A fascination with Beijing that started over thirty years ago

The Wall, much steeper than I had imagined, presented a hard climb on that hot morning, but I made it up to the top watchtower. A crowd gathered around, trying to talk, often noisily but in good spirit. It was an experience to be surrounded by so many Chinese people because back in my Scottish home city, Glasgow, we had a local Chinese community who then were historically mostly from southern China. Many were in the restaurant business and spoke in a dialect quite different to what I was hearing in and around Beijing. I also started to observe physical differences where northern people were often taller with noticeably different physical features. Returning to the base I was told of the significance of both reaching and touching the Wall, particularly for Chinese people.