The First US President Climbing the Great Wall in Snow during an Ice-breaking Visit to China

A snowy day in Beijing during winter is no one's surprise.

The city took on a new look with everything turning white overnight. Covered by snow, the Great Wall looked even more majestic.

In 1972, Mr. Nixon, the then US president came to Beijing for the first time. He had the plan to climb the Great Wall. The sudden snow, however, almost changed his itinerary for the next day. To his surprise, the thick snow that covered the road disappeared after he woke up the next morning. He had no idea that 800,000 people worked overnight through daybreak to clear the snow, under Premier Zhou Enlai's quick response plans.

"...a heavy snow last night covered all the roads in Beijing. But along the dozens of miles we drove today, I didn't see any snow. The Chinese don't have snowplows, how did they do it? It's unbelievable. From this you can see the discipline, devotion and the enormous potential of the Chinese people…" --- "Memoirs of Nixon: An Icebreaker of the Times"

This is a Great Wall and that it has to be built by great people, …. and it is certainly a symbol of what China in the past has been, and what China in the future can become. A people that could build a wall like this certainly have a great past to be proud of, and a people who have this kind of past must also have a great future.

The Great Wall stood exceptionally grand and still after the snow. Mr. and Mrs. Nixon stood on the Great Wall looking far away,with the sky high above and the quiet surroundings on mountain peaks. Nixon said, "now we are finally here at the Great Wall, we've become the 'heroes' by Chairman Mao's standards".

This photo was taken during the visit to the Great Wall after that heavy snow, it witnessed the icebreaking trip that thawed the relationship between the two countries. With strategic vision, leaders of both China and the US opened the door of exchanges and made the handshake across the Pacific Ocean. As President Nixon said, "You believe deeply in your system, just as we do in ours. We meet here not because of shared belief, but because of shared benefit and hope. Now is the time for both peoples to climb the peak of greatness, and create a newer and more beautiful world".