Seeing the Great Wall of China disappear into the dusk on one side and stretch beyond the sunset on the other was a bittersweet experience.
While the sheer strength of will to build something of this stupefying scale beggars the imagination, the thought of the number of people that died in its construction adds a sad tinge to the feeling. Either way, it's proof that when humanity focuses itself it can achieve amazing feats.
We were spending a few days hiking along the wall and spent most of our time atop it during the daylight hours which was ideal for seeing just how expansive the structure is. Pausing at nearly any point on the wall you could follow it away from you, above the tops of numerous mountains ahead of you, and when you looked carefully at the farthest ridges rendered contrastless by atmosphere, you could still pick out the towers continuing on and on. Truly amazing.
However, I really wanted to be back on the wall as the sun set to get more interesting light. During the day I picked out a few spots that I could jog back to after our party was back at our accommodation. This was one of them.
Climbing back up to the wall and then jogging along it to get here in time to capture the very last colour of the sun was tough on already tired legs but worth it to have this moment with nobody else around. Apart from the ghosts of those who built this amazing structure of course :)
Jinshanling, Luanping County, China, 2015
Sony a7R with Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 OSS
Loading contexts...
