly because so much of what Marco Polo wrote about can still be seen and photographed today. It was an amazing experience to still be able to find things today that the world’s greatest traveler described over 700 years ago.

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William Lindesay has lived in China for 14 years during which he has spent “more than 800 days on the Great Wall.” In 1987, he made what China’s Xinhua News Agency described as “the most successful foreign exploration of the Great Wall”, and he recounted his 2,470 km solo adventure in “Alone on the Great Wall” published in the UK, USA and Germany. In 2005, “Walking on the Wall with William Lindesay” was listed as one of the 50 travel experiences of a lifetime by the UK edition of Conde Nast Traveller. As one of the world’s foremost experts on the Great Wall, and a phenomenal Wall guide, WildChina is honored to be able to share William’s insights on one of the world’s wonders.

WildChina: When did you first start taking guests to the Great Wall?

William Lindesay: I guess it was about 10 years ago now. Actually, [we're talking on] Dec 4th, and 21 years ago on this day I reached Shanhaiguan at the end of my journey along the wall on foot. Obviously, I had a story to tell, so I published my first book. China was not the flavor of the moment like it is now, so it was not perceived as exciting for travelers to come here. Towards the end of the ’90s I began spending a lot of time biking near the Wall, and taking lots of photos. My wife was becoming not a golf widow, but a Wall widow, so I wanted to include her in my passion. We bought a little farmhouse near the wall, and one of my friends suggested that we invite guests to stay with us, so we did that. I found that our first visitors welcomed not just the Great Wall story, but my story – the story of conservation, why I liked the Wall, and how I first discovered it.

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One of our new associates, Sarah, happened to find this picture of  WildChina at work on the Great Wall at Mutianyu on the China Daily website.  China Daily is China’s English-language newspaper.

For this event, WildChina brought costumed guards to the Great Wall at Mutianyu for our clients to take pictures with. I bet the China Daily photographer wanted one too – maybe next time?

We also had a yo-yo master, a taichi expert, and Imperial costumes for guests to wear for photos on the Wall. We’ve been doing similar activities in the Forbidden City recently, and it’s been really fun for everyone involved, especially for people who’d been to those places before. (OK, maybe not so fun for the guards wearing all of that armor in August Beijing sun, but they had great attitudes about it and didn’t complain at all. Really nice guys!)

With the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics less than 3 days away, Beijing is gearing up for an incredible couple of weeks of games, celebrations, and international goodwill. Here at WildChina, we’re incredibly excited about the Games, and the spotlight they’ll bring to the city we call home.

At the same time, the torch relay and athletic events occurring here in China’s capital add an extra dimension of planning for anyone touring Beijing in August. Here’s a quick overview of a few of the changes we’re aware of:

1.         The torch relay from August 5^th(today!) to 8^th will involve the China Millennium Monument(中华世纪坛), Temple of Heaven, the Badaling Great Wall, and Jinshan Park. During this time, sites will be closed partially or entirely, and trips there may be difficult.

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