Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito: The Great Wall Climber at the Age of 85

This photo was taken on September 2, 1977. The elderly man in the photo was then Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.

At the time, he was already 85 years old, and he was the oldest head of state who climbed the Badaling Great Wall over the years.

Tito enjoyed a high reputation in China and he was quite influential around the world. Chairman Mao once sent a personal invitation for him come on a visit.

Jiang Kang, former head of the Protocol Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, once recalled: “An ambulance and a team of medical experts from Beijing Hospital were standing by to make sure the 85-year-old stayed in good health.”

During his visit, Tito asked to visit the not-yet-opened Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall to pay a tribute to him.

He then toured the Badaling Great Wall in high spirits and climbed up to the first watchtower, where he captured the miracle of ancient civilization with his camera.

Yang Yuanke, the accompanying interpreter wrote about Tito’s journey to the Great Wall in The Legend of Tito (Josip Broz Tito Legend): “After he was told that ‘One who fails to reach the Great Wall is not a hero’, Tito struck several poses of attack using his walking stick as a sword.”

People burst out laughing when they saw him stand like that, and this photo captured that classic moment.

As the largest human cultural heritage in China and even in the world, the Great Wall is the token of the Chinese nation’s perseverance and the crystallization of its wisdom.

Tito admired the creativity of the Chinese people, I will always remember this great experience in my heart, he said.