The Great Wall is an iconic Mega structure and possibly China's best-known architectural landmark. The wall spans over 4000 miles and remains one of the great wonders of the world. The Arc shaped wall stretches from the
Shanhaiguan Pass to
Jiayuguan Pass. It covers such diverse Geographic features such as the yellow ridges at the Huangya Pass, the Ordos desert, across the Ju River, through cities and towns, mountain ranges in the Simatai and forests in Mutiany. The main regions covered are
Hebei ,
Beijing ,
Gansu ,
Shanxi and
Shaanxi .
Great Wall in Hebei-
- Shanhaiguan Pass
- Laolongtou (popularly known as Old Dragon's Head)
Great Wall in Beijing -
- Badaling,
- Huanghuacheng
- Jiankou
- Jinshanling
- Juyongguan
- Mutianyu
- Simatai
Han Dynasty Section of the Wall in Gansu -
- Dunhuang
- Hecang Fortress
- Yangguan Pass
- Yumenguan Pass
Ming Dynasty Section of the Wall in Gansu
Great Wall in Shanxi -
Great Wall in Shaanxi -
Contrary to common belief, the Great Wall is actually a series of walls, first built in the 5 th Century, rebuilt in the 16 th Century and augmented in between in different time periods. The earliest sections of the wall was little more than straw and earthen structures. The first Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huang of the
Qin Dynasty , built the new wall to prevent attacks from the Northern Xiongnu Tribes. The material was indigenously available stones and mortar and even packed earth in sections. Later rulers patched damaged portions or made expansions to the Wall. Major renovations and extensive building once again occurred in the
Ming Period . The construction was now made out of both brick and stone. The Wall was constantly monitored against damage from the
Mongol raiders and later
Manchu armies and was strengthened from time to time. Finally the supposedly impenetrable wall was defeated when a traitorous Ming General opened the gates to the Sanhai Pass.
Great Wall of China Facts
- The Wall has several names in Chinese – Chengquiang or 'Defensive Wall', Changcheng or 'Long Wall' and Wanli Changcheng, meaning a wall that was over 10,000 meters.
- Declared as a World Heritage Site in 1987.
- In May 1932, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Claimed that the wall is the only man made structure that can be visible to the human eye from the moon.
- At its widest point, the Great Wall is 30 feet wide.
- There is a Real Man Stone inscribed with Mao Zedong's words saying “You are not a real man if you have not climbed the great Wall ”. It is now used as part of the advertising campaign for the Great Wall .
Great Wall of China tours -
One can take the
package tours where sections of
the Great Wall can be collectively viewed with
Beijing ,
Shanghai and
Xian . These packages include either trips to
Chonquin and the
Yangtze River or
Guilin and
Yangshuo . One can also take a private city tour and visit the
Beijing section of the
Wall , the
Forbidden City ,
Summer Palace and the
Ming Monuments .
For the more adventurous tourists, there are 2 to 8 days
hiking packages available. The traveler can enjoy full day hikes at Huangya Pass and enjoy the natural beauty of Simatai.
Biking tours are also available where one can bicycle across
the Great Wall .
The best
time for hiking and biking are during spring and autumn. The
recommended months for touring are April to early-June and September to early-November.
The
China Great Wall has several attractive stops; the recommended places to visit are -
- The 67 watchtowers at Jinshanlin ,
- The Sanhaiguan Pass or “Number One Pass Under Heaven”, where the Great Wall Museum is located.
- The Jiankou , or Jiumenkou Section, where the Wall bridges across the Ju River .
- The Mutianyu Section, because of the great natural beauty of the Mountains and Forests
- The North Juyongguan Pass, better known as Badaling
