whose defensive architecture surpassed anything along the Great Wall.

[GoodTaste]

Yet the finest examples of walled communities were China's walled cities, whose defensive architecture surpassed anything along the Great Wall. This book traces the evolution of the walled city from the 3,000 year old remains of the beaten earth walls of the Shang dynasty to the huge stone fortifications of the Ming dynasty.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Walled-Cities-1644-Fortress/dp/1846033810

I don't quite understand "along the Great Wall" - it sounds to me to mean "nationwide" - that is, the phrase "whose defensive architecture surpassed anything along the Great Wall" actually means "whose defensive architecture surpassed anything nationwide." I am not sure.

What does the phrase mean?

 

[Tdol]

Not to me- it means that the walled cities had defensive structures that beat the ones on the Great Wall. If you expand the review, I think the line about protecting entire communities might be behind the thinking- they kept their people safe, while the Qing did get through the Wall (not a historian). I have visited the Wall, the part where there are fortifications on both sides where foreign leaders are taken as you can't get coaches up there, and was stunned, but this seems to be the drift of this book.

 

[GoodTaste]

I have visited the Wall, the part where there are fortifications on both sides where foreign leaders are taken as you can't get coaches up there, and was stunned, but this seems to be the drift of this book.

I don't really understand the bold parts ("are taken" and "get coaches")? Would you like to rewrite them so that I can get them? (I searched - "get coaches" seems to mean "get improved" while "be taken" seems to mean 'be overwhelmed." It doesn't hold water well to me, most likely I've got it wrong)

 

[Tarheel]

You should know this better than me since you're Chinese.

Apparently there are places on The Great Wall that government officials like to show foreign visitors. And you have to walk to get to those places.

 

[GoodTaste]

You should know this better than me since you're Chinese.

Apparently there are places on The Great Wall that government officials like to show foreign visitors. And you have to walk to get to those places.

You've made it clearer.

But please rewrite "are taken as you can't get coaches up there" if you'd like to.

Currently I guess it as "are brought to (...still not understand what "get coaches (on the Great Wall)" means).

 

[5jj]

you can't get coaches up there" .

Coaches cannot drive up there. The coach drivers cannot get them up there.

 

[Tarheel]

You can't parse it that way and have it make sense. You have to look at the whole phrase. Those are places (the fortifications) where foreign leaders are taken. In other words, they are given a tour of the place.

I don't know what he means by "coaches" there. Cars maybe?

 

[5jj]

Definition 7: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/coach

 

[Skrej]

Despite what Collins would have you believe, 'coach' is also used in the US. It's short for 'motor-coach'. Granted it's not as common as 'bus', but you do hear it at least regionally in AmE.

Just don't confuse it with traveling coach class.

 

[Tdol]

You should know this better than me since you're Chinese.

Apparently there are places on The Great Wall that government officials like to show foreign visitors. And you have to walk to get to those places.

You can get up in cars, or hire a taxi, then a cable car, but it doesn't take coaches. You can see photos of a very sweaty Clinton being taken there. It's much quieter than the parts of the Wall you see for mass tourism, so ideal for world leaders.;-)

 

[GoodTaste]

You can get up in cars

Oops! I don't get the phrase. Usually only an RV (recreational vehicle) has beds in so every morning you get up in the car. I really don't know what "get up in" means in your phrase.
Here's an RV:

 

[5jj]

You can get up to (reach) the wall in a car.

 

[Tdol]

The Wall is high up- you have to drive up to arrive there. It's a climb in a car followed by a cable car. It has nothing to do with beds and has to do with the literal meaning of up.

 

[5jj]

It has nothing to do with beds and

I went up early one morning to a nearly deserted Great wall at Shanhaiguan. As I approached a small snack stall at one point, I came across the elderly stall-keeper rolling up the bedroll he had slept in (under his counter).

 

[Tdol]

I have only seen that on the Discovery channel- it's strange to think ot the Wall actually ending.

 

[5jj]

It's well worth a visit. The wall itself is well preserved in this part and the landscape is impressive. More importantly, it attracts very few visitors, On one of the half-dozen occasions my wife and I went there in 2002, we were the only people on the wall for about an hour, When I returned seven years later,, it was still pretty empty. So much more pleasant than the Wall in the mass tourism areas, where there are so many people you can hardly move.

 

[Tdol]

Avoiding the crowds is the essential thing for tourism nowadays. You can skip the gems if you can see someone as it was or close.

 

[GoodTaste]

Avoiding the crowds is the essential thing for tourism nowadays. You can skip the gems if you can see someone as it was or close.

What does "skip the gems" mean? I googled and found no clue there. Microsoft Bing suggests "skip the games", which seems to mean "ignore it." I am not sure.

 

[emsr2d2]

The gems are the highlights or most popular tourist destinations. You can miss those out (skip them) if you want to go somewhere with few tourists.