After William Lindesay’s 2, 500 km journey along the Great Wall in 1987 and marriage to ‘Beautiful Jade’, as told in Wild Wall-The Foundation Years, the couple settled in Beijing and Lindesay, born in Lancashire, remade himsel as the great protector of the Great Wall of China, fending off developers and litterbugs and devoting his life to raising awareness of the mighty edifice that is the Great Wall.

William bought a derelict farmhouse in a hamlet in the shadow of the Wall, at Jiankou, and for more than two decades has made a living celebrating the Wall. In quixotic style, Lindesay adopted defending the Great Wall from modern attack as his personal cause, and his initiatives and rallying call have made headlines and been remarkably successful in jolting China’s national consciousness into protecting its most famous but neglected monument.

Wild Wall-The Jiankou Years is a Great Wall reality story, told frankly, soulfully, significantly and humorously. It accompanies the first part of William Lindesay’s Wild Wall memoir, The Foundation Years.