Life Chest Adventure to China: Beijing, The Great Wall of China & Xi'an.
LIFE CHEST ADVENTURES AT THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Crafting the adventure
The Life Chest team was excited to write about the locations where Josh and Bernie’s first adventure took place. One of the most interesting was the Great Wall of China. As we researched its topography, we discovered that the Great Wall is massive. It covers 13,000 miles and stretches across mountains, plains and valleys. Where would Josh and Bernie find the treasure? We wanted to pinpoint an actual, plausible location. There was a plethora of choices.
In the book, the two cousins risk getting in trouble with the authorities when they search for the fifty ancient gold coins hidden inside the wall. We needed to find an area that would be fairly easy to get to, but still isolated enough for the characters to successfully evade detection by other tourists and security guards.
Striving for authenticity
The Simatai section of the Great Wall was the spot we chose for Josh and Bernie’s treasure hunt, for several reasons:
--A two-hour drive from Beijing, it would be less crowded than the popular Badaling section of wall that most tourists visit, thus making it more believable that Josh and Bernie could get away with digging around at its base.
--It’s one of the few sections of the wall that has not been extensively restored in modern times, making it more likely that a hidden treasure would remain so.
--Even though it’s an out-of-the-way location, a few small hotels exist within a few miles of the Simatai wall. That’s an important part of the story.
Following in the characters’ footsteps
The next step was to plan our own visit to the site. Having “boots on the ground” where the stories take place is very important to the Life Chest team. The sights, sounds, tastes, smells and tactile experiences enable us to enhance our writing, and the photos we share in the books make our readers feel as if they are on the journeys with us!
We soon discovered, however, that we might have chosen our spot on the Great Wall too well—Simatai wasn’t open to the public at the time! We did more research and settled on Jinshanling, an equally remote section that was available for touring. Josh and Bernie would still go to Simatai, but we hoped our trek would have the same feeling as theirs.
A beautiful day and an unexpected bonus
Our day at Jinshanling was magical. The sky was unusually bright and clear, cottony clouds dotting the pure blue. Driving a few hundred kilometers out of Beijing to avoid the crowds was absolutely worth it. We explored for several hours, alone on the wall except for two charming local guides, a smiling elderly woman and young man who doggedly climbed alongside us. It was easy to imagine the China of centuries ago!
In the story, Josh and Bernie use an ancient map to find the treasure. One of the clues on the map is a certain brick, numbered and dated by the regiment of soldiers that placed it in the wall. We discovered to our delight that many of the bricks at Jinshanling are stamped with these indicators. We were able to see them, touch them, and take photos, and let our imaginations run.
The Life Chest: China experience was the first of Josh and Bernie’s— and our—adventures together. We’re excited to have you along for the ride, sharing in these life-changing journeys!
