It’s 9.30am and I’m sat in a coffee shop in the Central Business District (CBD) of Beijing listening to probably the worst Chinese cover version I have ever heard of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Nothing’: don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for a power ballad, but I didn’t know a human was capable of so many key changes.
Today, it is sweltering outside. The CBD is this city’s Canary Wharf, a mad-cap traffic system where ultra-modern electric cars and rusty tuk-tuks carrying wilting vegetables meet and do their ‘death-dance’. The ground is spiked with gravity-defying buildings, glass and steel, towering and ostentatious – the typical way society screams, ‘just look at how rich and successful we are’.
It is a world away from the Wild Wall hike of yesterday, walking an untouched and overgrown section of the Great Wall of China a million miles from the tourist spots closer to Beijing. I was fortunate enough to team up with William Lindesay, (Officer of the British Empire, no less!), who, despite originating from the UK, is recognised as the leading voice on all things Wall[ish]: its archaeology, history, conservation and future (www.wildwall.com). His love affair with one of the world’s most iconic structures started in 1986 when, at a time China was really a closed shop to foreigners, he came here and ran the length of the Wall. Yes, ran it. On this epic undertaking, he was attacked by dogs, arrested nine times and given deportation orders. Twenty seven years on and he lives between Beijing and his village retreat on the Wall, is married to a Chinese lady, has been recognised as a true friend of China, exhibited wonderful photographic collections in the Capital Museum in Beijing and advised Government on the Wall’s protection and preservation.
At 3.15am, William was up and preparing strong coffee at his courtyard farmhouse, where I was staying: the old village school, home for a night to William and Dragon (his brother-in-law, who has the coolest name I have ever heard). By 4.00am we were scrambling our way through the sodden bush and carpets of spider webs towards the wall. The mist was thick and heavy; sweeping views of the Wall crossing the mountain tops were swapped for an intoxicating atmosphere of solitude and history on the Wall itself (see photo gallery).
William taught me one critical thing: to forget everything I thought I knew about The Great Wall of China! Firstly, the name itself hides a thousand inaccuracies. For example, ‘THE’ Wall is actually a series of smaller, independent structures incrementally built by sixteen of the (roughly) sixty-six Chinese dynasties. Furthermore, the word ‘WALL’ belies the variety of building techniques used, which range from basic straw-and-clay moulding and dry-stone-walling to the iconic yellow-brick, fortressed images seen in all the travel books. We hiked a section of the Wall constructed from huge quarried rock at the base, a pavement level, brick ramparts and towering fortresses built for signalling, shelter, storage and counter-seige. This section was overgrown, unkempt…..’wild’ and awe-inspiring.
To my amazement, I learnt that much of the Great Wall has suffered a terrible fate: from the graffiti and littering of tourists to the theft of stone and illegal (and legal) mining. Efforts have been continuously made to protect this exemplar of China, but the laws are haphazardly enforced and the lure of guaranteed-tourist-dollars too strong. The structure is an incredible testament to the fortitude of the families who built each section and to the capacity of humans to defend themselves. However, without concerted national and international efforts to preserve it, the Wall’s future is uncertain and can only be protected by striking a precarious and expensive balance between conservation, on the one hand, and allowing responsible tourism, on the other.
Back to the CBD, I've de-camped from the power-ballads to the 80th floor of the Trade Center Building to order an extortionately priced watermelon juice and to see Beijing in all it's glory - see other photos in the blog and enjoy!
