Happy Malaysia Day.
Everyone has heard of 7-Eleven, Seven Up, Boeing's 777, and James Bond 007. There are 7 continents, 7 seas, 7 wonders of the world, 7 colors in a rainbow, 7 days in a week, 7 pure musical notes in the diatonic scale, 7 deadly sins, 7 virtues, 7 heavens and many more of 7's.
Seven is a symbol of eternal life for the Egyptians: it symbolizes a complete cycle, a dynamic perfection. Similarly, the number seven is one of the most significant in the Bible, which denotes completeness or perfection - the perfect number and symbol of divine abundance.
The number 7 (七, Pinyin: qī (Mandarin)) "chut" (Cantonese) symbolizes "togetherness", a lucky number for relationships. It is also recognized as a lucky number in Chinese culture, because it sounds alike to the Chinese word 起 (Pinyin: qǐ) meaning arise, and also 气 (Pinyin: qì) meaning life essence.
It is my dear wish that on this 7th trip, I would be able and lucky enough to just complete my journey along the Ming Great Wall and reached my targeted destination: Laolongtou “Old Dragon Head” (老龙头) in Shanhaiguan (山海关).
Below is the COUNT path I mapped out starting my journey from Di Yidun (第一墩), Jiayuguan:
After a hiatus of a year, I feel blessed to be able to resume my journey to the East, and more so, with the C.O.U.N.T team who came together over the years.
The journey shall resumes from YuMuLingCun (榆木岭村) and finishes at Shanhaiguan (山海关), an estimated 212 km of the wall. Click on the link below for the trek map:
On my last trip, I hiked past the Qingshanguan Mountain Pass, located on the sub-ranges of Yanshan Mountain and the central area of Daqingshan Mountain. The great walls passing through a well preserved old castle on the terrace at the foot of the mountain, and the tablet with the characters “Qingshanguan Mountain Pass”, “completed in 1574 (the 12th ruling year of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty)” on the top of its south gate can be clearly seen.
It is a majestic and spectacular mountain pass, with fluctuating ridges and peaks on both sides and the great walls zigzagging straight down here. It used to be an important military stronghold and was reinforced several times. On the site, there are three walls, the pass gate for land transportation, and the water gate for water transfer. Connecting the southern and northern parts of the Great Wall, this frontier pass used to be garrisoned by a large number of soldiers. It was so well constructed earning itself the distinctive dictum “If one man guards the gate, even a force of ten thousand men can not pass”.
As we trek east, we shall be going through some spectacular sections, notably the Baiyangyu (White Goat Valley - a 4.5km section with 21 towers and a unique 1.5km section made of white marble), the most beautiful Pingdingyu (Flat Top Valley), Damaoshan (Big Feather Mountain), Jiumenkuo (Nine Gate Pass) and Jiaoshan (Horn Mountain), to name a few. We shall also be passing through the scenic Hebei Qinhuangdao National Geology Park, and the Dongjiakou Great Wall scenic area.
Join me on my C.O.U.N.T 1,000,000 steps journey:-
C.O.U.N.T (Compassion, Optimism, Unity, Nature, Tomorrow) 1,000,000 steps.
"Every fortunate person to demonstrate the Compassion of one's heart and donate to the destitute and needy, so that together we can share and partake in the Optimism and hope for the Unity of all peoples to preserve the wonders and beauty of Nature for our children of Tomorrow."
The remuneration given in return for our work is to be used to support ourselves and our dependents, any excess or at least a portion should be returned to society, given to be used for the good of others. Let's learn to live simply so that the destitute can simply live, donate our rewards and/or time to help our community.
I have in the past, asked you, my friends and family to donate to your choice charity, and many of you did - bless you.
This year I nominate the charity organisation, Ti-Ratana Welfare Society, a community service society set up in the spirit of compassion to both serve and provide shelter, education and care to the underprivileged members of the community. It is also a voluntary, not-for-profit, non-partisan and non-denominational organisation offering a wide scope of community services.
Ti-Ratana is one of the charitable welfare organisations providing care for over 350 people, running:- 3 (Boys, Girls) Orphanage Homes, 3 (Male, Female) Old Folks Homes, and 1 Women Shelter.
Please go to this link if you so wish to donate and help their cause:
I shall be donating RM 10,000 for the priviledge of walking the 10,000 li (一万里长城) Ming Great Wall, or a token 1 sen for each of the 1,000,000 steps I take - this makes Malaysian sen-se to me, and hopefully to you too.
Thanks a million for for your support, encouragement and prayers all these years.
I wish you enough. Be kind, be helpful, be happy in every situation.
COUNT our blessings and all the very best.