8. A Day Without Stairs in China Is Like a Day Without Sunshine

Climbing Tai Shan

by Virginia Propp, Social Studies Teacher
Gentry Middle School, Columbia, Missouri

Months before leaving for China, I walked three miles daily and went to the gym three times each week in order to build up my stamina for the trip. Many of the teachers in our group had a similar routine. I have always been a walker and a relatively active person, but what I encountered in China was better than any exercise machine at a health club. It was stairs--and lots of them. They were everywhere we went. Now I understand the secret of how the citizens of China stay physically fit. They climb stairs everywhere they go. Stairs provide us with time for a moment of meditation and that period of anticipation before experiencing whatever is at the top.

The Great Wall near Beijing

We encountered our first dose of serious stair climbing at the Great Wall near Beijing. I was awestruck as our bus approached the section of the Great Wall that we would climb. All the photographs that I had seen had been truly misleading. In those aerial views of this magnificent ancient structure, the wall looked relatively flat on top. The section of the Great Wall that we visited near Beijing had absolutely no resemblance to a flat surface. It was all stairs and inclines----and steep ones at that. It was amazing. The steps were irregular in height and width and a path had been worn in the stone from the millions of feet that had trod upon them, but we were up to the challenge and headed up them with determination. Most of us only made it to the first or second guard tower, but several hearty souls in our group made it further yet. The experience was exhilarating. We had spent half a day absorbing ancient Chinese culture, and we had succeeded in our first encounter of monumental stair climbing in China.

After warming up on the Great Wall, it seemed that we began to encounter stairs every day at nearly every sight that we visited. The Temple of Heaven in Beijing had steps that were a little less treacherous, but there were in fact several levels to the temple, each being reached by a flight of steps. The steps accentuated the "heaven-like" ascension to the temple. The climb seemed so easy for seasoned "stair climbers" like us. After all, we had conquered a section of the Great Wall. These steps hardly increased our pulse rate.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Nanjing

Likewise the Forbidden City's stairs were easy for us. Even so, they were good exercise and did not detract from the rich history we were experiencing while listening to the Roger Moore-narrated self-guided tour on the rented cassette tape players hanging around our necks. 

It seemed like every building and historic site in every city we visited in China had steps, steps and more steps. The teachers in our group wee becoming expert climbers, and jokingly said, "A day without stairs is like a day without sunshine." We almost felt slighted if there weren't any steps to a place that we were visiting, but we knew our greatest challenge was yet to come-Tai Shan.

Tai Shan, we were told, is a sacred mountain in China. There are 7000 steps to the top of the 5,000-foot mountain, and a hotel was near the summit. That was our destination that day. We would ascend the mountain, spend the night, rise early for the sunrise, and then descend the next day. Fortunately, we did not have to climb all 7000 steps to the summit. We were able to ride an aerial tram part of the way and then climb the stairs the rest of the way.

The trip up Tai Shan was beautiful. With the fog and the lush greenery around us, the mountain looked like scenery from the movie CrouchingTiger, Hidden Dragon. Although it was foggy, damp and pleasantly cool, the climb was indeed strenuous, particularly since we were carrying overnight bags for the stay at the hotel at the summit. Our conversations were jovial and
we encouraged each other to push onward despite the difficulty of the climb. Hours later, we finally took that last step onto the front walkway of the hotel. We were all dripping from exertion as well as the moisture from the dense fog, but we felt exhilarated. We had made it to the summit despite all those steps.

Terri Sheldon at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing
    
Forbidden City

After Tai Shan, all stirs were easy. While in Nanjing, we explored the magnificently reverent memorial to Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The stairway seemed almost like we were heading into the clouds and right on into the heavens. Although the day was humid, hot and smoggy, the climb seemed almost refreshing and inspiring. Ascending and descending those steps gave us time to ponder the life and work of this very important figure in Chinese history.

Our trip to China was an unforgettable adventure and one that has enhanced my classroom instruction tremendously, as I am sure it has for every teacher in our group. Stairs were a small but integral part of the whole experience. They are a detail that enhanced and added drama to each aspect of the adventure. I look at stairs differently now that I have been to China because, "a day without stairs in China is indeed a day without
sunshine."

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