So we didn’t skimp when it came to investing in a full day on the Great Wall with one of the first westerners to ever hike the entire length of the Wall.
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA (WILD).
CHAMP CHINA MOJO ON TOP OF THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
William Lindesay is a tall, rangy, smiling Brit with a passion for telling stories about Great Wall of China.
And having logged more than 1,000 days on the actual Great Wall itself, Lindesay knows of what he speaks.
He's got an amazing story.
As a child, he dreamed of walking the Wall.
In 1987, when China was just beginning to be opened to the West, he decided to act on his childhood fantasy, hiking the entire length of the Wall by himself, carrying 2 passports, tenting out and sleeping in Chinese farmers’ houses and fields, and dodging Chinese police and security along the way.
GREAT WALL EXPERT WILIAM LINDESAY.
He wrote a book about his experience.
He’ll be appearing in a National Geographic special on Saturday, April 30, 2011, devoted to the Wall.
And he runs a nonprofit devoted to preserving the Wall, gives numerous speaking engagements, and leads tours along the Great Wall of China from his home located in the mountains outside of Beijing.
Our bus met Lindesay at the crack of 7:15 a.m. on the outskirts of Beijing (Kudos to our Mojo’ers for rolling out of bed and down to the hotel lobby for our 6:30 am departure), and, as we headed into the mountains towards Lindesay’s home, he regaled us with stories of the Wall, combined with his own insights on Chinese contemporary politics and culture. A deeply engaging raconteur, Lindesay’s passion for the Wall was palpable, even in our sleep-deprived state.
After zigzagging up into the mountains to enjoy a breakfast of Danish, tea and coffee at his modest farmhouse/school/learning center, we donned our hiking shoes and headed across the village farmland and into the foothills towards towards the Wall around 10:45 am.
A Great Wall expert, Lindesay explained that he was fond of showing visitors what he called the “Wild Wall,” rather than the reconstructed and heavily trafficked Great Wall tourist sites frequented by most Great Wall visitors (including most Chinese.)
UP THE OX BOW ON THE GREAT WALL.
A SMALL STRETCH OF THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
MOJO YOGA ON THE GREAT WALL.
As we climbed through sun-dappled forests of pine, marked by pockets of snow (we were the very first tour of the 2011 season, I learned later), Lindesay would stop our group every fifteen minutes or so along the trail for a Great Wall mini-lecture on the history, culture, and attempts to preserve the Wall. The Great Wall, he pointed out, is not really one Wall but many, each displaying a specific “look” and “feel” that reflects its own unique geographical and historical circumstances. Four major S’s – shelter, signaling, storage (food) and – counter-siege - help explain why the Chinese built the wall over the centuries to try and repel nomadic invaders form the North, whose lives literally depended on them being able to access (and conquer) Chinese agricultural and other resources.
The hike proved more rigorous than not, but our Mojo’ers ascended without complaint, and the views from the top of the Wall were spectacular. Even more so, to me, was Lindesay’s immense knowledge of and love for the Wall itself. I marveled at how deeply he felt a connection to this “building,” as he referred to the Wall, and how he had literally built his entire life around his connection to this famous epic Chinese structure. In a 21st century China that seems eternally on the go, eddying out with Lindesay to be rooted for just a few hours was incredible. I think the Mojo’ers agreed. As we enjoyed a lunch of delicious dumplings back at his home, they all talked of the remarkable day we had just had.
Sleep was the word of the bus ride back to Beijing. After all, we still had 2 nights and one full day ahead of us on our adventure.
While our students made plans to hit the Beijing night life, co-pilot Kat and I opted for a quiet dinner debrief at a local restaurant. I was asleep by 10:00.
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