When we visited the Great Wall, I found out that the wall (as well, as this blog post) has a certain degree of cheesiness. Along the slabs of stone and metal railings, couples from all over the world have found a way to leave a token of love in the historic wall: love locks.

You might have heard/seen love locks before. They are present in many different countries– especially those with high affluence of tourists. The tradition of lovers putting love locks began in the famous Parisian bridge, Le Pont des Arts. Couples would go to Le Pont Des Arts, engrave a lock with their names/initials, lock it, and throw the key to the river. This act symbolized a lock that would never be open, and thus, a love that would never falter.

This practice became so widespread (and profitable for local vendors) that it is not uncommon to now find these locks everywhere. Consequently, they became almost cliché and meaningless.

Therefore, the first time I saw these locks at the wall I thought “Oh well, another monument victim of a plagiarized tradition.” Turns out that I was wrong.

Picture Credit: Alejandro Cuevas

In fact, I learned that Chinese people regard the Great Wall as a symbol of eternity. For them, the wall has been there for so many years already (and expected to be there for many years more) that they believe that when couples attach a lock to the wall, their love (as well as the lock) is bound to stay there eternally.

I found the explanation to be oddly satisfying and intriguing. I never heard that story before and I was very surprised to find that a wall built to keep enemies now has a love twist to it.

It is perhaps only a well-crafted deception to again milk love-drunk tourists. However, it still makes a cool story and if you have a significant other back home, buy a lock (they will engrave it at the place you buy it) or bring one, snap a picture of it and send it to that special person back home. I’m sure they will appreciate the treat.