You would think that, 'front and back of Great Wall' is sort of a gimme, as far as historical accuracy goes; unfortunately, not. My friend Andreas Christoph, the German Great Wall Enthusiast, tells me that they rebuilt the Wall at Jiumenkou with the inside out and the outside in. Nevertheless! The scenery is beautiful and the wall, as long as you can ignore the misplaced waterspouts, is a friendly jaunt through the countryside. The true draw of the wall is the vantage point that it provides, as a virtually endless pedestrian causway floating just slightly above the stunning countryside of China. Think of the Highline, only is goes on and on and on and on .. Walking along the wall is a narrative, a slowly unfolding self portrait of China. Of course, it's always best to get to the road less traveled, onto the 'wild wall' and away from the other tourists, even if it requires bending a couple of rules, or waiting until the guard looks the other way and hopping a couple of barriers.
