HPER associate dean shares 'Wall' memories

Two years ago, while on a lecture tour in Asia, David Gallahue, School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation associate dean and Great Wall Walk coordinator, visited the Great Wall of China as a tourist. He was taken through the overly-crowded public areas of the wall. Gallahue was so intrigued by the experience that he felt he needed to get back to China so he could experience what else the wall had to offer. \nThis past May, Gallahue returned to the Great Wall of China and brought with him a group from the HPER. Gallahue, wife Ellie Gallahue, trip photographer John McDermott and graduate student Narisara Murray shared their experiences Jan. 10 at the Monroe County Library through a presentation and discussion on how the trip evolved from an idea into reality. \nThe presentation lasted an hour and included a slide show accompanied by a narration of the slides, as well as stories and anecdotes about the trip from the four presenters. The audience, consisting largely of elderly individuals, was very inquisitive during the question-and-answer session. Some of the photographs taken by McDermott raised many "oohs" and "aahs" from the group. \nAfter returning home from his first visit, Gallahue thought of a way to get back to China and the wall. During this time, HPER Dean Tony Mobley was retiring, and Gallahue thought a fitting way to say goodbye was a trip to the Great Wall. Gallahue also wanted to bring together members from the HPER and the Beijing University of Physical Education as part of the 10th anniversary of an exchange agreement between the two schools. \nOther than proposing the idea to Mobley, Gallahue also presented the idea to Chi Chien Hung, also known locally as Papa Chi. He was born in China and moved to Bloomington in 1982. Hung is an honorary faculty member at both BUPE and HPER and the Honorary Chairman for the walk. \nThe 40-member group contained IU faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of IU. The trip lasted 10 days -- May 7-17 -- and was dubbed The Great Wall Walk. The area of the wall that the group walked had never been walked by westerners before and was rarely walked by Chinese. \n"Most of the wall that we walked and hiked was not reconstructed, so it became tricky sometimes," Gallahue said. \nOf the 10 days that the group was in China, they only hiked five, accomplishing about eight to 12 miles a day, depending on the skill level of the hikers. \n"We had a variety of skill levels, anywhere from very accomplished hikers to the novice level," Gallahue said. "But it didn't matter, because everyone helped themselves." \nThe group did not hike to each site. They would hike their day's worth and then get transported by coach buses to their hotel each night, where they enjoyed large meals of traditional and non-traditional Chinese food. \nSurprising to many was the media attention they received. \n"During the opening ceremonies, there were television cameras and news reporters there. This was a big media deal," McDermott said. \nAs well as being the first westerners to hike some parts of the wall, the group was also the first westerners to camp out on the wall. With sleeping bags provided by the Chinese Army, the group spent the night teaching their Chinese counterparts square dancing and in turn learning Tai Chi. \n"The group got very close during those nights, and especially during the night on the wall. It was fun to see everyone joking, laughing and telling stories," Gallahue said.\nSince the language barrier was one of the only challenges steeper than the sharp inclines, the nights were filled with jokes acted out in charades so everyone could understand them. \n"There was a lot of community building and that was great to see," Gallahue said. \nAs a thanks to BUPE and the Chinese government for their permission and help coordinating the event, the group from IU asked American Play Systems to donate five playground sets. Shipped by FedEx, the sets were delivered and set up at five of the sites where the group stayed. The retail value of the playground equipment was $30,000. They are imprinted with a message and "Indiana University" across the top to let everyone know where they came from.