!!!Great Wall of China

by Dmitry Moiseenko and
Stanislav Sedov
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

4 December 2013

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

My first impression of the nearest section of the Great Wall to the
Bejing was disappointing. I cannot say if it was because of the
drizzling rain, a massive tour bus parking lot down below, or poor steps
collapsing from countless waves of tourists. Clearly those steps were
laid by modern builders, and not by ancient craftsmen. Although the
weather cleared the next day, it didn't improve my mood, because crowds
of tourists flooded the Wall. We made several flights, caught attention
of hundreds of surprised visitors, and left the "tourist paradise" as
quickly as possible.

[{Image src='01_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

A friend of our interpreter Elena suggested an interesting section of
the Wall few tens of kilometers to the East — Huanghuacheng. According
to him, a man-made lake flooded part of the Wall in this region. This is
where we arrived by the end of the day. Despite of the rather strong
wind, we managed to make a couple of flights over the lake bathing in
rays of the evening sun.

Later at night, while going through our footage, I finally realized what
a World Wonder we are about to photograph. On our panoramas the Wall
stretched from horizon to horizon, rolling down into chasms then
climbing up to crests of surrounding mountains. It is so beautiful and
inexplicable...one wonders how people managed to build such a monumental
structure.

[{Image src='02_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

We spent the following day in attempts to climb up the section of the
Wall located West of the lake. It was closed for tourists, because this
part underwent restoration just recently. Finally we found a ladder left
by construction workers, and used it to get to the top through one of
neglected watchtowers. To tell you the truth, the restored section of
the Wall doesn't make such an impact as it lacks the ancient spirit. A
bit later, when we reached the top of the hill, we saw the old section
of the Wall: there were no restored handrails, and grass was growing
between stones. In my opinion, these passes of the Wall look much more
interesting, although they are less suitable for tourist masses. Perhaps
this is why Chinese gradually cleaned up and "civilized" this place.

[{Image src='03_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

Few days later, at the different pass of the Wall — Mutianyu, we met a
girl from Ukraine. What a brave person! Irina was traveling solo,
speaking no Chinese. She managed to get to China by hitchhiking through
Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Once in China, Irina decided to
dedicate several days of her trip to the Great Wall. On her photographs
we saw a completely different Wall: thick shrubs, crumbling steps, and
areas so steep that one would have to crawl there instead of walking.
Amazing, how such a petit fragile girl managed to concur these obstacles
alone, sleeping in ruins of old watchtowers, freezing at night, and
suffering from thirst during afternoon heat.

We wished Irina good luck, and focused on finding "the other Wall". Our
quest led us to two locations of magical beauty: Jinshanling and
Gubeikou.

Controversial beauty of Jinshanling originates from several factors.
Although restoration efforts and civilization has already reached this
pass of the Wall (there were few maintained paths and a zip-line), it
has not been restored completely. A lot of watchtowers and parts of the
Wall remain untouched. The second factor is the unique landscape: the
Wall follows picturesque lines of the mountains making this place a true
paradise for professional photographers. If you look at a postcard with
the Great Wall of China, chances are that it was shot in Jinshanling.

[{Image src='04_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

When we came to Gubeikou pass of the Wall, located near Jinshanling, I
had an impression that restoration crews have not set their foot here
yet. Only strips of metal hugged tops of few watchtowers slowing down
the decay, and lightning rods appeared here and there reducing risk of a
lightning damage.

In my opinion, this is the most meditative pass of the Great Wall.
Distance and time flow differently here. Not like in the outside world.
There is no rush, not fluster. It seems like you walk rather slowly, but
kilometers keep passing by. You don't get tired because there are almost
no steps. You keep on walking along the grassy trail, along half-broken
sections of the Wall, where you can see the finest details of the Wall's
structure. One watchtower, then another, and another... It is very
difficult to stop. At some point we realize that all we want is to keep
on walking further and further, without stopping. But the sun is going
down, and it is time to return to a village where we left our car with a
driver.

[{Image src='05_Ancient part of the wall.jpg' caption='Ancient part of the wall' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

We had our share of luck on this trip as well. One day we left Beijing
to shoot Badaling, one of the most visited sections of the Great Wall. I
expected nothing special from this photo shoot, but I was still very
disappointed when it turned out that we mistakenly came to the wrong
spot. The sunset was supposed to be shot from the opposite slope of the
mountain, and there was no way to get there in time. The sun set over
the horizon and we went to one of the local restaurants. After dinner we
stepped outside and were surprised by the glorious look of the Wall in
its holiday illumination! Apparently they turn on night illumination
only during holidays. However, tonight was a special occasion — a VIP
guest arrived to the Wall and the lights were turned on especially for
him. Naturally, we decided to fly! I must give credit to the local
security guards — they kept the lights on even after VIP guest departed,
giving us a chance to finish our photo shoot.

[{Image src='06_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

We spent last day of our Chinese trip in our favorite Jinshanling. I
left my helicopter in the car because of the non-flying weather. Dima
shot panoramas and I wondered around looking for interesting Instagram
angles. We went into the main watchtower, which was closed off last time
for a film crew. Near the tower we found a little shop with photographs
and coffee. Flipping through pages of a book I looked at the seller and
realized to my surprise that in front of me was Zhou Wanping, the
author. Mr Zhou, a self-taught photographer, lives in a nearby village.
His photographs of the Wall in different seasons won numerous awards in
international photo contests and made him famous. We admired winter
views of the Wall, received an autograph from the author, and slowly
went towards the park exit.

[{Image src='07_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

Although during our first day of the photo trip I couldn't even imagine
it, on my way back to the car I caught myself thinking that I didn't
want to leave, and that perhaps I would return here again...

And now a few facts about Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall of China can be easily called a world landmark: there is
hardly a person who doesn't know about it or its location, and it not
just because of its obvious name. The Great Wall of China is the most
famous monument, unparalleled in its glory.

Its construction began in the 3rd century BC. After the unification of
China Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered to build a solid wall to cover the
north-western border of the empire from the attacks of nomadic people.

[{Image src='08_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

The construction of the wall was very challenging. The main problem was
the lack of appropriate infrastructure: there were no roads and not
enough water or food for a 300,000 army of workers, not to mention that
it was extremely difficult to build such a big construction on the given
terrain.

According to the plan the wall was supposed to run along the mountain
chain, rounding all the spurs and covering high rises and deep gorges.
This feature, along with its length, is what makes the Great Wall of
China unique: it seamlessly blends in with the landscape.

[{Image src='09_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

The first sections of the wall were made from mud; later it was replaced
by stone slabs laid on top of each other on the layers of soil. In order
to bind these parts, as well as to control the growth of weeds in the
joints of plates, the Chinese invented a unique sealer: a mixture of
thick and sticky rice porridge with hydrated lime. However, this
innovative technology was a subject to criticism in southern China,
where entire crop of rice was exported by the order of the Emperor.

During its long history the wall repeatedly changed its appearance: some
parts were destroyed, while others were rebuilt from scratch. If we ask
about the length, the usual answer will be that the total length of the
Great Wall of China with all of its branches is 8,850 km. So this
landmark of China is made up of 6,259 km of an actual wall, 359 km of
trenches, and 2,232 km of natural protective barriers such as hills and
rivers. Meanwhile, archaeological survey concluded that the wall used to
be much longer — 21,196 km.

[{Image src='10_Great Wall of China.jpg' caption='Great Wall of China' alt='' width='900' height='600' popup='false'}]

Photo: Andrey Ershov

The average height of the Great Wall of China is 6.6 m, although some
parts are lower or higher, reaching up to 10 meters high. Throughout the
wall you can see protective vaults and guard towers, as well as
fortresses at the main mountain passes.

In 1987 the Great Wall was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and
in July of 2007 it was listed as one of the new Wonders of the World.
Over the past decade the monument was seriously damaged: some of its
parts were destroyed to make way for the road construction and other
buildings. Some destruction was caused by the weather conditions (heavy
rains and sandstorms) and by other factors.

Video: Dan Zimmermann

There were some cases of unfortunate mix ups: several generations of
local farmers from Suizhong County have been building their homes using
stones found in the mountains. And only recently it was discovered they
were using stones from the legendary monument. And this remained unknown
by local authorities and archaeologists.

[{Image src='11_Badaling Great Wall in the night.jpg' caption='Badaling Great Wall in the night' alt='' width='500' popup='false' height='723'}]

It is believed that the Great Wall of China can be seen from the moon or
at least from the low earth orbit. Both of these statements are
unsubstantiated: even Chinese astronaut wasn't able to see the largest
monument of China; in its attempt to prove the wall's visibility from
space, the European Space Agency published a certain photograph only to
embarrass itself: the picture showed one of the rivers.

We take our panoramas way below Earth orbit, which will allow you to
admire the Great Wall of China in all its glory.

\\ \\
[19 Panoramas of Great Wall of China|Geography/Asia/China/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Great_Wall_of_China]










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