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.

Tangzigou, China
Sunday, September 20, 2026
10:20 PM

Today I ascended to the Great Wall for the third time. This time was different from the previous two because today I stood at the very spots that my grandfather took three of his historic photographs 118 years ago.

Reporters keep asking me how I feel each time on the Wall and I’m running out of adjectives. This is evolving into more than moments in time, it’s becoming a life-changing experience. How does one describe something so profound?

I’m also running out of time to blog. Each day is so full it’s difficult to cover everything without staying up half the night and producing a book.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be up at the crack of dawn and on the road by 7:00 to catch a flight to Jiayuguan. There we’ll stand at the western terminus of the Great Wall.

With limited time tonight, I will necessarily provide an abbreviated report of the day’s events. Too bad ‘cuz there’s so much to share!

What is the Great Wall?

It’s many things but a plaque was unveiled today here at the Great Wall Protection Station. It’s a quote from my grandfather that I think captures the essence the Great Wall and its place in the life of all humanity everywhere.

Wu Zi Hao

Today I ascended to a watchtower designated Wu Zi Hao, standing just above where we’re staying at the Great Wall Protection Station. It appears in this photograph published in my grandfather’s 1909 book, The Great Wall of China (see arrow).

I stood on the exact spot today where William Edgar Geil took the picture above. This shot doesn’t quite match Geil’s framing as Wu Zi Hao is slightly out of sight above my head.

The Station has embedded a plaque and photograph in a bolder on spot Geil stood.

The walk up to the watchtower was treacherous, but less so than the half-mile ascent on Thursday. We started by crossing a stream with shoes off and pants rolled up. Then we wound our way up a narrow path of dirt with loose stones and gravel, pushing aside bushes and branches in the way.

Going up was easier than coming back down. On the descent Tommy walked in front guiding me where to place my feet, sometimes holding my hand as the dirt or gravel slipped out from under me. A man from the Station held my arm. I’m 73 and no mountain climber!

Being up at the watchtower was breathtaking.

We brought with us a poster with one of Geil’s pictures of this watchtower. William and I are shown here standing at exact spot my grandfather stood in November 1908 when he took that picture.

The signatures on the picture are mine, William’s and the people at the Great Wall Protection Station.

You can see in these two photographs the damage deterioration the Great Wall has suffered over the last 118 years. This is the reason behind all the work that William and the Station are doing to try and preserve and protect the Wall for future generations.

As we have been all week, we were accompanied today by an entourage of newspaper reporters and television cameramen.

The 8th Great Wall Cultural Salon

Our presence today and ascent to the watchtower was part of a broader program of the Great Wall Protection Station. There were formal presentations including talks by both William and myself.

I spoke as well, as did others — but here I must stop.

We have a plane in the morning. I’ll have to cover the rest of the day’s events and present more pictures in a subsequent post after our trip.

Thanks for following these posts and watch for more each day.