Remarkable Underwater Video of China's Great Wall

Every year more than 1.3 million tourists climb the Great Wall of China, but an elite group of divers got a special tour; they viewed the wall through their scuba masks.

While China's "quake lakes" have received considerable attention in recent weeks, few are familiar with the manmade lake around the Great Wall.  In the early 1980s, the Chinese government flooded the coastal area of Tianjin in order to form the Pan Jia Kou Reservoir to resolve the region's water shortage.  As a result, they also submerged the northern part of the Great Wall, some of which is 65 feet under water.

Will Moss, a diver at Sinoscuba, says the visibility around the Great Wall "is not very good, the reservoir is very cloudy and that means it's hard to be sure of where you are sometimes."  At the same time, he also recognizes the unique opportunity he has to see this part of the wall. 

"To be able to see and experience a part of it in a way that very few other people get to do - with all the added romance of being under water - I think that's a very special experience," says Moss, "and it's a way to get in touch with history in a way that few people get the opportunity to do."

In recent years, concerns have arisen about the preservation of the Great Wall, which was completed in 1644.  Between the wear and tear from environmental factors and tourists, it's extremely difficult to maintain all 4,000 miles of one of the world's most well-known and impressive landmarks. 

Despite this challenge, it's impossible not to be awed by this unique piece of history, enhanced by awe-inspiring mountain views.  While a select few have had an underwater tour of the Wall, I don't expect "I Dove the Great Wall" tee-shirts to outsell the "I Climbed the Great Wall" ones any time soon.