Slowly but Surely Falling to Pieces

  Arriving at this hilltop, I observed this once-prominent Garrison Station slowly crumbling back to the earth from where it had originally come. Its expansive foundation hinted at its once strategic importance to the area even though much of it was now overgrown by trees and bushes. Some areas of the Wall that I came upon were heavily enforced, with numerous towers closely located to each other, while areas of less importance had fewer towers that were widely spread apart.  I imagined this was determined not only by the terrain and the natural protection it provided but also on how accessible each section was for the enemy approaching from the north.  

  During my journey across these mountains and valleys, I often wondered why they constructed the Wall at these inaccessible regions.  Surely the workers had little or no input in the planning of the Wall, but did they ever complain about why they had to build the Wall in these virtually impassable areas?  At some of the more ruthless zones, I took a full 360-degree survey of the surroundings and concluded there was absolutely no way to access this area other than by traveling on top of the Wall.  It finally occurred to me that a good portion of the Wall had not been constructed as a means for protection, but as a corridor across these mountains for moving troops from one strategic area to the next.  If the Wall had not been constructed in these impenetrable territories, that would render vulnerable sections of the Wall indefensible from lack of backup troop support.

  None of this meant a hill of beans to me. I just had a lot of time to think. I was still faced with two options; turn around and retrace my steps backward, or keep placing one foot in front of the other and see what tomorrow brings.

Interesting Note . . .

  The Gubeikou section of the Great Wall has bullet holes in it, evidence of the last battle fought at the Great Wall in 1937 between China and Japan.

Photographed in 1986.