Rediscovering the Great Wall: Scuba Diving

In the August cover feature of the Beijinger we went back to the Great Wall and explored it anew: alongside, underneath, overhead. Here are some of the activities we thought you'd enjoy most:

Scuba Diving

You can’t dive the Pyramids, but you can dive the Great Wall. This is not Huanghuacheng, the so-called Water Great Wall or Shanhaiguan, the Great Wall’s eastern sea terminus. The Underwater Great Wall is 300 to 400 meters worth of Wall that disappeared under the Panjiakou Reservoir in Hebei province, after a dam was constructed in 1977 to provide for the newly rebuilt city of Tangshan nearby.

Diving the Great Wall is eerie and intimate. It’s a giant, sleeping dragon on the bottom that requires the diver to swim up close for a good look. The view reveals craftsmanship and aquatic life, including tiny fish and shrimp. Water depth and temperature vary by season, but divers with even an Open Water Diver certification will be able to see parts of the Wall.

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SinoScuba is the only dive operator with regular departures to the Wall, this year beginning August 10-11 and continuing into October. Overnight departures are RMB 1,500 per person, including food, basic accommodation, tanks, weights and shared transportation.

A version of this article appeared in the August 2013 edition of the Beijinger

 

Photo: Steven Schwankert

Disclosure: SinoScuba founder Steven Schwankert is the Beijinger’s managing editor