In September 2006, I had the chance to climb a piece of the Great Wall of China. This section was located in an area called Badaling, just outside Beijing.
Note the steepness of the wall and the amount of effort required to get up to the top. When I finally huffed and puffed my way up there, a souvenir vendor tried to sell me an engraved plaque to commemorate my feat. "You are not hero until you climb Great Wall" he exclaimed. I brushed him aside and made it to the top, where there were more vendors awaiting me. On my way back down, I spotted him again and asked "Wa shuh hero ma?" (I am hero, yes?). He responded "No, you not hero til you climb Great Wall!" I decided I didn't need a plaque, and that my memories and photos of the event would suffice.