The Great Wall

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If you've visited this site very often, you know that I thoroughly enjoyed my visits to the Great Wall. This picture was taken near Beijing when I first visited the wall in 1987.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Ruins of the Great Wall

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When I was back in China in 1990, I saw a section of the Great Wall that was in ruins. In many ways the ruins were as impressive as the restored sections of the wall.

The picture above was scanned from a slide and then converted to sepia.

Ruins of a Watchtower

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I took this picture of the ruins of a watchtower on the Great Wall in 1987. At that time it was easy to see sections of the wall in ruins near many of the major tourist areas.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Badaling

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Badaling is the pass nearest Beijing with a gate in the Great Wall. Climbing up the wall on one side of the pass gives a great view of the Wall climbing the other side of the pass and then snaking along the ridge tops.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

The Great Wall

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I like this picture, taken in 1987, for a couple of reasons. First it shows how much of the Great Wall followed the ridge line for much of it's length. I'm also impressed with the way that the builders didn't let things like rock outcroppings deter them from their designed path.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

First Glimpse of the Great Wall

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The photo above is my first glimpse of the Great Wall of China. The picture was taken from a bus in 1987. Our hosts were taking us from Beijing to the gate in the wall at Badaling. I spotted this segment of the wall as our bus climbed into the mountains north of Beijing.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

The Great Wall

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While walking on the Great Wall in 1990, I spotted the ruins of a watchtower a little below where I was standing. Those ruins did a good job of depicting the history and age of the Great Wall.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Juyongguan Pass

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The first glimpse of the Great Wall that I saw was at Juyongguan Pass north of Beijing. In 1987, when this photo was taken, not much was left of the wall except the gate upon which I was standing when I took this picture of the pass through the mountains. Much of the wall in this area has been reconstructed since then.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

I've Been There

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President Obama made the news on Wednesday by visiting the Great Wall at Ba Da Ling, near Beijing. News reports say that he walked to the third tower on the wall.

The wall was closed while the President was there, but the picture above, taken in 1987, is from the third tower at Ba Da Ling. There were a few more people on the wall when I was there.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Ruins Along The Wall

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This picture was taken in 1990, when I visited the Great Wall at Badaling (near Beijing) for the second time. I climbed in the opposite direction from my first visit and from a watch tower I got this view of the intact portion of the wall going down hill toward a section in ruins. I'd like to go back and see if this portion of the wall has been reconstructed.

Snaking Across the Mountains

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The picture above was scanned from a slide made in 1990. I was on the Great Wall and had hiked to a watch tower at the top of a pass from which I could see the wall snaking across the mountains for as far as the eye could see. It would have been fun to go further along the wall, but I had to head back down to the gate from which I started.