Tom Llamas gives a firsthand look at China’s Great Wall

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]Our journey to the Great Wall starts just north of Beijing. From the urban center of China, we head out to the countryside. We're going up some very windy roads now up the Yan Mountains.

[00:00:11]This is one of the main mountain ranges of China. We're trying to reach a remote area of the Great Wall of China known as Jan Co. That means arrowhead.

[00:00:19]>> It's extremely dangerous for visitors to hike up there and then walk along the section of the Great Wall.

[00:00:26]>> And that's where you're taking us.

[00:00:27]>> Uh yes. At the mountain base, we meet our guide, Shean, and Mr. Chen, leading the restoration of this hard-to-reach section of the Great Wall. So, for the first time now, we can actually see the Great Wall. It's up there. That's that arrowhead we were talking about. We're going to hike up there. That's actually a solders's tower from the Ming Dynasty, about 400 to 500 years old. It was a lookout over the Great Wall. It's a good workout, huh?

[00:00:51]>> Yeah. Yeah. The hike is mostly uphill, taking us around ridges, through forest canopies, and along merciless rocky terrain. As advanced as China is when it comes to technology, they're still using ancient ways to rebuild the Great Wall.

[00:01:07]The Great Wall took nearly 2,000 years to build, designed to protect a newly unified China from invaders, Mongol tribes trying to invade and steal its riches.

[00:01:19]Today, it's the pride of the Chinese who are spending decades trying to restore it. And it's why Mr. Chen is still climbing at his age.

[00:01:29]>> That's his responsibility.

[00:01:31]>> He feels it's his purpose in life.

[00:01:33]>> His purpose of life.

[00:01:34]>> We've reached it. The Great Wall.

[00:01:36]>> The two-mile vertical climb and 90minute journey bring us to the final steps that reveal the awesome size of this ancient feat. One of the wonders of the world.

[00:01:47]From this vantage point, it is incredible to see.

[00:01:50]>> The Great Wall is the longest man-made structure in the world. And to see it from this perspective is incredible. It stretches for miles, thousands of miles.

[00:01:59]And to think that humans brought these bricks one by one and assembled this, it took centuries. And many consider the Great Wall China's backbone.

[00:02:09]But at the top, we realize there is so much work to do. The repairs are being done brick by brick. Mr. Chen has already been at it 20 years.

[00:02:19]>> So the walls here are 400 years old.

[00:02:22]>> Yeah. 456.

[00:02:24]>> He knows the work will continue long after he's gone, but says this wall and these bricks are his calling.

[00:02:33]>> It's a really representative of the the spiral the spirit of the Chinese.

[00:02:40]>> It's a treasure of the heritage that uh left behind from the ancestors. Mr. Chen tells me that this wall tells China's story that the Chinese came together to build it and they are still building it.

[00:02:52]It's not just a wall, it's the spirit of this country.

[00:02:58]And we leave you with that incredible view tonight. We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.