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| Subject: The Great Wall of China 13/11/2010, 7:48 pm | |
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The Great Wall of China, a memorable landmark, is the most populartourist attraction in China. The Wall has fascinated the minds of manyin the world and it is part of the Seven Wonders of the World. TheGreat Wall is the ultimate tourist destination for sightseeing. Peoplefrom all over the world visit China to see this exotic architecturebecause it is one of the most appealing attractions of China. It hasits share of fans including those who spread speculations about itbeing seen from the moon.Why, When, and Who Built The Great Wall?Looking down at the Great Wall from the sky is truly amazing, theWall resembles a Chinese dragon circling the mountains. There is acommon term use by The Chinese call “Wan Li Chang Cheng” which definesas “Wall of 10,000 Li” (10,000 Li = 5,000 km). There were three mainChinese dynasties that contributed to the construction of the GreatWall: first, the Qin from 221-207 B.C., then the Han from 206 B.C – 220A.D and the Ming from 1368-1644 A.D. Their common purpose was to stopthe “barbaric” Huns in the North from invading the Chinese borders.Millions of people labored on the Great Wall and many died whileworking.How Long is The Great Wall?After the Qin emperor unified China, he connected the walls acrossthe country into one, The Wall extended up to 10,000 Li (5000 km) andit helps keep out intruders from the north. What seems to be a Chinesezigzag dragon, the Great Wall of China spreads across deserts, rivers,mountains, grasslands and plateaus expanding nearly 6,700 kilometers.It has been built for over 2 millenniums and it stretches from the eastside to the west side of China. Due to modern technologies and lack ofusefulness, pieces of the structure are left in ruins and the Chineseleaders do not care to fix it. This marvelous segment of Chineseheritage swept through Shanhaiguan Pass, then to Liaoning, then Hebei,continuing onto Tianjin, expanding to Beijing, reaching Shanxi, andinto Inner Mongolia, next to Ningxia, arriving at Gansu and finallyends in Jiayuguan Pass. The Great Wall length measures about 6,700 kmlong. Height wise, it is 4.5m to 9m. Depth wise, it is 4.5m to 8m. Theentire structure was built by hand using stone, bricks, soil, sand,straw, wood, clay or whatever was available depending on the territoryand time period.The Great Wall TodayThe existing Wall today was constructed by the Ming Dynasty over 600years ago. During that time, the original wall was in ruins. Mingemperors order to rebuilt the wall over the course of 200 years. Thereason the wall still stand today is because there was an inventionduring that time, mixing rice flour to create extremely tough bricksand mortar. Today, few parts of the Great Wall are in great conditionbecause it was restored to attract tourists. To get a good deal on atour to The Great Wall visit China Great Wall Tours. | |
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