Hiking the Wild Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is apart from anything else, a magnificent monument and reminder to mans perseverance. Back in 2007, I had the privilege to assist in organizing a hike along a section of the Great Wall. Because the wall is a protected monument, we had to obtain special permission to walk on a section not open to the public. It was about a 2 hour drive outside of Beijing and a short walk to a trail head that wound up a very steep hillside to gain access to the wall itself.

We entered the wall through a "guards gate" in the wall and then commenced our walk. The wall was in remarkable condition, the paving and walls still amazingly intact. There were sections becoming overgrown with scrub that will unless removed damage the paving and wall. Some sections of the wall and parapets were broken, however, there was little evidence of scavenging by local villagers looking for building material.
The wall wound up and down in steep sections between the 5 guards towers we walked through until we descended off the wall to a small village near a national park. This section, like many others, follows the ridges so that the guards could oversee the surrounding country. Our guide, an official with deep knowledge of the history of the wall, told us of the way the wall was constructed and how it developed over the years.

All I can say is, if you ever get the chance to walk a section of the wall, preferably away from tourists, do so. The experience of hiking in the quiet stillness of the hills and ridge-lines is quite amazing, quite different from the normal hiking in wilderness that we are used to. On the wall, its not so difficult to feel the presence of those that labored an toiled centuries ago.