The Great Wall sprawls across Northern China, spanning 2,400 miles from the sea into Gansu Province. Most of the wall was built during the 16th century to keep Nomads and Mongols out of China. Its fortified towers, signal beacon towers, and garrisons, along with its roadway wide enough for five or six horsemen, proved to be only as good as those defending it. Today it survives in ruin and reconstruction. We visited this semi-restored section at Jin Shanling, about 70 miles north of Beijing. Because of its remoteness, this part draws relatively few tourists My objective was not merely to once again describe the wall – it is one of the most photographed structures on earth. Instead I wanted to say something about its size, and about the reactions of those who come from all over the world to view it. I found a high position that gave me a good vantage point over the wall, and using the 28mm wideangle end of the Leica's zoom lens, I was able to stretch the shot to embrace six watchtowers as the wall snaked its way across the landscape. I brought these towers up to just under the top edge of the picture – this picture is no about the hazy sky, so why include it? I noticed four visitors plodding along the wall’s walkway below me. Two of them kept on going, but two others stopped right in front of me. One buried her head in the slot in the wall once used for a defensive position. While she dreamed of ancient archers, her patient friend crossed her legs, placed a limp arm on the wall, and hid behind her purple umbrella. Through this physical interplay, which dominates the lower half of the image, I tell the story of how at least two visitors came to grips with up and down history of the Great Wall of China.