On Monday, my Dad and I hired a driver for the day to take us to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall.  Although I have been to the Great Wall before with my program, I wanted to make this trip just as special.  As I was thinking about how to go about doing that, our driver stopped at a small Catholic village for lunch.

First of all, Catholic villages are not the norm in China.  They are actually quite unusual because during the Cultural Revolution they were disbanded or destroyed- most religious institutions were.  However, this small village was so deep in the mountains nobody knew about.  It was only recently when a major highway was built which sliced through the mountain that this village was discovered.  Luckily, the government let them be.

One family invited us into their home and cooked us a delicious lunch before our hike.

Off to the Great Wall! It was incredibly windy and cold on Monday.  The best perk of going during their off season is that no one was there.  In our 3-4 hour hike we saw 3 people.  That’s it! It made for some great photographs as well as acknowledging the beauty of silence there.

As we entered the first tower, I noticed some graffiti- nothing too large or invasive but still visible.  I decided this is what I wanted to document on this trip to the Great Wall.  Although I don’t condone writing or carving on the wall, I do think the results are quite interesting.  Below are some of my best finds.

I guess some people just want to leave their mark- letting anyone who notices that they’ve been here.  We don’t need to leave a permanent mark though.  Capturing a moment in time is more meaningful than an etching in a rock.