Tourists visit the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Situated at the foot of the Mutianyu section of the majestic Great Wall, Mutianyu village in Huairou district, Beijing has drawn visitors from both home and abroad with its breathtaking scenery and rich cultural heritage. Jim Spear, a self-taught architect from the United States, has taken it a step further, spending nearly 20 years as a villager at the foot of this ancient wonder.
Spear and his wife, Tang Liang, have a design studio in the village. "As a boy, I didn't know much about China, but I did know the Great Wall in China," Spear said, adding that he never dreamed back then that he would have the chance to visit the Great Wall, let alone live at the foot of it. Spear's strong interest in China began during his college days as one professor of his sparked a major fixation about China.
Such fascination deepened when Tang, who was studying in the U.S., became his Chinese tutor, and they got married later.
Spear first visited China in 1981 when he went to Peking University for an exchange program. Five years later, Spear and Tang moved to China. A chance encounter in 1996 led him to establish deep roots at the foot of the Great Wall.
After hiking the Great Wall one day in 1996, Spear met Li Fengquan, a villager and a vendor, who later became Spear's lifelong friend. 1: Jim Spear stands at the courtyard of his home in Mutianyu, a village at the foot of the Mutianyu sect.