A group of 71 travelers from Great Britain walked along some 25 kilometers of a Beijing section of the Great Wall on Saturday to raise funds for breast cancer patients.

The walk was organized by Breast Cancer & Care (BCC) -- a British foundation established in 2000 to provide support for breast cancer patients.

Each year BCC arranges a travel challenge for British citizens and walking in China is one of the most popular trips, said Jo Rossiter, the foundation's representative.

The group has been in China for three days and helped raise 120,000 pounds (US$186,000) in Britain. About eight tourist groups are scheduled for this year.

Karen Gray, a traveler who suffers from breast cancer, said she was overjoyed at walking on the Great Wall as she had never been to the country before.

The best way to fight diseases is to be active and help other patients, Gray said.

Four years ago, Gray had almost given up hope of recovery after undergoing three operations.

But her confidence was restored with help from cancer foundations and her situation has improved.

The optimism of the walkers was touching, said Jiang Hong, a tourist guide from China International Travel Service.

Zhang added the tourists were aged from their 20s to 50s -- and 10 of them were breast cancer patients.

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2003)