The Death Toll of the Great Wall
Joseph Lai, Group 3: Fiction, Singapore International School Secondary
he roar of the wind was deafening, he squinted through his eyes, though it was no use, there was
nothing to see. The sand battered against his face, stinging his skin, he winced at the pain, trying to use
his shirt to cover his face. He screamed once more, but he knew that the effort was futile, there was no
one around here for miles, no one to hear his cries for help and ultimately, no one to find his body…
As the wind howled, his parched lips drew in one final breath. He collapsed to the floor and closed his
eyes, another victim to the great wall…
There are few things in life which can catch my attention, my credit card bills are one of them, but
there’s another one. One that holds me in awe, one that no one can undermine, one that has stood in full glory
for over 2000 years, the Great Wall of China. It’s wall, more than 6700 kilometers long, stands as a barrier, a
reminder of the past…
I had been thinking of taking a vacation for a very long time. Only problem was, I had absolutely
no idea where to go. As every other tourist does, I finally got the inspiration from Lonely Planet’s latest edition
of “1000 places to see before you die”. Which listed the Great Wall of China as one. Yet, I wanted to do
something bigger, something that no one had done before-to scale the Great Wall of China. I don’t know why I
thought of such an idea. The risks were enormous, the chances of success, slim to none but yet, I chose to ignore
all the warning bells , I was determined to do it. I’m sure that it was what people called “mid-life crisis”. Now
most people would go and buy a Ferrari or Lamborghini, yet I thought that this was a better way to frivolously
spend my hard earned money. I wasn’t getting any younger, so why not live (or die, depending on what
happened during the trip) while I was young. In my (disillusioned) mind, it was the perfect idea and getaway.
The next few days were just a blur of activities as I booked tickets, packed my bags and tripled
my life insurance. Everything I needed for my trip was in my rucksack and I was ready to set off. I was ready so
soon that I didn’t even have time to truly contemplate what I was doing…
Before I knew it, I was on a plane to Beijing, where I would start this treacherous journey. I had
everything I needed, well everything apart from my sanity. As the plane dipped towards the mountainous region
of Northern China, I caught my first glimpse of the great wall, it was at least a thousand feet below me, yet it
still looked so menacing and for the first time, I was getting cold feet. Was this really something I could
accomplish? Maybe a trip to a physiatrist would have been a better bet… However, it was too late now, I had
gone too far to turn back now…
The wall never seemed to get any less scary. Now, as I stood below it, looking up at the fortified
wall, I had mixed feelings. Sure, I was in awe about the beautiful wall, how the sun-caked bricks had managed
to withstand all the elements for over 2000 years. My backpack suddenly felt heavier than before, a drip of
sweat slid down my forehead, splashing onto the ground. A slight breeze blew past, chilling me to the bone. I
sighed, it was now or never, I had to try, I had to do it. I wiped the sweat from my bow, and took the first step
towards the wall, every step seemed like a step towards my death, towards imminent doom
“
Let’s go” I muttered to myself silently and at that point, I began my journey into the depths of
China, into a place so foreign that it could be considered to be from another era, another time. I was stepping
into a walkway to the past. I saw the typical tourists, posing at the wall and I couldn’t help but think to myself,
“
Damn, why couldn’t I have been more like them? What’s wrong with me? Do I have a death wish? THAT’S a
vacation, this is an execution!”
I took a swig from my water bottle and took a deep breath of the air. The water cooled my throat
as it trickled down, refreshing my body. The air felt so fresh compared to that at home. I glanced around and
was captivated by the lush green mountains to the North. It was just shear beauty ,the mountains that seemed to
stretch on for miles were just a reminder that there was some good in this world, calming my nerves… Allowing
me to truly “connect” with my surroundings.
The next few days of walking were uneventful and by far quite fun. I had long ago left the tourists
in Beijing. After a few unsuccessful and rather embarrassing tries, I had finally managed to put my tent together
in a half decent way, it wasn’t perfect(or anywhere near that), but at least I had a roof over my head. On the first
2
days, I had managed to visit quite a few villages, the friendly locals welcomed me to their village with open
arms where I restocked. I’m not sure if they were really trying to be friendly or if they just saw me as a huge
dollar sign…
5
days into my trip, all that changed. My love affair with the beauty of the wall and it’s
surrounding were shattered. The sun was relentless as usual, I walked at a steady pace, sweating profusely . I
took a another sip from my water bottle, the third one in the past half hour and I was utterly exhausted. I hadn’t
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