I can't imagine how it feels for the tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers stationed on the Great Wall for years and years even decades on rotation and away from their families, going through the bitter cold and on alert at all times to defend China. I have the utmost respect for all those soldiers. They are heroes!!

@zeflute4586

4 ай бұрын

“I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls...” (Grenn passionately draw his sword) I'll let myself out XD

@user-un6vd3ip4s

4 ай бұрын

The wall was like sentries where the soldiers take duties. They do not really stay on the wall all time but when there is invasion, they guard there and cut their supplies if the anemies went cross the boarder.

@LibeliumDragonfly

4 ай бұрын

There were surviving outposts alongside the silkroad leading up to the western part of the wall that dates back to the Han dynasty. They are mostly just dirt mound and fragmented potteries. The sole purpose of soldiers living in those outposts were to light the beacon and alert the wall guards that enemies are coming, and since the outposts are beyond the wall, they most likely would've died. This was essentially a "take the bullet" mission.

@kemingxu7954

4 ай бұрын

@@user-un6vd3ip4s the Great Wall serves as a warning and economic blockade against grassland tribes

@ydy2001001

4 ай бұрын

😂😂 There won't be so many troops stationed. The main function of the Great Wall is to transmit information.

None of the KZreadrs has visited the Great Wall in freezing cold winter except you guys, great job and thanks for sharing!😅👍

Lived in Beijing for 6 years and never dared to go on the Great Wall in winter times. It's just brutal!

@alanshannon3884

4 ай бұрын

The view makes up for it

@robinsonshawqx

4 ай бұрын

@@alanshannon3884 And the accidental serenity too--contemplating on a dead quiet Great Wall is quite the luxury

@ikmalsultankuchannel9587

4 ай бұрын

​@@alanshannon3884my freinds please visit china afghanistan border my freinds and please visit kabul afghanistan my freinds from indonesia 😊😊😊❤❤❤

@Ibrahim86373

4 ай бұрын

@@alanshannon3884 you are amazing! fyi, the very first and well known great wall was built up in BC214 in Qin(Chin) Dynasty, it means 214 years before the Christian year, the place you mentioned 1404 was built up in Ming Dynasty, 800 years later, Ming did lots of rebuilt and built, but it is called the great wall to our modern generation, today is 2024, none of us is more than 800 years older after all

@TaiwanSausage2

4 ай бұрын

they should visit harbin ice & snow festival. lots of tourists are flocking the city for the festival. but its freezing there tho. daily average temp is between -20c to -30c in harbin now.😅😅😅

Imagine, thousands of years ago, a Chinese soldiers is seeing the same views and landscape. Truly a world wonder.

Really enjoy your China series, keep up the good work!

@brandonso

3 ай бұрын

Very cool of you to do that :)

@alanshannon3884

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much ❤️❤️

You are not a hero until you reach the Great Wall. Now, you are a hero!

@DK-ev9dg

4 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂❤❤

@Derrickg987

3 ай бұрын

真的好汉

As a guy has lived both in Sourthen China and Scotland, i had never realized that the winter of Beijing and Great Wall could be so beautiful like this. Cheers Alan and Shannon for the sharing. Well done for the video.

@user-ib4qv1on8h

4 ай бұрын

Hadrian's Wall is 117 kilometers long. The Great Wall, which is an iconic representation of China, is the longest structure ever built at 21,196 kilometers. It has at least 16 interconnected sections that were built between the third century BC and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644

Thank you for being open and receptive of Chinese culture. I have enjoyed watching your China series. this ain't much but it's good for a hot cup of tea on a winter day

@s._3560

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, if only they had brought along a thermos of hot tea and biscuits...

@brandonso

3 ай бұрын

Nice

@alanshannon3884

3 ай бұрын

Thank you, we love it here its amazing ❤️❤️ hot tea next time!!

OMG, the view of sunset in the GREAT Wall of China absolutely breathtaking, completely speechless.

There is a saying that you can never be a real man without being to the Great Wall. Congrats Shannon and Alan. You guys make it.

@Anonymous------

4 ай бұрын

But don't go to the Long Castle (actual translation) during winter or summer. Mid spring or mid fall may be the best time to go.

@zeflute4586

4 ай бұрын

I think "tough guy" might be a better translation for "好汉" nowadays so that both sex can kinda use it

@Anonymous------

4 ай бұрын

​@@zeflute4586 Actual direct translation is "good men".

@zeflute4586

4 ай бұрын

@@Anonymous------ sometimes direct translation can be a bit misleading

@Anonymous------

4 ай бұрын

@@zeflute4586 Not misleading, but not fully understood due to cultural differences.

I'm so touched by watching this episode. Two British young people made such a long way to the Great Wall, and got such a magnificent view, especially the sunset. Wowow, what an experience. In china, we have a saying that You become a real man once you are standing on the Great wall, and you made it. I can feel your emotions when you shared your experiences for the last 3 months. Well Done, indeed!

@alessiii58

4 ай бұрын

苏格兰🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

勇敢的兩位蘇格蘭年輕人👍

Wow, that sunset! A clear day, cloudless blue sky, -20 degrees, no other people, on the Great Wall looking at that sunset.

We can imagine how cold the wind is on the top of the mountain. The scenery of the Great Wall coverd with the snow in the evening is really magnificent. Congratulations to you on completing this Great Wall destination visited. It's really a worthwhile trip

What surprises me is that after more than 10 years of hard work, the air quality in Beijing in winter seems to have improved a lot.

@peanut0brain

4 ай бұрын

There's also the dust from the Gobi desert too right ?

@xuemingzeng2094

4 ай бұрын

I am living in BJ，the PM2.5 is much better since 2015

@annaliu908

4 ай бұрын

@@peanut0brain much more rare than ten years ago. once or twice a year maybe.

@qsg0076

4 ай бұрын

So much effort has been put in to cap effects of traffic/industrial exhaust, coal heating and sand storm, there is no surprise to see blue sky in Beijing today. After all if they can have fish farms in desert of Xinjiang, nothing is impossible (just like building of The Great Wall many years ago).

@TAL142

4 ай бұрын

@@peanut0brain China has done a great job in desert greening. Most of the sandstorms are from the Outer Mongolia.

这天气上长城真的太勇敢了😂

@jxmai7687

4 ай бұрын

过去曾经突降暴风雪冻死了一个日本的探险小队。

There is a saying in Chinese: " If you haven't been to the Great Wall you are no hero!" Both of you are now heroes!! Basically it means that in ancient times the man and soldiers who went to defend China on the Great Wall were heroes. For king and country!!

@user-zg4zh3xr4m

3 ай бұрын

不到长城非好汉。表达意思是 誓不罢休 做事一定要达到目的

The Wall and the clean air quality are both amazing......great job to the city of Beijing!!!

I'm pretty sure that you've got the most spectacular views of the Great Wall ever. I never saw Great Wall with no people, indcredible!!!! you are brave and lucky!

Omg the sunset at the great wall is absolutely amazing!

Yes It is extremely cold but if you have many of layers of warm clothings, the view is the most amazing. In Sweden we are quite used to the cold and we are always prepared for even colder than that. There is a saying in SWeden 'There is no bad weather but there is only bad clothing'. meaning one have to have the right clothing. F rom the video, I noticed that you guys are not warm enough and your faces are not covered enough. Two days ago, in Stockholm was -14 but the air is even colder -22 so that was colder . I understand you guys are from UK, over there is never this cold but very wet in UK. But am glad that you guys have this experience. I was there in end of Spring but I wish I could have done the trip in winter. Have a great trip and adventure

@icebaby6714

4 ай бұрын

You should visit Harbin in northeastern China to see the ice sculpture festival in winter, -30 c, river is frozen with 2 m thick ice, people play and have fun on top of the river.😂 and there are a lot of Russian buildings and churches there.😅

@jinniwind

4 ай бұрын

Canadians second on that.

@jinniwind

4 ай бұрын

Their clothes definitely seemed not warm enough, especially in the mountains. Beijing has proper winters although most of the times not as cold as nordics and Quebec.

@panda11-fv7yt

4 ай бұрын

They wanted to make things worst to get more views, they even mentioned doing the opposite of what people told them purposely, these two are some of those who creates negative contents about China.

I love the Great Wall in China in winter. It's so quiet and empty. And so peaceful.

也可以去云南看看，那里也挺适合旅行的

Kudos to you! As a Chinese I never had a chance to go on the Great Wall, even in winter! You are so awesome! Respect!🎉🎉🎉

I hope you guys can go back to China and do more videos because I really enjoyed your journey to China!👍

The sky in Beijing is so blue! I love it! ❤

Another British couple is in Beijing right now just like you, you 4 should team up together exploring, that would be fun, haha, their channel name is called "Sun Kissed Bucket List"

nothing great comes easy! you got to take a picture of yourselves on the snow covered great wall with no one else in sight! you don't know how crazy packed it can get lol. it was probably too cold and dangerous to really climb up some of the steep inclines. some sections of the wall are just crazy and you can only know by being there. good job you guys!

You are absolutely right. When I was a university student, I visited Beijing in January once. At the Great Wall, I was frozen by the low temperature and chilly wind

Such a unique experience of visiting the Great Wall with no one else at -17 degrees! Glad you guys enjoyed it

Not only the view, but the history is so much more amazing. Thinking about that, 2500 YEARS AGO, people started the great wall project.

What a unique experience! Stunning sunset on the Great Wall in the winter with snow!

Winter's great wall looks stunning, thanks for share this video!

Hadrian's Wall is 117 kilometers long. The Great Wall, which is an iconic representation of China, is the longest structure ever built at 21,196 kilometers. It has at least 16 interconnected sections that were built between the third century BC and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644

@monipenny408

4 ай бұрын

as many historians have said western civilization is a just a blip in the history of mankind.

It is totally worthy. You got the unique view that most ppl don’t have.

Wow the great wall scene is just breathtaking! Thank you so much for sharing!

❤Magnificent Great Wall of China. Men made structure stretching several thousand kilometers. Imagine in ancient times, soldiers manning the walls during such harsh weather. Mind blowing.🎉❤

It is good to visit Great Wall, when less tourists. Beautiful views indeed.

The Great Wall is basically China's ancient highway that serves are as protective wall, sentry towers and a freeway to move troops and supplies to the area where the invaders would attack.

okay. I'll definitely try the great wall in winter times in many thick layers. so glad to know that there are not many tourists in harsh winter times. thanks for the info.

Earliest part of the Great Wall was from 7th century BC, then built continously & linked up by different Dynasties.

@user-dn8we2oc6p

4 ай бұрын

Relly？The Qin Dynasty was founded in 221 BC

@YurinKawasumi

4 ай бұрын

The earliest Great Wall in China was built during the Spring and Autumn Period in the 7th century before the park, by the state of Chu, a vassal state of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty at the time. However, due to its age, only a few remnants remain.@@user-dn8we2oc6p

@longzhao3436

4 ай бұрын

@@user-dn8we2oc6pIt was first build by the Kingdoms of Zhou Dynasty, Qin was one of the Kingdom of Zhou, but finally replaced Zhou.

@zeflute4586

4 ай бұрын

@@user-dn8we2oc6p Even before Qin Dynasty, the Kingdoms sitting in north had already been doing it. The Huns were also a very ancient power

Wow you made it!!! Although it was freezing, but the blue skies and snow covering the Great wall is a spectacular sight ❤

I am a simple man. Whenever I see Alan and Shannon video, I click.

@remakeit2628

4 ай бұрын

They are like kids in a lolly shop in today's video.

Love your video, so much energy.

You guys are incredible ! Thanks for sharing !

Respect to you guys who visited the Great Wall during winter.

Good watch & listen had. Thanks & best wishes on your future travels sent from Western Scotland.

Glad you visited during winter. You wouldn't have had the same level of happiness and joy jostling amongst the thousands of people in summer.

Ty so much for releasing your new video in this time slot, I’m really excited I can’t wait 😂 I can feel that chilly , ty for that dedication

Your journeys are going to be a memory of a lifetime. Travel when you are still young and have the energy and before having kids!!!

It was -15 degrees when I was up on the Badaling section of the Great Wall back in early December 2023; definitely very cold, windy, steep and a little slippery. It was exhausting but an incredible view. Awesome to see you got to experience the beauty of the Wall and the mountains in winter. The best thing is there's no crowds as every other season is jam packed with crowds as you mentioned.

Thanks for spectacular video shots of an almost 'deserted' Great Wall in winter. I assume the title of the video is said tongue-in-cheek. 😜 I must say also China has done a great job improving the air quality around Beijing to be able to see the skyline from the Mutianyu section of Wall (11:30). Especially in winter when air pollution is the worst when I was there, exactly 10 yrs ago in Jan-2013.

@user-iv5mt9rh9g

4 ай бұрын

2013 was the worst time for air pollution in North China. You seem to be unlucky🤣

You have it all to yourselves! I must try that.

First time hear Scotish accent, thanks for the great video

it's looks so amazing with the sunset

So happy to see you anjoying and experiencing my adopted country. There's so much more to see, I hope you'll visit again later in the year. My wife is from Inner Mongolia and have spent several Chinese New Years in her hometown where it quite often reaches -26 ° C, now that's cold 🥶🥶, I'd also recommed visiting Inner Mongolia in the autumn when the grasslands are covered in wildflowers, beautiful. Wondering if you have time to visit anywhere else on this trip?

Hi! Mate! Winter in Beijing, especially during January, it’s rather cold and windy, it is not the ideal season to see The Great Wall. You are really something else!😊

Thank you for sharing you experiences with us. To see the Great Wall in the winter is very rare and I am very lucky to experience it through your videos.

Thanks!

@alanshannon3884

3 ай бұрын

Thank you ❤️❤️

Good Job!!

We are going to visit this place someday!👍

Soo beautifull with snow😍😍😍

Fantastic video!!!sooo proud of you both! What an amazing view!!very interesting the history youve shared thank you both - what an experience to remember for the rest of your lives!!

This is incredibly beautiful, sky is so blue!❤❤

Amazing !

Thanks so much for the effort of making the video and sharing with us your wonderful experience and feeling of traveling in China, Good work, Alan and Shannon. I am in China and might bump into you somewhere while traveling there.

You’re so brave👍 a big salute 🫡 thanks for sharing the breathtaking view of Great Walk in winter ❤

great video as always. and 8:15, that blue sky shocked me. i knew that beijing air has been improved hugely, but still, beyond my imagination.

So beautiful. Thanks for sharing this video👍👍👍👍👍👍

a very unique, once a lifetime, priceless experience! congratulations!

Thanks for sharing the world exploring experience, really happy to see your couple could get along so well during the trip even there have been lots of difficulties. And your guys were so grateful despite the physical pain due to the coldness, your guys were hero on the great wall, just like the soldiers thousand years ago, at the same place, very unique life experience.❤

Seeing such a landscape, the trip is truly worthwhile. Many Chinese people have not seen the Great Wall in this season with their own eyes.

Hello guys, you didn't mention which section of the great wall you visited. Looking up the 916 bus to the great wall says mutianyu section. As i have also been there from the Beijing bus station, it looks a lot similarly to my trip with the exception i went during the summer and when you get dropped off from the bus during peak season and the mini vans are busy many black taxis await you and the drivers without speaking much English work you over for an extremely high price that you have to do your best bargaining to get down to a reasonable price (if you're alone/tourist) with that said they do take care of you the same way as your driver did. Help you get your tickets to go up, tell you take your time an hour or two and will be looking for you to take you back to the bus stop area. What i also didn't notice is the mutianyu area has a cart slide in a half tube sorta say option to ride back down from the wall. Obviously would be to cold on your day to ride it, yet is it still there? Dusty....

21:45 Beautiful sky, the colour is stunning!

The view is so amazing, really worth it!

It's phenomenal to see Beijing incredible skylines in the Great Wall. It will be breathtaking that one day I would see it in my own eyes.

谢谢！great videos

@alanshannon3884

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much ❤️❤️

This is totally different experience and video of the great wall . so brave and unique. If there is more snow, that will be more wonderful, thumbs up for your guys.

Wow. The Great Wall during winter is beautiful - completely different look and feel to summer. But you must have been frozen - at least the wind didn't look that bad.

Thank you for visiting China!

Great video as usual, and cute panda 🐼 beanie! 😃

From April to May, go to Shunde, Guangzhou to experience a variety of delicious roast goose and duck, broth, and seafood hot pot.

Zhangjiajie could be a good destination if you are not going to far west of China. Zhangjiajie is also renowned as the home of Avatar, Pandora.

There are different sections of the Great Wall and the view varies from one another. In the event you guys come back in warm weather, I think you would enjoy it, just avoid weekends and holidays as it gets crowded.

You guys went to Great Wall in -15c ? That’s crazy, please accept my hats down 🥶

What a fantastic experience you brought to us all in the comfort of our homes in front of a computer!! This is an inspiration for me to visit Great Wall Mutianyu. Keep enjoying your experience in China. I will be there soon.

Ancient cannons are loaded from the front. Reason you don't see opening at the rear. It is very difficult to construct hatches that seal tight and could withstand the blast of a cannon, so cannons at that time were forged in one piece.

Breathtakingly beautiful!!!

Went to Great Wall in Jinshanling last month during winter and that view is insane

Winter time should come to Guangdong! It's like 10-20 degree

Hats off to you Alan & Shannon. I went alone to Beijing, in spite of knowing mandarin, I still find it challenging to navigate around at times. For Great Wall I booked with a reputable tour agent. They had an English speaking local guide that gave us many insight into the rebuilding of the GW. The ancient wall was built with solid bricks inside so it was so thick that it can withstand harsh environmental. During the years of poverty in past centuries peasants or villages took away some of these bricks to build their houses . To rebuild them the government has to request the villagers to return the bricks either with financial returns or have their names inscribed as a way to thank them.

Nice vlog guys, we really enjoyed it. Eager to go ourselves at some point :)

You guys are really brave😂, it’s time to head to the south. If you can add some music as the background when you show the view, it could be much nicer.

Alan & Shannon, for your info. if you go visit The Great wall again. There is a 20 min. high speed train from Qinghe Station in Beijing to the Great Wall Badaling! Very convenient and reasonable ride! Also one from Beijing north station as well!

Recommend going to zhangjiajie张家界 in hunan province湖南省😊beautiful nature Mountain View there

@Jennifer922cn

4 ай бұрын

You can find the Avatar scenery there 🎉🎉

It is highly recommended to live in Sanya, Hainan for a month in winter. The climate there is very warm in winter and the sea water is not too hot.

I noticed most people are humbled by this great experience of standing on the Great Wall including myself. It’s just majestic and speechless

I visited this section of the Great Wall ten years ago. There was a particularly vertical section of the road that I still vividly remember.

you're talking to a tourist gate of the Great Wall, so there are fewer tourists there at that time, but it is still the same, I like the snow view of the Great Wall, I feel it's much better than summer

Enjoy !