"The Great Walk of China 2007"

This evening Ian McMahon a Rotarian for 17 Years and a member of the Rotary Club of Barrhead was our speaker.  His topic was a trek with family and friends along the Great Wall of China to raise funds for the Accord Hospice in Paisley. 

Ian's message to the Club was simply that when allocating funds we should remember the work done by our local hospice (wherever that may be), and assist them in providing support to individuals through that difficult and challenging part of life.

The presentation was a mixture of still images and video of the 150 mile trek along the wall where they visited many unpronounceable places.  After arriving at Beijing airport they went on to Huangyaguan, Gubeiko, Simatei and Mutiayo.  The trip included visits to Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace and eventually Xi'an.

At Xi'an with its best preserved city walls throughout the whole of China, is the location of Terracotta Warriors of the first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang.

The figures include strong warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits.

This was an excellent presentation by Ian and it was greatly applauded by the members of the Club.