A National Geographic moment if there ever was one…

One of the most memorable experiences in life has to be climbing the legendary GREAT WALL OF CHINA. Built between the 6th century BC and the 16th century, the 4,000 mile Great Wall was constructed to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. The area pictured here is closest to Beijing, the former capital city of the Ming Dynasty which was responsible for building the most strong, fortified, and enduring segments of the wall. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men and historical records indicate that around two to three million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall. Now, the colossal structure is a modern tourist trap where American, Euro, and native Chinese travelers mingle to gawk at each other and the monumental gigantitude of the twisting path before them. HAVE A LOOK:

The motley crew resting up for the climb…

The very S-L-O-W climb to the top…

Dumb & Dumber: Christian Parkes & Jamie O’Shea on a climbing break…

Or, “How to become a human lightning rod”…

Kites in the stratosphere…

Nike’s Christian Parkes masks a rest break with a “photo op”…

…of the ever-present red girl of China.

Cat on a leash…

Feeling little…

The downward spiral…

Made in China…

The green room…

This entry was posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 7:06 am and is filed under China, Cool Shit, Feature, Road Trippin, Worldwide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.