SETTING foot and conquering the Great Wall of China was surreal and rewarding.

I’ve heard and seen photos of this world wonder ever since I was a child but I’ve never thought I could visit it until that good day of March 24, 2019.

We (along with 12 other Asian journalists) were invited by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a week of educational tour and Great Wall of China’s Juyongguan section was part of the itinerary. Juyongguan is the nearest section from Beijing city proper.

Arriving at the section’s Bei Guan or north gate, you’ll be greeted with an array of stores selling various Chinese merchandise and stuff good for presents or “pasalubong”.

During this half-day tour, we were accompanied by our friendly guide – Fang. She told the stories of why these walls were built and emphasized it served as a comprehensive military defensive system to protect China from outside aggression, raids, and/or invasion thereby preserving China’s culture from customs of foreign influences.

But before we started our tour to the wall, we first passed by a Taoist temple. It is one of the features of this section, it allows visitors to not only experience the ancient walls but it also showcases towers and temples.

Another reason to choose this section according to Fang is it is considered as the first of the three impregnable passes along the Great Wall along with the passes of Jiayuguan and Shanhaiguan.

Before embarking on the hike, a signage that said “Climb as your health and ability allow” caught my attention. And it made sense since this serpentine wall seemed to go on forever.

While some of my colleagues chose not to go further to the East Mountain Archery Tower, I pushed myself otherwise thinking I might not have another chance to visit this iconic landmark of China. Taking the stairs going up the walls is undeniably exhausting but manageable especially if you brought water with you, too bad I left mine in the bus. To make my hike less draining, I decided to take rests every once in a while.

After an hour, I finally reached the East Mountain Archery Tower. The landscape view here is breathtakingly grand. It made me appreciate more the greatest architectural achievement ever accomplished by the Chinese – indeed a symbol of strength and culture.

I felt all these by just taking portion of the 4.1-kilometer long Juyongguan section, how much more if one goes further the 21,196.18-kilometer long Great Wall of China that was built in different dynasties?

One standout observation I had while visiting the Great Wall was most of its visitors are local tourists, mostly elders that come in groups.

It’s amazing and unusual to see these oldies braving the walls despite their age and I can’t help but be curious. Is it some sort of tradition, that if one reaches a certain age, s/he must climb the walls?

I shared this thought in a rare conversation I had with Filipino journalist Jaime Florcruz (thanks to ma’am Stella for tagging me along their dinner) who served as CNN Beijing bureau chief for years, now a Peking University professor.

To which he responded: It must be because Chinese adhere to a famous saying by Chairman Mao, founder of Modern China – He who has not been to the Great Wall of China is not a true man.

For suggestions, comments, and questions email me at aceperez.manlalakbay@gmail.com. Follow me on social media @acejunerell.