American man builds dreams at foot of Great Wall

Tourists visit the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Situated at the foot of the Mutianyu section of the majestic Great Wall, Mutianyu village in Huairou district, Beijing has drawn visitors from both home and abroad with its breathtaking scenery and rich cultural heritage.

Jim Spear, a self-taught architect from the United States, has taken it a step further, spending nearly 20 years as a villager at the foot of this ancient wonder. Spear and his wife, Tang Liang, have a design studio in the village.

"As a boy, I didn't know much about China, but I did know the Great Wall in China," Spear said, adding that he never dreamed back then that he would have the chance to visit the Great Wall, let alone live at the foot of it.

Spear's strong interest in China began during his college days as one professor of his sparked a major fixation about China. Such fascination deepened when Tang, who was studying in the U.S., became his Chinese tutor, and they got married later.

Spear first visited China in 1981 when he went to Peking University for an exchange program. Five years later, Spear and Tang moved to China.

A chance encounter in 1996 led him to establish deep roots at the foot of the Great Wall. After hiking the Great Wall one day in 1996, Spear met Li Fengquan, a villager and a vendor, who later became Spear's lifelong friend.

①: Jim Spear stands at the courtyard of his home in Mutianyu, a village at the foot of the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in Huairou district, Beijing. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Yan Bing)

②: Photo shows Jim Spear and his wife Tang Liang. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

③: Photo shows the autumn scenery of the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in Huairou district, Beijing. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

④: Jim Spear receives an interview at his home in Mutianyu, a village at the foot of the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in Huairou district, Beijing. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

⑤: Jim Spear and his wife pose for a photo on the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in Huairou district, Beijing. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

"I envy you living in such a beautiful place at the foot of the Great Wall," Spear told the villager, adding that he had always dreamed of living near the Great Wall.

Li Fengquan then helped the couple rent a house in Mutianyu village, and Spear renovated his dream house. Since then, the couple often spent their vacation at the house. In 2005, Spear resigned from his job, and he and his wife made the house their full-time home.

Shortly after Spear settled in Mutianyu village, he was approached by Li Lianting, Party secratary of the village, who expressed the hope of establishing a company to promote local economic development.

This motivated the American architect to explore ways to boost the sustainable development of tourism in the village.

Spear later turned an abandoned village schoolhouse into a restaurant, which was the first sustainable tourism enterprise in Mutianyu village, and has become a major employer in Bohai town that administers the village. It hires local people, purchases local produce, and sells locally-made handicrafts. The restaurant received former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama in 2014.

Spear's team also published five travel guidebooks, helping boost the development of local tourism.

Over the past years, Spear has witnessed Mutianyu's evolution into a village that beautifully blends rural traditions with international influence.

The factory turned hotel designed by Jim Spear in suburban Beijing welcomes guests. (Photo/Xinhua)

Spear also renovated a former tile factory in Beigou, the village next to Mutianyu, turning it into a hotel named the Brickyard Retreat, which is the only "China Rural Heritage Hotel" in Beijing and a sought-after destination for tourists. In the Brickyard Retreat, guest rooms have unobstructed views of the Great Wall.

Spear designed two hotels, three restaurants, and 10 villas in Beigou village. His design philosophy emphasizes preserving the original appearance of old houses at the foot of the Great Wall as much as possible. He called for not pulling old houses down while retaining local residents and integrating tourist services with local life and ecology.

The architect said he is honored to participate in the construction of villages that are closely related to the Great Wall, adding that the responsibility is immense.

At 69, Spear continues his passion for the protection and development of China's ancient villages. "Contributing to China's rural development has been the greatest achievement of my life," he said.

The architect's efforts have injected new vitality into traditional villages at the foot of the Great Wall.

In recognition of his contributions, Spear received the Great Wall Friendship Award, the top honor for foreign experts working in Beijing, from the Beijing government.