First Pass Under Heaven: One Man's 4,000-Kilometre Trek Along the Great Wall of China - Softcover

Gray, Nathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143020676 ISBN 13: 9780143020677

Publisher: Penguin, 2007

Synopsis

The Great Wall of China is the largest man-made structure ever built, stretching for over 4,000 kilometres from central Asia, across the Gobi Desert, through the remote, cold mountains of northern China to end on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Nathan Gray, a young New Zealand lawyer, wanted to be the first person in history to walk the entire length of the Great Wall. In October 2000 he set off with four fellow travellers – a Buddhist monk from Singapore, a Jewish photojournalist from Argentina, a Catholic recording artist from Italy and a Mormon golfer.

Conceived as an idealistic trek to mark the millennium in cultural, racial and religious harmony, one month in reality bit. Blizzards, lightning strikes, thirst, starvation, snakes and police detention all took their toll. After 3,000 kilometres, having witnessed the fatal stabbing of a Chinese friend and being chased at gunpoint by soldiers, Nathan succumbed to physical and mental fatigue and returned to New Zealand. Unable to accept defeat, he returned three months later to complete the challenge; the final 1,000 kilometres.

About this title

About the Author:

Nathan Gray is an explorer and an adveuturer, this is his first book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0143020676
• ISBN 13: 9780143020677
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 270