Hiking the Great Wall of China Part 1
The Mongol attackers are long gone, but the vast brick-and-stone barrier that helped China repel them and other invaders still stands—and awaits a new horde of travelers who can explore and even camp out on the centuries-old fortification.
Crumbling in some areas and neatly restored in others, the Great Wall—actually a patchwork of walls—snakes over hills and through craggy ravines covering thousands of miles of Chinese countryside, dotted by watchtowers once manned by Ming dynasty sentinels.
Some of the towers, where enterprising Chinese today guard only souvenir stands, have sprung back to life as something akin to modern-day hostels, sheltering hikers who come for overnight trips to soak up history and vistas of former battlefields now carpeted with vegetation.
Sun Hailong, a Chinese guide of Mongol ancestry, rents one of the towers about 87 miles northeast of the Chinese capital, Beijing, and takes visitors who want to spend the night—by pitching a tent or simply unfurling a sleeping bag—in its crenelated confines.
Crumbling in some areas and neatly restored in others, the Great Wall—actually a patchwork of walls—snakes over hills and through craggy ravines covering thousands of miles of Chinese countryside, dotted by watchtowers once manned by Ming dynasty sentinels.
Some of the towers, where enterprising Chinese today guard only souvenir stands, have sprung back to life as something akin to modern-day hostels, sheltering hikers who come for overnight trips to soak up history and vistas of former battlefields now carpeted with vegetation.
Sun Hailong, a Chinese guide of Mongol ancestry, rents one of the towers about 87 miles northeast of the Chinese capital, Beijing, and takes visitors who want to spend the night—by pitching a tent or simply unfurling a sleeping bag—in its crenelated confines.
