© 2004 Chris Gregerson
Description
When I was at the Great Wall, during a national holiday in China, it was staffed by soldiers. There were no civilian guides, and nobody who spoke English, but soldiers were unable to help even my Chinese-speaking companion. We were separated when we each went through a passage that had a soldier stationed, and who (without warning) would not let us return the way we came. Other tourists were also lost and separated from their companions. The crowd broke between my wife and me, even though were were tightly gripping each other's hand. (date: 2004-10-04)