Site Report: Southern Great Wall

Southern Great Wall - From the Road

Southern Great Wall

Vinous-throated Parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana)

Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides) - Female

Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques)

Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica)

As everyone knows, the Great Wall of China is a myth. There were many walls built over a long period of history, and they were ineffective anyway. This portion of wall, near Fenghuang, was built in the 1500s, and rebuilt in the 2000's to promote tourism.

Visits

2009-07-19: As a side trip from Fenghuang, we visited this Southern Great Wall of China by taxi. The wall was was built to keep out the Miao people in the 1500's, but the Maio have infiltrated, and they are currently selling cucumbers on the ramparts. We spent a couple of hours here mostly killing time before we wisely entered a Chinese tour bus in our attempt to return to Fenghuang. The Chinese tourists could not have been happier to have two foreign guests on their bus, and there were many jokes told and photographs taken. They dropped us off in Fenghuang, and it is a good thing that we got this free ride, as it turns out. We ran out of cash a short time thereafter giving us a bit of hardship when it was time to skip town.

Species Seen

Kingdom: Animals (8 records)

Phylum: Chordates (8 records)

Class: Birds (8 records)

Order: Doves and Pigeons (1 record)
- Family: Pigeons and Doves
- Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

Order: Perching Birds (7 records)
- Family: Bulbuls
- Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques)
- Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis)
- Family: Cardueline Finches and Allies
- Oriental Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
- Family: Chickadees and Titmice
- Asian Tit (Parus cinereus)
- Family: Leaf Warblers
- Golden-spectacled Warbler (Phylloscopus burkii)
- Family: Old World Buntings
- Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
- Family: Parrotbills
- Vinous-throated Parrotbill (Suthora webbiana)

Lifelists

Trips

China Solar Eclipse