The Great Wall

Although the Great Wall was not my reason for entering China, it certainly was a major reason for spending two years there. The first time I entered the country from Hong Kong in 1986, I cycled north to Beijing. Considering most of the trip was off-limits to foreigners, I was never stopped nor harassed. Beijing was a great place for biking with so much to see and do in the daytime, but absolutely nothing to do at night but eat dinner and go back to the hotel. In the mid-80s, entertainment had yet to reach the capital. 

Badaling is China's most visited place for seeing the Great Wall, so along with many other tourists, this mandatory trip was my first bus ride in this communist country. The two-hour bus ride was pleasant enough, but the first glimpse of it got my blood-tingling. Everyone has seen pictures of the Great Wall so nothing was surprising, but its massive size was astonishing. Joining the ranks of the more adventurous I could barely climb onto the final bus back to Beijing at the end of the day. Too many steps and too many ups and downs was quite a workout.

Back in Beijing, I couldn't get the Great Wall out of my mind; I needed to see more. 

At the sea, the Wall passed through a cultivated valley of scattered farms before it climbed the nearest mountain and disappeared over a very distant ridge. Shanhaiguan was a city inside a fort. Practically all the tourists scurrying around the fort were excited Chinese exploring this magnificent architectural wonder. Being in a valley, climbing was much less demanding than at Badaling, but I still needed to climb up the mountain at the end of the day instead of jumping back on a bus. My only plan was to spend five or six nights camping on the Wall, or until the food ran out, and then bus back to Beijing.

Well the food did run out several times, but it was five weeks before I got back to Beijing, only to take a week's break from the daily treachery and minor wounds. The Great Wall had captivated me and I couldn't get enough and I couldn't leave it. Five days turned into eleven months, although that was spread across three summers.