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The Great Wall of China was
built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first
emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206
B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng"
which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km).
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The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.
The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Jim Irwin.
The Great Wall was key to protecting agricultube and resisting cavalry of the
uns and other warrior tribes from the north. The advantages of the enormous barrier diminished with the advancement of gunpowder and other weaponry.
The wall was originally built of stone, wood, grass and earth. In the Ming Dynasty bricks were produced in kilns set up along the wall. The bricks were transported by men carrying them on their backs, donkeys, mules and even goats had a brick tied to their head before being driven up a
mountain.
The Great Wall of China was built over more than two thousand years. Construction on the first section began between the 7th and 6th century BC, and the last work on the wall was done between the 14th and 17th centuries.
China Great Wall
Today you can easily experience the picturesque walk site from Jinshanling to Simatai. It is beautiful, good exercise, but not always an easy stroll in the park. So make sure you've had a good meal or brought some snacks, water, convertible walking shoes, sun lotion and plenty of film.
Jinshanling and Simaotai both have restaurants, guest houses and shops where you can get film, water, clothing and of course "I walked the Great Wall of China" t-shirts and hats. Be sure and bargain lots for souvenirs and even overpriced drinking water.
It is about a two hour drive from Beijing to Jinshangling or Simaotai. The walk then takes between three and five hours. You can do the whole thing in one long day or go to the start of your walk at the end of the day, have dinner, sleep and get up at sunrise and do the walk. It will certainly be less crowded at that time. Sunrise is beautiful on a clear day and the wall can be amazing in foggy weather too.
Simaotai is bigger, more developed and touristy than smaller Jinshanling. I personally like Jinshanling better as a starting point because its muc( easier and faster to get up onto the wall. If you want to sleep up on the wall there is a shop in a watchtower just above Jinshanling where I've stayed twice. You can contact the shopkeeper and make arrangements for meals and accommodation - click here to learn more.
Both also have cable cars so if you don't want to do the walk you can ride up, have a little stroll and then ride back down. Well worth it but do the walk if you can as you'll see more and worked off all those jiaozi (Chinese dumplings).
You can take a public bus and get to Simaotai or the entrance road of Jinshanling from Beijing's Dongzhimen long distance bus station (Dongzhimen chang-tu che-zhan). Quicker and easier, especially if there are a few of you, is to take a taxi. You will probably want to negotiate a flat fee although you could go on the metre.
To the northwest and north of Beijing, a huge, serrated wall zigzags its way to the east and west along the undulating mountains. This is the Great Wall, which is said to be visible from the moon.
The first section of the Great Wall of China was constructed in the central portion of the country around 688 B.C., Chinese archaeologists announced at a recent academic conference in Henan Province.
If their claim holds true, the Great Wall is over 400 years older than previously thought. Before the announcement, the first official work on the wall generally was attributed to Emperor Shi Huangdi of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.).
At the conference, Xiao Luyang, director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Henan Academy of Social Sciences, said that the earliest portion of the wall measures 497.12 miles long. It zigzags in inverted "u" shapes across the present day counties of Lushan, Yexian, Fangcheng and Nanzhao in southwest Henan.
This section of the wall is in surprisingly good shape, considering its age and the fact that it was first constructed using only local stones, with no mortar or other adhesive.
It is part of the longest structure ever built, as the Great Wall - visible from space - extends over 4,500 miles across northern and north-central China. Constructed entirely by hand, with some sections in brick as well as stone, the Great Wall winds through mountainous regions and borders some desert areas. Towers break up the wall, and were believed to have once served as lookout posts. Xiao indicated that historical records link the earliest known portion of the wall to the Chu Kingdom (1100-223 B.C.). Dong Yaohui, president of the China Great Wall Society, was quoted in China's People's Daily paper as saying, "We can even call (the Chu people) the 'father of the Great Wall.' "
Prior to their association with the wall, the Chu were mostly known for producing one of China's most famous poets, Qu Yuan. During the Chu period, China was divided up into many small kingdoms that frequently waged wars with each other for territorial rights. The political environment may have led to the construction of the wall.
"Many historians now believe that the wall, or walls, were built to mark territories, similar to the way that forts were built here in the States," said Michael Nylan, professor of history at the University of California at Berkeley and an expert on early Chinese history and culture.
She explained that the wall is really more like a series of walls strung together. In addition to marking land ownership, they were used for relaying messages.
Because historical writings indicate that walls were being built early in China's history, Nylan believes it is only a matter of time before an even older section of the Great Wall is found or identified.