Apparently, it’s illegal to camp on the Great Wall. So you definitely shouldn’t do it.
But if hypothetically you did I suggest you find a part of the wall that is largely abandoned and go with a tour group that has bribed the friendly locals not just to turn a blind eye, but also to cook you lunch the next day.
Armed with my camping essentials – a drone, instant noodles, beer and báijiǔ (traditional and dirt-cheap Chinese liquor) – I was well prepared for the adventure ahead. So well prepared that I was made a group leader, much to my delight and my team’s horror. That came with the immense privilege or carrying the portable stove.
Hiking up the Great Wall
We hiked for about 2 hours along abandoned sections of the Great Wall. As we walked, storm clouds were forming over the horizon.
Our campsite was a relatively flat section of the wall. My Australian mate Sam and I finished assembling our tent just as the heavy rain hit. Others were not so lucky. Some were so unlucky that their tent packs were missing the waterproof cover.
The rain intensified. Then came the lightning and then the thunder. People scrambled around trying to set up their tents. For many in the tour, it was their first (and probably last) camping experience.
The situation was a bit too chaotic for Sam and me, so we cracked beers and watched the storm roll in.
Storm clouds rolling over our campsite.
It was surreal. Sitting in a tent somewhere in China, looking over Great Wall with heavy rain falling around us and lightning bolts illuminating the dark sky. Not even the discovery that all the portable stoves were missing their gas bottles, and the resulting cold-water instant noodles, could dampen our spirits.
When the storm subsided, the group climbed the nearby watchtower and watched the spectacular sunset. It was the first of two trips to the watch-tower. The second was in the small hours of the morning when a báijiǔ-inspired karaoke rendition of Pompeii by Bastille could be heard across the 1,800-year-old wall. That alone would have been enough to keep the Mongols away.
Watching sunset on the watchtower.
Shout out to Sam for creating a delightful song about all his things being covered in dirt, Sarah for always joining in our crazy ideas, Carolin for her constant positivity and Cathy for surviving her first camping trip.
For more, check out this amazing video put together by one of the members of our tour (两袖清风):
And for even more, here’s my first drone video in mainland China:
