When I was a child, my grandfather Dido used to express his amazement that the Great Wall of China was the only man-made structure that could be seen from the moon.
I have never bothered to check the veracity of that fact. And I think that the clouds of smog over China would make it impossible to see the ground even from a twin-engined plane.
This is fact: When I went to the Great Wall for the first time, I had already been in China for six months. However, it was when standing on those stones that it dawned on me that I was in China. And even though I seldom pose for photos, I had this one taken for my grandfather.
I sent him the photo by email (via my one of my brothers). The next time I visited Buenos Aires, I went to see my grandfather in a rehabilitation clinic. He was there to recover from a hip replacement at the age of 92. And everyone knew me as the grandchild who was in China. He had had the photo printed (A4) and it was there with him. I know he had gregariously travelled with me, which makes total sense, as he is one of the people I carry everywhere.
The Great Wall has always been one of his places to me.
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