On Friday, I went to visit the China Great Wall organization. I met Vice President Mr Dong Yaohui and Vice Secretary General Yan Jianmin. My Chinese friend Chen Shu had set up this meeting from Denmark. Thank you Shu!!

Mr Dong and I had a good talk about the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, and the potential challenges that will be awaiting me. He spent 508 days walking along the Great Wall in 1984 – 85 and possesses a lot of knowledge about it. Amongst the things that we covered: There will be snakes along The Wall, but none are poisonous enough to kill you. There are scorpions in the desert, but they only give a bad sting. They asked me if I was using a GPS, which I am (in a big way).

According to Mr Dong, there are two places on the Ming Dynasty Wall which have an inner loop but  I should follow the outer loop. He offered me a map of the Great Wall which was the result of his Masters degree on the subject. He also told me about the nine and later ten Fortresses along the Great Wall. Later, I showed Mr Dong and Mr Yan the intended route for the walk on Google Maps.

Mr Dong was kind enough to write me a letter of recommendation, which is much appreciated. He is widely known in China and I am very grateful for his letter and the standing offer of contacting him if I get into trouble. Thank you Mr Dong. We also talked about walking a section of the Great Wall together which I am already looking forward to!

We then went out to eat and the tone became more informal. I learnt many things, amongst others that in China it is seen as respectful to wait until one’s father has died before growing a beard. That is, luckily, not the case in Norway and my father is still alive and kicking. The food was really good and I used the opportunity to ask them to write the names of the dishes so I can order them later!