David's Diary: Wonder Wall

BEIJING - I'm still trying to comprehend it all. And, honestly, I don't know if I ever will.
I think of all the things I've been in awe of in my life, The Great Wall of China is certainly near the top of the list as the most impressive. It was a remarkable experience - one that I certainly won't forget.

We had a perfect day for our visit there on Sunday. It was 80 degrees and not too muggy. We walked almost a mile….a miniscule portion of the Wall, given that it spans about 5,000 miles in total.
It really is hard for me to wrap my head around how much work went into building something so incredible and how humans could have created such a massive structure.
To think of anybody setting out to create something of that scale now is unfathomable. I don't think anyone is that much of a visionary or that dedicated to fulfilling something to that point.
To be able to take advantage of an off day and see it all was such a tremendous opportunity for us. And anytime you're experiencing things together and spending time together as a team, that chemistry grows and it translates onto the ice.
On the way home, we got stuck in Beijing traffic - standstill traffic - for maybe an hour. We actually got off the bus for a bit and were out on the side of the highway talking to some of the local people.
That's an experience that I've never had before, but we got through it together, faced that adversity, and made the most of it and actually enjoyed it. It really has been a great growth opportunity for everybody here.

That team bonding continued on Monday during our trip to the Silk Market in Beijing. The shops were pretty abundant in the materials that were being sold there - though I think Marchy might have cleaned out the entire place.
But the fun of bartering and haggling on prices - seeing what other treasures people found - is an experience that is pretty worthwhile if you're ever in China.
I did all right with the bartering, but there's still a human element to it for me. This is their livelihood. You don't know how many people come through their stores. I don't think I wanted to necessarily whittle them down to nothing.
But getting a decent price, a fair price, and feeling good about it, while still allowing them to have a little bit of a profit was kind of the mindset for me.
In the end, I didn't go too nuts. But I picked up a few little trinkets to bring home for my wife and kids. And hopefully they'll feel like I was thinking about them while I was here because I certainly am.
And before I wrap up this edition of my diary, I did want to mention the game in Shenzhen on Saturday. The building there is gorgeous and you can definitely see how hockey is growing. It was a good opportunity for the people there to see the game again and maybe understand it a little bit better and grow their love for the game.
Talking to a few people at The Great Wall, they were asking us who we were and what we were doing there and actually thought we were basketball players for a bit. But after telling them we were ice hockey players, they had an understanding of what we were talking about, which is definitely encouraging.
Let's hope that knowledge only continues to grow.