I’m Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies

For roughly 2,000 years, the Great Wall – or chang cheng in Chinese -- has snaked more than 4,000 miles through China’s topography doing its duty: deterring invasions from the North. It has been somewhat less successful at deterring invasions from the West: neither its width of 5 meters nor its height of 10 has proven effective against consumerism in the form of designer coffee. That’s right. Starbucks has opened a new store at badaling, 47 miles outside of Beijing and right along the Great Wall. When you think about it, it’s not a bad marketing strategy: the Wall is high, the stairs relentless; what better than an espresso to energize you for the steep climb up? On second thought, make that a double.

With thanks to Tyler Gatewood for this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.