One
of the wonders of the world and the only man-made structure visible from
the moon, the Great Wall is a must see. For your enjoyment, we’ve
selected a section of the Great Wall that is less well known and has fewer
visitors, Mutianyu.You’ll see portions of the wall that are in a
ruinous state and others that are beautifully restored, giving you a more
balanced view of old and new.
The
Great Wall stretches from the mountains of Korea to the Gobi Desert. Over
4,500 miles of engineering marvel spanning 22 centuries. This breathtaking
human undertaking actually began as a series of walls that were built
and rebuilt under different dynasties over a 1,000-year period. The walls
were erected to protect the empire against marauding tribes from the north.
What has evolved over the centuries is more than a stone structure; it’s
an indelible record of the cultural and natural evolution of a timeless
society.
The
ingenuity and will demanded to build the wall created a boon to trade
and prosperity for China that provided the impetus for 1,000 years of
growth and development, unsurpassed anywhere in the world.
Great Facts About The Wall
- If you took all the bricks from the Ming portion of the wall only, the bricks would circle the earth at the equator in a wall five feet high and three feet thick.
- Three million people—70% of China’s population at that time—were involved in building the Qin Wall.
- It has long been rumored that workers who died
while building the wall were
interred in the wall. NOT TRUE. Decomposing bodies would have weakened the structure. - The Great Wall is the only man made object visible to the naked eye from outer space.
- It is estimated that the cost in modern terms of the Qin Great Wall would be $200 billion, which would pay for roughly half of all-annual construction in the US.
- One section of the wall ascends mountain ridges that climb at an angle of 70 degrees, and are 7,000 feet above sea level.
- Sentries on the Wall or at outposts burned wood, straw, and wolf dung to produce a thick, black smoke. One column meant the force of less than 500 was attacking; four columns indicated an attack of up to 10,000 men.
- According to historical records, the Qin Dynasty section of the wall, covering 3000 miles was built in 10 years, or about 25 miles per month.
- The Ming Dynasty not only rebuilt the crumbling wall, they added many
miles to it, creating a structure that could stretch from Miami to the
North Pole.
