Ron Tarquinio and Drew Headlee Visit The Great Wall in Their Final Days in China
7/5/2005
The wrestling duo also visited the Temple of Heaven.
Day 4
On the fourth day of our trip we visited what was for me the most amazing part of the trip. We visited The Great Wall! Before the trip I imagined the wall to be a spectacular site, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw and experienced. As we got into visual range of the wall it was probably the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. As we arrived, and walked up onto the wall it seemed as though you could see forever. The wall just kept going on and on as though there was no end. We walked about two miles in one direction then walked back. Compared to 5,660km (approximately 3,500 miles) that The Great Wall spans, we did not get to see nearly enough.
Day 5
After a long day at the Great Wall, we traveled to another wrestling club. The second venue that we wrestled at was not nearly as nice as the first one but I believe the wrestlers were at a higher level of competition. Tarq wrestled two matches this day, and once again won both of his matches, giving him an undefeated record of 4-0 for the trip. After the competition we had the rest of the day to ourselves. With the free time I went with a few of the teammates to a "knock-off market." At this market there is a lot of name-brand merchandise, but it is not authentic. This occurs because in China there are no copyright laws; therefore they can replicate all of the name brands. I chose to buy some running shoes, one pair for my mom and a pair for me. Each pair in the U.S. would normally cost about $120, but I got both pairs for a total of $35. It is also very interesting because there is no set price for these items. The fun part is bargaining with the employees to get the lowest price possible.
Day 6
On our final day of touring we ventured to the Temple of Heaven. Before arriving, our tour guide told us that the actual temple was under construction for renovation, but we were able to walk around the park that surrounds the temple. Although it cost money to even get into the park area, it was packed with senior citizens. It seemed as though it were a hang out where they could just relax. Many senior citizens were even playing hackie sack and some sort of badminton.
Day 7
Our final day in China was free for us to do whatever we wanted. As we were walking around the city, we were often surrounded by vendors who were trying to sell DVD's. At first we were hesitant to even listen to them, but they just kept showing us more and more DVD's. As we looked into the actual selection that they had it was somewhat amusing. I bought four DVD's and three of them are currently still in theaters here in the U.S., movies such as, "The Longest Yard", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", "Cinderella Man" and "Million Dollar Baby." When we got a chance to watch the movies it was kind of funny because it is actually someone sitting in the theater filming the movie with a video camera, but the quality is great. The only thing that is wrong with them is that about once in each movie someone stands up in front of the camera and walks out. For lunch on the final day we were treated to what is known as their renowned dish, Peking Duck. The flavoring of the duck was very good and original. It was a little odd because they bring the entire duck out to the table, and then chop the head off right in front of you, but I did not mind; I was hungry! It was a good final meal for China but Tarq and I both could not wait to be home and eat American food once again.
The trip that we took was a total of 10 days but due to the travel and time changes we were actually only in China for 7 days. We both had a lot of fun, wrestling, touring and meeting new people. It truly was an experience of a lifetime and something that we will remember for the rest of our lives.
