Great Wall In Snow

Part of the 2018 The China Project photo contest.

By the time that one of Beijing’s driest winters on record came to an end earlier this year, I lamented to the family I stayed with in the village of Yunling (in Huairou) that I’d visited nearly every weekend in hope of seeing a snow-covered Great Wall.

I’ve photographed the Great Wall extensively over the past two years with my drone, including driving from Beijing to the western terminus of the Great Wall at Jiayuguan twice in 2017, but shots of the snow-covered Great Wall had proven elusive. Little did I know, it would snow two times — once on March 20 (when drone restrictions were in effect due to the Two Meetings) and once more on April 5, the day of Qingming Festival.

The Great Wall covered in snow was a sight to behold, the dense snow on the frosted tree limbs concealing the blossoms that had bloomed just one week earlier. The family in the village — although worried about the impact of the late frost on their fruit harvest — was happy that I finally got the shot.