The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a Wonder of the World. It is a series of fortifications. It is made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials. It is generally built along an east-to-west line across the northern borders of China. It is used to protect the Chinese Empire against intrusions by warlike peoples or forces, such as the nomadic groups.

Several wall was being built as early as the 7th century BC. Especially famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. He joined the walls together and made them bigger and stronger. But little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced. The majority of the existing wall was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1368～1644).

The Ming wall measure 8,851.8 km and the entire wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196.18 km. You know the equator is just 40,076 Km. Its width is 6 to 7 meters in the bottom and 4 to 5 meters in the top and its height is 7 to 8 meters.

There are eight places you can visit the Great Wall in Beijing. They are two passes (JuyongGuan and Gubeikou) and six sections of the wall (Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai, Jinshanling, HuanghuaCheng and Jiankou). Another two nearby Great Wall sights, Shanghaiguan and Huangyaguan can each be visited as an overnight tour from Beijing.

For foreign visitors, it is said that if one has not climbed the Great Wall, one has not been to China. So welcome to China, and welcome to the Great Wall.