Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Asia

The Great Wall

The Great Wall of China
Photo by Amy Harris/The Travel Addict

Started around 200 B.C. during the Qin Dynasty and stretching over 5500 miles long; the Great Wall is truly an engineering marvel.

People always ask me – “What has been your favorite travel destination?” This is always a hard question and almost impossible to answer because you can usually find something unique in any location. After reflection I usually give the same answer.

One of my favorite spots in the world is standing on the Great Wall of China. I don’t go back to places often when traveling because there are so many unique places to visit but I have visited the Great Wall almost a dozen times.

Started around 200 B.C. during the Qin Dynasty and stretching over 5500 miles long; the Great Wall is truly an engineering marvel.

During this time there were no modern tools available and construction cost hundreds of thousands of lives in the process of manual labor carrying heavy stones up cliffs that are hard to scale carrying only a camera.

Millions of Chinese built the wall utilizing natural resources to create a defense barrier for China. Every time I stand on the wall I cannot imagine how it was constructed and think about the cost that so many paid.

I have seen the wall in all four seasons but my first visit to the wall was always special to my favorite pass called Mutianyu in the middle of January.

The Great Wall is about an hour drive outside of Beijing but because the elevation is higher, it is always much colder on the wall in winter than in the city.

I remember the surreal feeling of being the only person standing on the wall and wondering in a country so populous how this is possible on any day of the year. The photo above captures that moment on the cold winter day when I was the only one standing on the Great Wall.

Latest Articles

Interviews

Four decades is a long time to rock the stage and keep things fresh, but Suicidal Tendencies has no problem doing that. Mike Muir...

Governor’s Ball Moves To Flushing Meadows Corona Park Governor’s Ball Moves To Flushing Meadows Corona Park

News

The 2023 edition of Governor’s Ball Music Festival, slated for June 9th-11th, will take place in a new location: Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The...

Parkway Drive's Winston McCall Talks Love of Byron Bay Parkway Drive's Winston McCall Talks Love of Byron Bay

Interviews

For some bands, it’s been years since they’ve been stateside due to the pandemic. For Parkway Drive, it was four long years after a...

Jacques Torres prepares gourmet foods aboard the Holland America fleet. Jacques Torres prepares gourmet foods aboard the Holland America fleet.

News

Holland America has extended it’s Culinary Cruise program into 2023. Celebrity chefs will share their knowledge and kitchen secrets on certain voyages with guests....

South America

Do you dream of traveling the world? Are you scared that your budget might hold you back? Well, it might interest you to know...

News

As people all over the world are becoming more environmentally conscious, airlines are taking note and finding unique ways to make a difference and...

You May Also Like

Interviews

The series “Departures” chronicled two Canadian friends Scott Wilson and Justin Lukach as they quit their day jobs to make their way around the...

North America

While covering MGK “Machine Gun Kelly” Day which took place on August 13 I visited the musician’s local coffee shop, 27 Club Coffee. It...

Interviews

Cincinnati-based chef Christian Gill has been taking on every challenge that the Food Network has to offer this summer. He is currently competing in...

Interviews

Ministry has paved a unique path for the past four decades, from its early days melding elements of dark wave, synth pop and metal...