Just Sayin' Now

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Our Great Wall Journey: Day 5

I’m visiting the William Lindesay family in China for two weeks as they take me to points all along the entire Great Wall. You can read the backstory at my website or here on my blog along with all my posts while in China.

Jiankou Great Wall, China
Friday, September 18, 2026
10:05 PM

Today was another monumental day. It started with a ceremony at “The Barracks,” home and headquarters for the Lindesay family. It ended with another visit to the Great Wall — this time the “Wild Wall” rather than the popular tourist sections near Beijing.

The Great Wall: A Cross-Century Reunion

This morning a gathering was held at the Barracks honoring the Lin family in the nearby village of Xi Zhazi. The Lin family took gave food and shelter to the my grandfather, William Edgar Geil, as he walked the Great Wall in 1908. He came down off the mountain one night seeking a place to stay and the Lins took him along with his support crew and mules.

Geil subsequently wrote about the Lins in his book and identified this area as his favorite along the whole Great Wall.

William’s wife Qi posted today on her blog (in Chinese but good photos) and I have these photos.

This framed declaration of gratitude was presented to the Lin family.
Text of the declaration of gratitude.
This plaque was presented to the local village leadership.
William Lindesay (L) was keynote speaker at the ceremony.
I spoke at the ceremony on behalf of my brother Brad and myself.
William Lindesay explains the story of The Great Wall of Two Williams.
The ceremony closed with a great Chinese lunch with beer and lots of cheer.
On the right, Mr. Lin’s great great grandfather took in my grandfather, William Edgar Geil.

Return to the Great Wall

After the ceremony I made my second visit to the Great Wall — this time the “Wild Wall” in the mountains above The Barracks.

Getting up to the Wall this time was an arduous task. We climbed a steep half-mile slope up the mountainside with loose stones and gravel much of the way. At the top we then climbed a ladder and walked along a ledge until finally getting onto the Wall.

We were accompanied by reporters and cameramen from two TV stations, one in Beijing, that are providing valuable coverage of the Great Wall of Two Williams.

The Great Wall seen from about half-way up the trail leading to the Wall.
Making my way up to the Great Wall.
Climbing the ladder to the ledge along side the Wall.
The view from our vantage point on the Wall. A steep stairway went down and then the Wall climbed again to a distant watchtower on a higher peak.
Hi-res photo taken with another camera.
William took a selfie of us.
TV crews record as William and I take in the view.
Off in the distance we can see where we stood on the Mutianyu section of Great Wall on Tuesday. That section is one of the places most people see the Wall.
Far below we saw two people on the
Wall.
The TV reporter and camera crews confer.
Sunset as we drove back to The Barracks.

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