“He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man,” declares a Chinese saying.

After being confronted by the challenging steps of this legendary wall, I must admit that I understand fully the meaning behind this expression.

Fiona, front right, on the Wall.Fiona, front right, on the Wall.

Constructing the wall

The Great Wall of China consists of a massive series of fortifications that extend over 5,000 kilometres from east to west in north China.

Since it stretches over a number of provinces, one can visit its diverse sections from various locations.

Its construction took around 2,000 years and involved the input of several dynasties that were ruling the country during different periods.

Since for many years, various Chinese states were at war against each other, by the seventh century BC, the locals had already mastered the skill of building protective walls with which to defend their villages.

It was from this period that construction of the Great Wall commenced. In 221BC, Qin Shi Huang won over all his opponents and unified China for the first time, established the Qin Dynasty, and became the first emperor.

To impose a centralisation of authority, he ordered the destruction of various defensive walls that had been built around the country by different feudal lords.

Instead, he constructed new walls connecting a number of fortifications on the northern side of his empire.

These were intended to shield his people and his country from the opponent nomadic tribe Xiongnu that resided in this area (today known as Mongolia).

It was no easy feat to construct these walls in the chosen locations, which wound throughout valleys or climbed across mountains. At the time, no machinery was available to facilitate this gruelling work.

Yet, the Chinese managed to erect these walls by using the material that was available in each particular zone and by working according to the contours of the terrain.

No one knows how many people worked or died during the wall’s construction.

Many claim that the total number could easily reach millions.

Certainly, their effort led to the creation of a unique masterpiece that today is regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In 1987, the Great Wall of China was added to the Unesco World Heritage List.

A pagoda seen from a tower’s roof.A pagoda seen from a tower’s roof.

A popular legend

The wall is imbued with many narratives and legends. The most popular is probably that of Meng Jiang Nü, a young woman who is believed to have lived during the third century BC in the Qin Dynasty.

Her story recounts that one day, Fan Qi Liang, a young man who had been engaged to work on the Great Wall, escaped from this strenuous job.

He ran with all his might along the way until he was so exhausted that he stopped and hid in the garden of Meng’s father.

The two fell in love as soon as their eyes met, and some time after, they got married.

Yet their happiness did not last long as Fan Qi Liang was found by soldiers and he was taken back to work on the wall.

Meng Jiang Nü waited and waited for her husband’s return.

But when winter was close and he still did not come back, she sewed some warm clothes to protect him from the cold.

She went to his workplace but after looking for him wherever she could, she was finally told that her husband had died and that he had been buried within the wall itself.

Getting a helping hand to climb the steps. Right: Making friends while climbing.Getting a helping hand to climb the steps. Right: Making friends while climbing.

This tragic news shattered the woman’s spirit and she was so grieved that she spent a whole day and a whole night weeping beneath the wall.

Her desperation ran so deep that suddenly, the wall in front of her crumbled and a number of corpses slid out.

Shocked at this gruesome scene, Meng Jiang Nü cut her finger and let her blood trickle on the bodies. She noticed that all her blood ran to a particular corpse and it was then that she recognised her husband’s body.

She gathered him lovingly and gave him a decent burial. Then, she walked to a river and threw herself in, ending her life.

The steps were constructed in differing heights to make it difficult for enemies to attack

Juyongguan Pass – Beijing

I had read and heard so much about this wall that when I arrived at one of its sections in Beijing, known as Juyongguan Pass, I simply stood in silence and awe. My eyes ran up into the sky, where a thick fog was hiding the highest part that was visible from the ground.

Some 50 kilometres away from Beijing, this part of the wall is about 4,000 metres long and is situated among the mountains of Changping District.

This pass has always been renowned for its strategic significance and its impenetrability.

However, in 1644, a group of rebellious farmers led by Li Zicheng managed to enter into Beijing by overcoming this area. It is said that this happened not because of any weakness in the wall, but due the fact that the local people were too impoverished to resist the men.

Today, Juyongguan Pass is distinguished for its lovely views of the surrounding forests, particularly since the trees change their colours according to season.

Experiencing the magic of the Great Wall

We arrived at nine in the morning in order to avoid the crowds, but there were already many visitors climbing the wall.

The weather was not very welcoming as it was drizzling and the fog made it difficult to take good photos.

Yet nothing could stop us from climbing that legendary wall that we had all dreamed so much about.

Up the first steps we went, but we soon realised that climbing was not going to be easy.

The Great Wall’s steps were constructed in differing heights to make it difficult for the enemy to run up and make a surprise attack.

While some of the steps were low, others were quite high and after a short time, if you’re not the sporty type, you’ll definitely find yourself out of breath.

Step after step, we arrived at the first tower, which consisted of a number of small rooms.

I decided to tackle a set of narrow stairs leading to the tower’s roof and from there, the overview of the open landscape was even more splendid.

I looked around in a state of rapture, wonder and disbelief as I imagined that this could have been the same view that the legendary soldiers watched over.

For a moment, time seemed to stop and the present melted into the past as I simply stood there holding on to the ancient stones.

I could have stayed there to absorb all the history of the place but the group needed to move on.

Over all, the wall’s set-up repeats itself as its length is divided into steps and a number of towers.

Yet I would have continued to climb all day if we did not have plans to visit other sites.

Going down the steps was relatively easy but by then, the place had become quite crowded with people of all nationalities who came to visit.

A love bound to eternity

As I stole a last glance at this architectural and historic marvel, I noticed a quantity of lovelocks that were fastened to chains running along the Great Wall.

On a closer look, I found that these were decorated with heart designs and the names of couples were engraved on each of them.

Our guide told us that those lovelocks formed part of an old Chinese tradition stating that if a couple wrote their names on a lock and closed it on this chain, their love would be eternal, just like the destiny of this mythical wall.

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