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Special
Interests |
| Walking
the Great Wall |
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Before the
Great Wall of China existed there were many tinier walls or earth works
constructed by several different states. In 220 BC, under Qin Shin Huang,
those disparate sections were joined together to form a united defense
system against invasions from the north. Construction continued up to
the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when the Great Wall became the world’s largest
military structure and is today inscribed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage
Site.
Over 6000
km in total length, the Great Wall is the only man-made structure that
is visible from outer space. With steep, smooth sides, the wall features
prominently in radar pictures and is a wonder to behold when one tries
to imagine the number of man-hours that must have been involved.
There are
traditional stories about the wall that implies the human cost involved
in the construction of the wall. One such story is about Meng Jiangnu
who, shortly after being married, saw her husband conscripted to work
on the construction of the wall. She worried about the cold that her husband
would face in the north and began sewing a padded cotton jacket. When
it was completed, she set out on a long walk from the south. She finally
arrived at the wall and found the men from her village, but she was told
that her husband had died. She mourned her loss at the wall with such
emotion that 20 li (about 7 miles) of the wall collapsed. It was in a
pit at the center that she found the body of her husband. She then committed
suicide to join her husband in the afterlife.
Walking along
the better maintained portions of the wall is possible and one is even
awarded a certificate for having walked along this monument to human will,
achievement and sacrifice. Or you could always go for the more prosaic
‘I Climbed the Great Wall’ T-shirt. There are hiking packages available
that allow travel on the wall along some of the most breathtaking locations,
such as the largest imperial garden in the world, and the Ming and Qin
dynasty imperial tombs. Perhaps you would prefer sunrise at Shan Hai
Guan, where the Great Wall meets the sea, or gaze north from Badaling,
which is where majority of visitors to China see the Great Wall.
About 70
km northwest of Beijing and at an elevation of 1000 meters above sea level
lies a section of the wall, which is so popular that even a cable car
system was built. Looking north, one sees the beginnings of the vast desert
flatlands from which the Hun invaders once came. Here it almost seems
as if the wall was built to keep out the desert as well as the Huns because
the view south is one of rolling hills covered with short brush and trees.
If the crowds
at Badaling do not appeal and if you aren’t afraid of heights then perhaps
the Simatai section of the Great wall is a better choice. This
section is in a relatively natural state, not having undergone extensive
restoration like Badaling. A few of the slopes are at 70º inclines. There
is a section of narrow footpath that has a 500 meter drop. If you prefer
a totally low-tourist experience of the wall then a hike along the Wild
Wall at Huanghua, 60 km north of Beijing, can provide you with an
experience of the Great Wall au naturel.
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