description: British long distance runner William Lindesay arrived in Beijing with nothing more than a pair of running shoes, a 12 lb. backpack, a sleeping bag and a desire to be the first foreigner to run the Great Wall of China. Throughout his incredible journey, he survived illness and injury, extremes of temperature, attacks by shepherd dogs, bubonic plague, arrest and deportation. Nine months later he finally triumphed, reaching the Old Dragon's Head, the end of the Great Wall by the Yellow Sea. In his words, "the Dragon was slain." Lindesay's journey was more than a test of physical strength. Each day, with limited knowledge of the language, he depended on the hospitality of Chinese villagers for water, shelter, and food, giving him a rare view of peasant life. As he ran along the wall and through its history, he came to identify with the soldiers of the imperial frontier, the merchants of the Silk Road and the heroes of the Long March. All but fifty miles of his 1,500-mile journey was through forbidden territory, and he quickly learned how to dodge the relentless bureaucrats of the Public Security Bureau. Alone on the Great Wall is the remarkable story of Lindesay's triumphant run.
language: English
title: Alone on the Great Wall
titlecomplete: Alone on the Great Wall
genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, China
ratings_count: 29
publisher: Hodder & Stoughton