Viewing The Great Wall by PPC

View of The Great Wall from a PPC, also includes a fellow PPCer.

The Wall, snaking its way along rugged mountain tops.

Watchtower from above.

Rugged terrain in Northern China.

River spotted on the other side of the Wall.

Peaks such as these cause one to wonder at the feat of carrying building materials to the worksite.

A section of the Wall in disrepair and grown over with vegetation.

Cruising the countryside of China.

Majestic peaks smooth out into rolling terrain used for agriculture.

Flying over The Wall, with another PPC below.

Though my husband, Jim Byers, has been there twice, I have yet to lay eyes on the actual, real China. However, my curiosity remains peaked, and therefore, I engage in this oxymoron writing of "China Revisited" when I’ve yet to go. (Our longterm readers of UltraFlight will recall my two back-to-back articles about China in January 1999 and February 1999.) In this revisit, I’m zeroing in on The Great Wall.

The Great Wall — a simple description and yet impossible to characterize in any other way. It’s just that. A wonder of the world, it is perhaps the Wonder of the world. In fact, it is the one object on earth that is readily identifiable from outer space.

This magnificent wall is not a single structure, but an interwoven composite of previously existing walls that are linked and extended to cover approximately 6300 kilometers. (Including fingerlet walls branching off periodically in different areas, the walls actually total some 50,000 km.)

An awesome feat accomplished with millions of workers over nearly 2000 years, this Great Wall is a tribute to the wisdom of the designers, the tenacity of the builders, and the determination of those in authority to protect their nation from invaders.

Construction began in the seventh century BC and ended in the 17th century during the Ming Dynasty, making the Great Wall to be the largest defensive project in the history of mankind.

In The Great Wall, History and Pictures (p.11, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China 1995), Luo Zhewen states, "If the earth, stones and bricks making up the Ming wall were used to erect a smaller wall one meter thick and five meters high, it could easily circle the earth. And if the same materials were used to build a road five meters wide and 35 centimeters deep, that road could circle the earth four times." Truly, the Great Wall.

Along its path are many watch towers, most generally built two stories high (over 10 meters). The walkway area along the Badaling section has a width that would accommodate a team of five horses or ten persons walking side by side.

Much of the Wall remains in good condition, though parts are in disarray. For example, between 1911-1949 some locals dismantled various ramparts (that had been built in 1440) when they needed some building materials. In 1995, these areas were reconstructed in an effort to provide another section of the Wall for tourists to enjoy.

Snaking its way across mountain tops in Northern China, The Great Wall runs from Jiayu Pass eastward to Shanhai Pass. Crossing at approximately 65 km north of Beijing, the Wall is a top tourist attraction and greets an amazing 10,000+ visitors, both Chinese and foreign, each day.

The rugged terrain supporting the Wall calls one to be in awe at how building materials were carried up and how construction itself could have taken place atop the high peaks. Many say that visiting the Wall is an experience that remains permanently etched in the mind.

In the summer of 1998, Chinese-born Danny Kwok (Buckeye dealer in China, now living in Hong Kong) summoned some powered parachute lovers from the United States to visit China and scale the Wall in a PPC, a feat never-before accomplished.

Jim, along with his ever-present camera, had been invited to accompany the group. Other travelers who also flew the wall (or at least were along for China) were: Lloyd Howard (Buckeye Industries, Argos, IN), Chris Howard, Bill Watkins, George Begue, Mike Whitson, Chelsea Howard, Chris Howard, Jr., Glenn Little, Marilyn Little, T. J. Stockbridge, Steve Kirby, Barbara Johnson, Cheryl Bright and Brian McCormack.

As an engineer who contracts with the Chinese government, Danny was privy to all the necessary connections for making the PPC flights over the Wall a happening. However, due to disparaging weather conditions, the PPC crossing of the Great Wall at that time had to be shelved. The winds in the Badaling Pass defied their efforts.

Determined to reach his goal, Danny regrouped the PPCers in September 1999, and the weather smiled for that first-time traversing of The Great Wall in a PPC. Several pilots with photo-snapping passengers stayed aloft for as long as they dared. And what stories they had to tell on their return. As all ultralight lovers know, the world looks better at 500 feet above the terrain.

Recently, Danny Kwok paid us a visit, and now I’m determined that Jim will not go to China again without my tagging along. Though I could see my husband’s appreciation of the Chinese culture, I now experienced Danny’s China-rooted graciousness myself.

Somehow Jim and Danny clicked from the start with that first visit in 1998. And now these two are working together in an effort to provide opportunities for other Americans to visit the real splendor of China. Knowing Danny, and weather permitting, viewing China at 500 feet will be included in this visit-China experience.

Just because I know how some men behave when their adrenaline starts rushing, I’m re-checking my passport and updating my innoculations so I can guarantee that I’m ready when my hubby says he’s going.

A little hint for the rest o’ ye — if you or your family has any interest in seeing China (or any other country), follow the Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared!"

Getting a passport is simple and not very expensive, unless done at crunch time which requires all kinds of extra money. And a passport is good up to ten years.

So, yes — be prepared, even if the idea of international travel is but a smidgen in your mind at this time. Never know when the real opportunity will come knocking on your door.

So, stay tuned (in future issues) for more information about opportunities to visit China.