今天早上一睜眼，讀到一篇文章《北京古北水鎮涼涼了？為什麼曾經火爆異常，如今門可羅雀？》，我立馬想起威廉5年前親臨古北水鎮後寫的一篇短文，這裏找出來再與大家分享：
站在明星身旁並與他們合影留念，是普天下人們的嗜好，在講求“關係學”的中國，更是如此。與高官合影也是一樣，當然官位越高越好，今後會有“綠燈”效應。
一般來説，這類“無名人”和“有名人”的照片會被“無名人”收藏。但誰知道呢？或許那些“有名人”，為了顯示他們與普通民眾打成一片，也會珍視這種“落地”的證據。
在剛過去不久的金秋10月的一天，我沿着京承高速驅車，滿腦子裏想的卻是這類“有名”和“無名”關係的事情。與往常一樣，我帶領高端客人蔘觀著名的長城。然而，與往常不同的是，這次安排的重點不是長城，而是她身邊的“陪同”。我的目的地是離北京120公里的新開發的旅遊景區，定位為“江南水鄉”的古北口水鎮。
北方長城的一個關口和南方水鎮的“結盟”似乎非常奇特。
實際上，“古北口水鎮”並不在古北口，而是離古北口直線距離約莫20公里之外的司馬台。
近幾年，司馬台長城似乎在地圖上暫時消失了。直到2010年，一個有名的徒步路線引起了人們的興趣，它起自金山嶺，止到司馬台。司馬台似乎在人們的視野裏再次出現。
然而，有消息説“司馬台”被關閉了。關閉了？一段長城怎麼能關閉？怎樣關閉？
後來又聽説司馬台長城腳下的司馬台村被重新整修一新。
作為一個保護主義者，一個地理、歷史和考古學者、一個熱衷提問的人，這個消息對我來説並不奇怪。
在我眼裏，長城真實的魅力，在於長城自身，也遠遠超出於她的自身。長城周邊的土地、包括山坡和山谷，還有這片土地上的村莊和在這裏生活的人，都是長城建造的源泉。我總認為，長城的存在與這些周邊的生靈不可分割。這些地方是長城的建設者和守衞者曾經生活過的和將要生活很久的地方。他們的經驗、知識、生活方式、口述史和看問題的方法都是長城景觀的重要的組成部分。只有這些活着的東西能保留，長城才算得上是活着的長城。
我聽説司馬台的重新改造，也聽説過古北口水鎮，但並沒有把這兩個名稱聯繫在一起，因為司馬台離古北口還有20公里。
但是，後來我知道了，這兩個地方其實是一回事。在南方，水鎮一般是沿着大運河的古香古色的水鄉。歡迎你到古北口來！這曾經是古代北方的戰略關口，但披上了南方水鄉的景緻。
很顯然，開發商們期待着大批遊客的蜂擁而至；巨型停車場，五星級酒店把北京城裏的豪華酒店都比得甘拜下風；售票處如同火車站，售票窗口一排就是二十幾個。儘管水鎮悦目可愛、古香古色、乾淨整潔，但在我眼裏，她只是一個大而空的現代人造景觀。
我們一行穿上救生衣，開始在水上漂浮。我腦子裏出現的卻是意大利威尼斯划船的景象。
從長城回到水鎮，我們享用了美味的午餐。味道之好堪比北京城的最豪華的酒店裏的“作品”，但我看到的是空空如也的餐廳。
“過去”我有幸在司馬台上行走，領略長城的美景之後，在山下老鄉家，來一瓶涼啤酒，吃一塊烙餅卷青椒肉絲，體驗這種區別於城裏的簡單的生活方式。那，才是神仙過的日子。
如果你還沒有去過司馬台長城，還是值得一去。但是你得承認，如果你只是想去看長城，現在的時光已經不如以往。很簡單，這裏的長城已經不再是明星，她變成了一個外來物的背景。
Standing beside the Famous
Standing beside the famous, and capturing a photo to prove it, is a worldwide phenomenon, but in a ‘guanxi-conscious’ society as China, it seems to me to be certainly more prevalent.
Having one’s photo taken alongside local officials, provincial officials— the higher ranking the better — is seen as some kind of green-light connection that goes beyond the more often than not real reason for the meeting, mere chance.
Generally speaking, the photo’s are treasured because they show the ordinary standing next to the famous. But who knows? Perhaps they are too treasured by the famous, who like to tout themselves standing next to the unknown, as a means of convincing their down-to-earth personalities.
So, last month on a glorious autumn day, as I drove along the Jing-Cheng expressway, the famous and the ordinary brought together was very much at the forefront of my mind. As usual, I was en route to see the famous, the Great Wall. But unusually, I was really focussing on the ordinary beside it. My destination was a new tourist development that lies 120 km northeast of Beijing, marketing itself as ‘Gubeikou Water Town’.
For those of you that are less in the know about Great Wall related goings on that myself, the name ‘Gubeikou Water Town’ has a strange ring to it. For various reasons.
Long time visitors to Gubeikou — and that includes me, who first went there in 1987 — will know that while the town has a trickle of water, it’s nothing remarkable. Like most of North China, surface water is little and far between. When I walked into Gubeikou I took a photo of the Wall snaking away and up the Crouching Tiger Mountain, with the narrow channel of the Chao River in the foreground.
In fact, ‘Gubeikiou Water Town’ is not in Gubeikou — its about 20 km to the east as the crow flies, at what is more widely known as Simatai.
Now, that a name that disappeared off the face of the map in recent years. Until about the year 2010, it was the destination for one of the most popular walks on the Great Wall, starting at Jinshanling and concluding at Simatai.
Then rumours spread that ‘Simatai’ was closed.
Closed? How can a section of the Great Wall be ‘closed’. Moreover, given there was a village called Simatai at the foot of the Wall, how could that be closed?
It was rumoured that ‘Simatai village was being redeveloped”.
To me, as a conservationist with a geographical, historical, archeological and social view of what constitutes ‘The Great Wall’, the news was grim.
In my eyes, the majesty of the Great Wall goes beyond the actual building. but extends to the surrounding land, to include the slopes and valleys, where the materials for the Wall were sourced and made, to the villages. Those, I aways considered, are vital to the continued existence of the Great Wall as a living part of China. For that is where ‘Great Wall people’ live, have lived, and sometimes have lived for a very, very, long time. Their experiences, their knowledge, their way of life, their oral histories, their views are a human — living — part of the Great Wall landscape of China. They keep the Great Wall alive.
I had heard of Simatai’s “redevelopment” and I’d heard of “Gubeikou Water Town”, but I didn’t connect the two — because Simatai is 20km away from Gubeikou.
But I was shortly to see that they were now one and the same place.
The Water Town is a quaint little recreation of a South China town with canals and little houses alongside. Welcome to Gubeikou, the ancient “North” pass that now has a flavour of the south. The developers are obviously expecting large numbers of visitors. the car parks are large, the five star hotel would dwarf most downtown-Beijing hotels, and the ticket office looked more like something you’d expect to see in a city railway station. there was a line of about 25 windows, with all sorts of “packages”. It was on seeing this that I felt the Great Wall was not the star attraction, but just one of many.
It was however the only original one.
For all its loveliness and quaintness and cleanliness, the water town seemed fake to me. Like a clean barn without the animals, straw and dung.
We had a high price ticket that allowed us to approach the Wall by water. We donned life jackets and started to be rowed along a canal. Welcome to Venice I thought.
I was curious to know where our “captain” came from. Simatai perhaps, thinking that the project designers might have had the political correctness to create jobs for the locals. No. this man came from Miyun County Town, about 50 or 60 kms away. There was a ‘work bus’ very day, he said.
Once through the ‘Water Town’ we reached the cable car station. It’s a new, high-speed flight up to the Wall, and there you will find the Wall.
The views remain tremendous, although I have always thought the the best place to appreciate Simatai is when viewing the ridge from afar, from Jinshanling, or the walk between Jinshanling and Simatai.
As I took the cable car down I reminded myself that If I was critical of the development of a southern-style Water town beside the Great Wall I wold be critical of the Qing Emperors who re-created the far so they could be near. They brought their favourite sceneries of the south to the north for pleasure, so why can’t today’s Chinese? They can and they did, but in juxtaposing the two they made the star, the Great Wall, into the background, which is literally behind — although above — the town itself.
Back in the town we enjoyed an excellent lunch, one of the best I’ve had of late, and one of s standard that would be hard to beat in Beijing. but the restaurant was almost empty, as were most of the others that I peered into.
My verdict. If you’re one of the lucky ones who visited Simatai in the “old days”, when you could walk there, have a beer, ‘laobing', pork and peppers with a farming family in the village, and go back to the big city refreshed by your simple day out, then don’t bother going back. Just keep that good memory.
If you haven’t been to Simatai, then you still have to go. But you just have to accept that you came at the wrong time to a what was once a much better place.