Walking the Great Wall

[Randy W]

from CNN

 

 

What's it like to walk the entire length of China's Great Wall?

 

On a warm spring morning in 1984, . . .

 

 

Their walk began at Laolongtou -- or the Old Dragon's Head -- in Shanhai Pass, where what was once believed to be the easternmost stretch of the Wall reaches into the Bohai Sea. From there they forged westward toward the mountains of Hebei province and the vast Chinese territory stretching out beyond.

 

. . .

 

"Our hiking outfits were military uniforms provided by troops stationed at each area," recalls Dong. "Our rucksacks were donated by China's Mountaineering Association -- which were used during their expedition to Mount Everest. We were considered well equipped in the olden days."

 

. . .

 

"In these 35 years, the effort to protect the Great Wall has changed [immensely]," he says.

"Before the nation reformed, every village was destroying the Great Wall so it wasn't considered news. Today, the media fights to report on it and people condemn it. The overall awareness of Great Wall preservation has improved."

. . .

Great Wall tourism: Turning the poorest into the wealthiest

"Great Wall tourism gives the local community a tremendous push as it develops," says Dong.

"Look at Mutianyu, a village at the foot of the Great Wall. It was once the poorest village in Huairou district. Some 30 years after it has tapped into Great Wall tourism, it's now the wealthiest village.

"How did it go from the poorest to the wealthiest? It didn't steal and sell a single brick from the Great Wall -- what it sells is the culture of the Great Wall.

"We must develop local economies so the local farmers can enjoy the benefits and fruits of Great Wall preservation. Then you don't even need to ask them to stop damaging the wall or stealing bricks -- they just wouldn't do it."

Dong places his palm on the weathered wall, still contemplating it as he did 35 years younger. But today, he ruminates on a mission grander than his own journey.

"Someone, once upon a time, dug up some earth, molded it into a brick," he says. "Someone else brought it all the way up the mountain and built a wall. Then many people guarded the wall for hundreds and thousands of years.

"The Great Wall is definitely alive. It isn't just a cold, stone wall. When you put your palm on the wall, you're holding hands with countless of ancestors from over the years."

 

 

[Randy W]

from the Sixth Tone

 

Brick by Brick

 

Inside the mammoth project to restore the Great Wall of China.

 

Quote

 

Despite being one of China’s national icons, the Great Wall fell into terrible disrepair during the height of the country’s economic boom. Construction and tourism projects chipped away at the ancient fortifications, with hundreds of kilometers of wall lost forever.

 

In recent years, however, things have changed dramatically. As Beijing pursues a policy of “national rejuvenation,” making the Great Wall great again has become a central objective.

 

. . .

 

Local governments from Beijing in the east to Jiayuguan over 1,500 kilometers to the west have launched large-scale repair works. Swathes of land have been reclassified as a Great Wall Cultural Belt, with strict controls on future development.

 

In this special report, Sixth Tone traveled to communities at both ends of the Great Wall — to Jiankou, just north of Beijing in the east, and to Shandan County, Gansu province, in the west — to observe how the drive to protect the Great Wall is playing out on the ground.

 

 

 

 

BEIJING - Rebuilding the Wild Great Wall

 

Quote

It’s a daunting challenge, made even more difficult by the rough terrain. Along the remote Jiankou section, restorers use mostly traditional materials developed during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) — which they lug to the wall using similarly old-fashioned methods.

 

Donkeys carry bricks and bags of lime as far as the mountain ridge. Then, workers use pulley systems to lift the objects onto the wall, before carrying them up to the watch towers on their backs.

 

 

 

A view of the Jiankou Great Wall section in Beijing, May 2019. Shi Yangkun/Sixth Tone

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

Only Chinese people would dare to take on that challenge.