Explore the Great Wall

The great wall

I stand on history
On top of unknown stories
Feeling years of sweat and reverence among every stone brick
I stand on the past
Where great warriors and philosophers once stood
Overlooking solitude
I stand on the great wall


With all the hustle and networking of Second Life, It is great sometimes to find a place of solitude. The MAO Island, Great Wall of China is such a place. It is a replica of the actual wall in China minus the crumbling details. Second Life can be a place of wonder to behold places we will never see in real life. As i stood on the wall looking at the expanse of open grasslands on one side of the wall and the beautiful ocean setting on the other side, I wrote the above poem. When you TP into the sim you arrive at a small store front that actually sales everything you need to create your own great wall. You cross a small bridge on your journey into Chinese History.

The real wall except for the touristy areas and is in disrepair. According to http://www.greatwall-of-china.com

Suddenly people realize that the Great Wall of China needs defending itself," he said.

And he believes he knows why it is deteriorating.

"In the last 50, 60 years, it's people going up to the wall and using the material as a quarry - the bricks especially," he said.

"Most serious in the last few years in the Beijing area has been unmanaged and unauthorised tourism development."

Some parts of the Great Wall have become crowded with tourists and souvenir sellers, as poor local farmers try to convert their piece of wall into the next tourist hot-spot.

The car fumes, the shops and the sheer visitor numbers have all taken their toll on the wall, and in some places the wall has been blasted open to make way for roads.

One of the great parts of Second Life is the creativity of building and now it can preserve history for students and history buffs.

Who needs the History Channel when you can visit the actual buildings here in Second Life.

The Island was created by Amiryu Hosoi and his Hosoi Ichiba Design group. They also designed the surrounding islands in different Chinese village styles.

If you ever wanted to visit China or the Great Wall of China you can now visit the Virtual Replicas

Article by: Ricken Flow
Photos by: Jade Collins
http://hosoi-ichiba.blogspot.com/search/label/machinima

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mao/241/131/24