William Lindsay, from Great Britain, has deep affection for the
Great Wall. When in primary school, he showed special interest in
maps and the saw-tooth line on maps caught his eyes. He made up
his mind to visit the line, that is, the Great Wall of China.
In May, 1987, Lindsay realized his dream. He spent 78 days hiking
1,553 miles from Jiayuguan Pass to Shanhaiguan
Pass on the wall, thus becoming the first foreigner to complete
the wall hiking. But this tall man hit trouble when he walked
alone along the Yulin
Wall while taking pictures, which attracted local villagers'
attention. "What is he doing here? Where is he from?"
they wondered. Finally, police came to investigate his motive
behind his seemingly weird behavior. He explained and showed his
love for the Great Wall, but in vain. At last, he could do nothing
but leave.
During the following years, though visiting China several times,
Lindsay didn't have opportunity to visit the Yulin Wall and Zhenbeitai,
until April 8, 2005, when he was invited to walk on the Yulin
Wall by a friend. The 18-year Yulin Wall dream was realized on
that day. He not only loves the wall, but as a graduate majoring
in geology, he made many geographical analyses of the wall. Due
to his contribution to protecting the wall, he was awarded the
"Friendship Honorary" by the State Administration of
Foreign Experts Affairs, P.R. China. In 1998, Zhu Rongji, the
Chinese Premier at that time, gave him an interview. In 2001,
he established an international association "Friends of the
Great Wall". In his opinion, the best way to protect the
wall is to build national parks around it. In 2006, he received
the Order of the British Empire and was interviewed by the British
Queen Elizabeth II, honoring his effort in protecting the wall
as well as in promoting the cultural relationship between China
and Great Britain.
In Aug.5, 2007, Lindsay received another honor, the title of
"Honorary Citizen of Yulin City". He is greatly encouraged
by these awards from China and Britain and will carry on his contribution
to Great Wall protection.