It’s hard to believe it, but for the second time in a year I found myself on top of a cultural and historical icon. Last year of course I made it to the top of Kilimanjaro and now it’s the Great Wall of China.
The wall is a marvel of engineering and construction, standing as solid as it did when it was built. This section is around 600 years old, located about 75 minutes north of Beijing. I was a little green from a stomach bug I suffered the day before — something did not agree with me — so I couldn’t make as far along the wall as I normally would have, but I did push myself as far as I could and I’m glad I did.
In the past China was on the left-hand side of the wall and the right-hand side was Mongolia and its invading hordes. These days it’s all China. What a marvel.
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