Trek the Great Wall of China

Jessica Aldred took part in an Oxfam Global Challenge to trek the Great Wall of China. Here is her story.

''The trek itself was incredibly hard work but was worth it for the stunning views and the humbling feeling you get from seeing the Great Wall of China.'' ''I managed to raise just over £3,000 and at our celebratory meal it was revealed to us that the 15 of us who had done the trek for Oxfam had raised in excess of £21,000!'' ''This really was the trip of a lifetime from start to finish but what made it truly special was my fellow trekkers.''

It was around September 2006 that I first decided to sign up for an Oxfam Global Challenge. Global Challenges are once-in-a-lifetime adventures that raise money for Oxfam through fundraising sponsorship. I chose to do the Great Wall of China trek because I wanted to contribute to all the wonderful work that Oxfam do and I knew the money I raised would go to meaningful projects. I live in London and work in Production Costume at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. I think it’s very easy to take things for granted and I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone and open my eyes to the fact that not everyone is as lucky as I am, and that I can make a genuine difference to help people who are less fortunate than myself.

On 5th May 2007, after a good 8 months of preparation, I finally headed to Heathrow to meet my fellow trekkers and embarked on our journey. I was incredibly nervous but was soon put at ease by the Oxfam staff who were there to greet us. We arrived in Beijing the following day, extremely tired, and had an evening to rest before starting the trek. On day one we started on a restored part of the Great Wall at Mutianyu, and strangely I found that day the toughest. I did wonder how I was going to survive another four days of trekking. Day two took us into the stunning Black Dragon Paw Park and on day three we started on un-restored wall at Gubeikou and walked a continuous line through Jinshanling to our finish point on day five at Simatai.

The trek itself was incredibly hard work but was worth it for the stunning views and the humbling feeling you get from seeing the Great Wall of China. Our tour guides also gave us brilliant incentives such as a toboggan down from the wall on day one and a zip wire on day four. This really was the trip of a lifetime from start to finish but what made it truly special was my fellow trekkers along with Kath, the Oxfam representative and Sarah from Classic Tours. They were some of the most inspirational people I have ever met.

I managed to raise just over £3,000 and at our celebratory meal it was revealed to us that the 15 of us who had done the trek for Oxfam had raised in excess of £21,000! I’m bursting with pride for every single one of us who, along with our sponsors, have helped Oxfam to change people’s lives forever.