The Great Wall of China

A warm wind rolls up the hill side and blows spirals of dust around my feet. Through a flawless sky, the sun beats down on the dry ground and scattered rocks which form the pathway below me. Lowering my sunglasses from my head, I follow it with my eye. Slowly, the ancient remains unfold, snaking away from me, dropping down the steep slope ahead, rising to a crumbling watchtower perched precariously on the hilltop and disappearing over the far side. My eyes, slowly adjusting to the white hot light, bring into focus the unfolding mountain ranges beyond, where I spot the same ribboning stone line again.  Smaller, yet still unfurling, slowly and deliberately, following the contours of the very highest peaks, tracing the line at which the sky meets the earth, with tiny watch towers jutting out along it like connecting blocks. I look further, beyond this, to the next row of mountains, the deep greens of their slopes faded by the distance, blurred by the heat, and there again, as I reach for my camera, I see it, and finally witness the full magnificence and size of the structure on which I am standing. For as far as my eyes can see, The Great Wall is there, climbing up, over and across each and every hill, mountain and valley in its path, reaching so far into the distance it seems as though it could touch the very edge of the earth.

The wall twists through the landscape like an immense rope. Again and again it appears and vanishes, rises steeply and drops away, weaves and meanders, traces and gouges. I remind myself again that I am actually here, stood on the Great Wall of China and my mouth hangs open. I look over my shoulder to see my shadow tumble over the edge of the wall and into the ravine below. The sight behind me is equally breathtaking. Spotting the wall at the most distant point of the horizon here, I wonder if this incredible structure really does encircle the globe, and how the photo I have just taken will never convey the true majesty of standing where I am right now.

.....

What followed was without doubt one of the best days of our lives. We scrambled up steep crumbling staircases, picked our way through the rubbled remains of some of the oldest parts of the wall and spent in total around 3 hours hiking from tower to tower (22 in total) with each hill top vista more spectacular than the last. We were so glad to have chosen the less touristy option for the wall. Some tours will drive you around Beijing, collecting people from various hotels before heading to the most commercial, most restored, most crowded part of the wall some 4 hours later - we even read that some tours leave you just 30 minutes to take your photo, buy your souvenir T-shirt and get back on the coach for another 4 hour trip back to Beijing.

Our tour was advertised as 'not for the faint-hearted' and specified that we should be physically fit & able and without heart complaints, asthma etc. Having completed it, it is easy to see why. Although the pace was moderate, allowing plenty of opportunities for photography or to simply stand in stunned awe, some parts of the wall were in such bad shape that one had to carefully pick hand and foot holes and climb from rock to boulder up and down almost sheer faces of what remained of ancient staircases and walkways. Ascend one side of a hill and clamber down the other, stroll along a gentle pathway leading to a giant staircase before disappearing into the cool shadows within a watch tower to overlook the route you have just climbed, and survey the harrowing path ahead. It was utterly exhilarating and having spent so long hiking along it (and at times without a single soul around us), we really felt as though we'd experienced it, rather than simply  seeing it - arriving, taking a photo amidst the crush of tourists and hawkers and then driving home again, as many groups will have done that same day. With our faces caked in sweat and dust, we wearily boarded our mini-bus and sat in stunned silence for several miles as we began the journey home, each of us trying to digest the incredible experience we'd just shared.