Sandy, the Armchair Traveller: Day 80, The Great Wall of China, China

Good morning everyone......
It is Day 80..and my dear friend Francoise( http://www.postcrossing.com/user/maroussia)has invited us for a quick stop over in Beijing, China.

Oh look there is the Bird's Nest

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Stadium)

and the Water Cube

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Aquatics_Center)

Amit thinks that we are going to Sichuan to see the Giant Panda

(http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Giant_Panda)

and Sita is so excited because she thinks that we are going to visit the Forbidden City

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City).....

My dear friends, this is day 80...we are on the last leg of our awesome journey..... would a trip around the world be complete without a walk on the Great Wall of China??

Yes, Francoise is taking us to Bādálǐng, the "North Pass" of Juyongguan pass of the Great W all of China.

As we begin our walk on this famous path.... and admire the Great Wall that extends as far as the eye can see ....hmm, doesn't it look like the back of a dragon??

we have so many questions....so lets ask Francoise.....

How long is the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall of China is around 6,400 kilometers.

When was the Great Wall of China built?
The Great Wall of China was built over a large period of time. In the beginning of the Great Wall of China's history, regional kingdoms built walls for their own fortification and defense. This was thought to have started around the 7th century BC.
The Great W all of China was then fully built and unified around (221-206 BC) during the Qin Dynasty. Subsequent improvements occurred 1700 years later. This included expanding and bolstering the strength of the Great Wall of China.

How wide is the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall of China width varies by the area of the Great Wall of China you are at. On average, the width is around 15 to 30 feet wide.This portion of the Great Wall at Badaling is 7.8 meters (25.6 ft) high and 5 meters (16.4 ft) wide

How tall is the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall of China has an average height of 25 feet.

Where is the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall of China covers around four thousand miles from Shanhaiguan to Lop Nur. The Great Wall of China stretches from seaport of China's east coast to Xinjiang in China's northwest.

Who built the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall of China was built by peasants, soldiers, political prisoners and criminals. Soldiers were the primary workforce and did most of the work. Criminals did work for punishment or when they need more workers.

Why was the Great Wall of China built?
The Great Wall of China was built for a variety of purposes.

Firstly, the Great Wall of China was built as a lookout post for easy viewing of enemies. Its beacon tower system, using smoke signals generated by burning wolves' dung, quickly transmitted news of enemy movements back to the capital.

Secondly, the Great Wall of China served as a safeguard to the new cultural influence of Europe through the Silk Road and such. There was a customs post of sorts and unwanted Chinese were ejected through the gates to face the terrifying wild west.

And finally, the Great Wall of China served as a barrier between the enemies so that they could not easily penetrate the territory.

The wall never really did perform its function as an impenetrable line of defence. As Genghis Khan supposedly said, 'The strength of a wall depends on the courage of those who defend it'. Sentries could be bribed.
Mongol invaders had no trouble breaching the wall by going around it due to its non continuity, so the wall proved unsuccessful and was eventually abandoned.

However, it did work very well as a kind of elevated highway, transporting people and equipment across mountainous terrain.

During the Ming dynasty a determined effort was made to rehash the bastion, this time facing it with some 60 million cubic metres of bricks and stone slabs. This project took over 100 years, and the costs in human effort and resources were phenomenal.

The investment failed to curb the Manchu armies from storming the Middle Kingdom and imposing over two and a half centuries of foreign rule on China. The wall was largely forgotten after that.

Lengthy sections of it have returned to dust and the wall might have disappeared totally had it not been rescued by the tourist industry.
Several important sections have been rebuilt, kitted out with souvenir shops, restaurants and amusement-park rides, and formally opened to the public.......thank goodness!!

What is the Great Wall of China made out of?
The Great Wall of China was built from earth stones and wood.An estimated 180 million cubic metres of rammed earth was used to form the core of the original wall, and legend has it that one of the building materials used was the bones of deceased workers.

In recent times, the wall has suffered more from farmers pillaging its earthen core for use on the fields, and for its bountiful supply of shaped stone, stripped from the ramparts for use in road and building construction. A recent outcry over drunken summer raves and 'orgies' at Jīnshānlǐng has upped public concern over the fortification's sad decline.

Is it true that you can see the Great Wall from the moon?
No, that's an urban legend ! No man-made structure is visible from the moon without a technological aid.
Low orbit satellites however can spot the Great Wall of China.

Wow, we have just received our "Certificate of Accomplishment " for walking here.....cool.
Thanks so much for this tour Francoise. It is an absolutely amazing UNESCO world heritage site and deserved a wonder of the world!

http://www.world-heritage-tour.org/asia/china/great-wall/badaling/dragon-of-stairs/sphere-flash.html