Patriarch Kirill compares Great Wall of China with development of Siberia

The construction of the Great Wall of
China and the development of Siberia testify to the strong will of the
two great nations, which should act together for a better future of
the world, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said.

He took a tour to the Great Wall of China on Saturday, May 11, during his first visit to China.

In his opinion, “this wonderful monument
of Chinese architecture” is a symbol of China’s strong spirit and
“brings about the feeling of deep respect for the great neighbour.”

“We can understand what the Chinese nation is like, what its traditions and commitments are,” the patriarch stressed.

He compared the construction of the
Great Wall of China with the development of Siberia by the Russian
people. “Russia has also seen a manifestation of the strong will of
our people in the wars we fought and especially in the development of
Siberia which required tremendous efforts and which overwhelmed and
still continues to overwhelm many people,” Kirill said.

“Here in the Far East the two strong
countries and two strong nations come in contact with each other. And
by multiplying and combining our efforts we should work together for
a better future of our peoples and the whole world,” he said.

The Great Wall, one of the greatest
wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in
1987. Built over a period from the 3rd century to the 17th century,
it stretches for approximately 8,851.8 kilometres (5,500 miles) from
east to west of China.

Patriarch Kirill also toured the
Forbidden City. On the first day of the visit, he met with Chinese
President Xi Jinping. In the remaining four days, the patriarch is
planning to meet with Orthodox believers in Beijing, Harbin and
Shanghai.

Trek the Great Wall of China – and raise money for hospice care

Tom Cruise mobbed by stunned fans as he dashes down the Great Wall of China

Some celebrities moan when it takes them three hours to walk around the supermarket to buy a loaf of bread and some milk because they’re stalked by adoring fans.

But love for Tom Cruise, 50, reaches a whole new level – the actor was mobbed by devotees during a trip to the Great Wall of China on Thursday.

Is it so much to ask for Tommy boy to be left alone to enjoy a giant wall in peace?

Well, yes it is when he’s a legendary Hollywood star and he’s at the landmark to promote his new film Oblivion which is out in Chinese cinemas on Friday.

Hoards of people turned up to see the star as he dashed along the wall which could quite easily have been mistaken for a scene from one of his action-packed movies.

In Oblivion, set in 2073, Tom plays a former Marine Commander who is a drone repairman still resident on earth despite it’s destruction by aliens 60 years earlier.

His character’s work involves extracting Earth’s most important resources for human life and while carrying out his mission he meets a stranger who crashes to earth in a spaceship.

After meeting the girl he begins to question everything he believes and what he knows about the alien invasion and how Earth came to end.

Well, it’s not quite the legendary piece of cinema that is Spice World, is it?

However, Tom is pleased his film is being released in China and believes movies can bring people together across the world.

He told EW.com: “I always felt like film was a great unifier. I wanted to make movies for everyone. I think it’s great that studios and producers and directors are thinking about the global audience from the start of a movie now.”

Well, that all sounds pretty serious. Want to see more of Tom being an ABSOLUTE LEGEND in China? Silly question. Take a look at our gallery below…

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Putney landlady set to run the Great Wall of China

Putney landlady set to run the Great Wall of China

6:00am Sunday 12th May 2013 in News

By Alexandra Rucki

Becky Newman, landlady of The Bricklayer’s Arms

An award-winning landlady is swapping pints for plimsolls and running the Great Wall of China.

Becky Newman, landlady of The Bricklayer’s Arms, in Waterman Street, Putney, is taking on the challenge to raise money in memory of her sister.

The 45-year-old has raised more than £10,000 for the charity after her sister Helen suddenly died of a brain haemorrhage in 2005.

Last year she ran the gruelling North Pole marathon in arctic conditions for Headway South London, a charity that supports people with brain injuries.

This time round she will be up against sweltering heat and high altitude of the Great Wall of China.

The landlady said: “With the North Pole marathon I had to face and endure freezing conditions but on a flat, icy surface.

“This is the opposite, I will be climbing upwards in incredible heat in high altitude.

“I’ve heard it can add up to 50 per cent onto your normal time. This is going to be a thrilling but tough challenge.”

Ms Newman is aiming to raise £5,000 for Headway, with all donations going directly to charity as she self-funds her trip.

To make a donation visit charitygiving.co.uk/beckynewman

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PM Netanyahu Tours the Great Wall of China

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One Comment

1. Reb Chaim HaQoton says:

   The Great Wall of China is very much a part of our Jewish heritage. It was built by Avrohom Aveinu in order to protect the Bnei Ketura from marauders. See פירוש הרד”ל בראשת רבה פס”א ס”ז.

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See Tom Run – on the Great Wall of China

The star toured the landmark today in Bejing.

Continuing his globetrotting trek to promote Oblivion, Tom Cruise tackled the Great Wall today in Beijing.

As tourists flocked around the star, he toured the landmark before Friday’s opening of the sci-fi thriller. But he didn’t just walk around. He ran. Photographers captured him sprinting along the top of the structure, sporting a big smile.

Earlier this week, Paramount confirmed Cruise, 50, will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt in the upcoming fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

And while Tom has been traveling, ex-wife Katie Holmes was working the Met Gala red carpet.

Touring the Great Wall of China

Greg and Janet Dukes with their Lincoln Journal on the Great Wall of China nearBeijing April 18th, 2013.

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Clark University junior Rose Goldich, of Rockville, blogs about her semester …

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Clark University junior Rose Goldich has kept a blog about her semester studying in China.

WORCESTER, MA (05/06/2013)(readMedia)– Clark University junior Rose H. Goldich, of Rockville, Conn., has kept a blog on the University’s website while spending this semester in Shanghai, China, studying at Donghua University and working as an intern at Habitat for Humanity China at their Shanghai office.

When she’s not busy with her three courses (Modern Chinese Economics, Chinese Language, and Issues in the Chinese Workplace) she has had a chance to tour her new surroundings.

In a blog post dated March 17, Goldich describes a visit she made to the Lingyin Temple, a famous Buddhist Temple in downtown Hangzhou. She saw engravings in rocks on a hill, all of which depicted stories of gods, warriors, or other spiritual deities. She witnessed Buddhists lighting incense and touching the engravings and saying prayers.

“Of course taking pictures was strictly forbidden, but I will definitely remember what I saw for the rest of my life,” she wrote. “There was an ENORMOUS golden statue of Buddha surrounded with what looked like golden flowers, boxes, and different gifts. It was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Goldich blogged about her mom’s recent visit to China, and explained how grateful she was that she was able to use her knowledge of the Chinese language to serve as her tour guide.

First, she introduced her to her roommate. “It was great to see two important women in my life, from two completely different ends of the Earth, come together,” she wrote.

Rose was able to tour Beijing, the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square with her mother.

In her blog post dated May 1, she described her trip to The Forbidden City.

“Walking into the first entrance of the Forbidden City you can feel the history around you. I was just trying to imagine the sheer number of people that not only lived there, but also worked and served. The first few buildings are absolutely colossal,” she wrote.

At Clark, Goldich participates in the ONE Campus Challenge. ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, helps put kids in school and improves futures. Goldich is a recipient of merit based awards, including the Jonas Clark Scholarship. She majors in political science and plans to take advantage of Clark’s Accelarated B.A./Masters Program.

“Everything that Clark has offered me as a student has helped me mature and grow from just a college student to a young, informed citizen,” she said.

Goldich is a member of the Class of 2014 at Clark. She is a 2010 graduate of Rockville High School in Vernon, Conn., and the daughter of Terri and Kim Goldich.

Great Wall of china challenge

Exploring the first man to explore the Great Wall of China

The first person believed to have traveled the length of the Great Wall of China hailed from Doylestown.

And no one knows his name.

But a new documentary is trying to change all that. “Geil of Doylestown: Forgotten Explorer,” is hoping to resurrect William Edgar Geil from the depths of obscurity and secure his rightful place in the pages of history.

The film, which premiered Saturday at the County Theater, tells the story of Geil, an explorer, orator, author and photographer, who made his mark at the turn of the 20th century. Due to circumstance, much of the world — and even his hometown — largely forgot him in the decades since.

“Geil is more well-known in China than in Doylestown,” said Stu Abramson, president and CEO of the Doylestown Historical Society, which presented the premiere of the documentary.

The 43-minute film, which traces Geil’s life, was fittingly directed by another native son, Karl Stieg. The 22-year-old recently graduated from the University of Southern California’s film school and was commissioned by Judge Edmund Ludwig, founder of the Doylestown Historical Society, to make the film and help reintroduce Geil to the world.

The goal is to get Geil into the school curriculum, and the filmmakers are distributing copies of the documentary to area schools.

Stieg, a Central Bucks South graduate, is part Chinese and lived for several years in China as a boy. He said this project really resonated with him. Stieg said that even in today’s world of Google maps and seemingly unlimited, easily-accessible information, he hopes people walk away from the film realizing that “there is still exploration to be had.”

Geil was born in 1865 just as the Civil War was ending and Americans were eager to see the world. His father, Sam, a cartographer, undoubtedly stirred young William’s passion for adventure. Geil started his career as an evangelist (though not ordained), delivering well-attended speeches along the East Coast.

“He was a complicated guy,” said Stieg.

Geil initially traveled the globe to check on the progress of mission work, but soon became enthralled with exploring foreign civilizations, particularly China, and accurately predicted its rising importance in the world. Geil visited the five Sacred Mountains of China and in 1908, set out to travel the length of the Great Wall.

“No one ever thought to do it before,” said Robert LaFleur, history and anthropology professor at Beloit College in Wisconsin and an expert on Geil. LaFleur is featured in the documentary and was on hand for Saturday’s premiere.

Geil penned 10 books inspired by his travels but is perhaps best known for his photography. The Doylestown Historical Society has boxes of Geil’s images of the Great Wall, the Yangtze River and other locations. Also featured in the documentary is William Lindesay, founder of the Beijing-based International Friends of the Great Wall, who has re-photographed many of the images in Geil’s book about the Wall.

Geil married in 1912 and, with his wife, Constance, built a mansion on the edge of Doylestown called “The Barrens.” Geil died in 1925 while traveling. After his death, his widow locked up his study and Geil was all but forgotten, his work dormant for 80 years, said Abramson.

In 2007, Marilyn Arbor, whose father had purchased Geil’s papers and photos at auction decades earlier, donated the collection to the historical society. The society received money to promote Geil and the documentary is an outgrowth of that effort, said Abramson.

The film was shot on location in Doylestown and in China, with breathtaking views of the mountains and Great Wall. The film will be screened at the New Hope Film Festival in July and the filmmakers are hoping to get it aired on public broadcasting stations or distributed online.