China just reopened the Great Wall of China

We are really starting to see China slowly get back to normal over the past few days.

Most significantly, they have announced an end to their very stringent lockdown conditions that were placed on many large cities across the country. The end of these travel and movement restrictions come at a time when China is reporting zero additional cases in some former hotspot locations.

All of these things are very encouraging to those of us on the other side of the globe who are wondering how long the restrictions on travel will last.

But there has been even more encouraging news as China has re-opened a popular part of the Great Wall of China.

The section that opened is the Badaling section of the Great Wall, which stretches from Bei Liu Lou to Nan Wu Lou Ban.

This section is approximately 43 miles away from Beijing and it’s the most popular section of the wall for tourists. In fact, this location has been so heavily inundated with tourists that there has been a limit on the amount of visitors that can come per day.

China did not open up the Great Wall without special precautions though.

30% of visitors allowed

Only 30% of the total capacity of visitors will be allowed entry for now. This will just make it easier to keep your distance between people and to manage the crowds as they slowly get back to normal. Considering how many visitors they get there this is still a lot of people.

Temperature checks

Every visitor who would like to check out the Great Wall of China will have to first pass a temperature check to ensure that they do not have a fever. 

Health QR code 

Every visitor must have a Health QR code. This is a code that has reportedly helped the government keep track of which citizens are healthy and which have been exposed to the virus. The code must show that the individual is healthy or green in order for them to get access.

Facemasks

All visitors must wear facemasks during their stay.

Distance

All visitors must remain 1m away from each other.

To many people in the United States these restrictions probably sound like a lot but these have been a way of life for many people in China over the past couple of months. So I’m sure that plenty of Chinese people do not mind dealing with these limitations since they can finally get out. 

It has me wondering how things might be when the US passes its Apex and decides to start opening things back up to the public.

I can’t see the US ever implementing apps to track the health of individuals or anything that intrusive (for now) but I’m wondering if they would ever implement other precautions like issuing out facemasks or scanning for temperatures.

Imagine getting scanned for a fever before you are admitted to a sports game.

Either way, this is a great start for China good for the rest of the world to be reminded that this will all pass and that the way of life we once knew will return even if it will be a gradual return.

H/T