We’re back from the Great Wall!

Travelling three and a half hours north of Beijing to Panjiakou reservoir in the Hebei province and another 20 minutes on speedboat to Tian Shui Xiao Long “boatel,” the divers jumped straight in for a checkout dive even before they even checked into the rooms, eager for the amazing experience to start right away! With high intensity torches they splashed into the green water, scoured the bottom and found broken sections of the wall, broken bowls (that could have been dumped by the boatel but which they’d like to believe were from a more ancient time), freshwater shrimp, sand perch, and the tips of old trees buried by the flooding of the valley.


Panjiakou was flooded in the 1980s and dammed to provide Tianjin and Tangshan – two major urban cities – with drinking water. The reservoir has now become popular with weekenders and day-trippers who want to view a section of the Great Wall still in its original condition surrounded by a large expanse of water and legendary mountains. That section of the wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) and is much narrower than the more popular restored sections nearer the Chinese capital, Beijing. 


A large photograph of a village framed by the Great Wall hangs in the restaurant of the boatel depicting what the valley looked like before the flooding. The group, led by Steven Schwankert, wanted to search for the village’s remains and only had that image as a reference. Avoiding the fish farms dotting the reservoir, they slipped into the water and descended into unexplored territory. Temperatures and visibility dropped drastically as they tried to make their way to the edge of the village; but in the end they could see nothing but silt and broken bricks. At 35m the divers were literally diving blind. 
The last dive was more spectacular, as the group dived a section of the Great Wall with a submerged turret they could swim through at just 10m. It was thrilling to glide through openings Ming warriors and horses used to tread, considering the divers had just scaled the topside section the day before.


The group vowed to return some day to find the village. If you’re interested in helping them search and logging this unique entry into your logbook, stay tuned for more information on the next expedition.