The
largest man--made monument ever built at
about 4,000 miles in length, the wall was
originally built to help create a united
defense system and prevent invading Mongol
tribes out of China. Construction began
around the 8th century B.C. and efforts
to revive it took place from 1368 -- 1644
A.D.
"The Great Wall of
China is truly one of the greatest architectural
achievements in recorded history. The longest
structure ever built, it is about 4000 miles
long and made entirely by hand and can even
be viewed from the moon. It crosses Northern
China, from the East coast to Central China.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, it remains
a powerful symbol of Chinese historical
and cultural identity."
Yet the Great Wall is unique. It was first
built in the 7th century B.C. when China
was still divided into many small states.
After the unification of China in 221 B.C.,
the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (you must
have heard of his teracotta army) linked
the walls of the three states in the north
and formed the first "Wan Li Chang
Cheng" (ten thousand li Great Wall,
li is a Chinese length unit, 2 li = 1 km).
Since then, the Great Wall was rebuilt.
Condition of the Great Wall
While some portions north of Beijing
and near tourist centers have been preserved
and even reconstructed, in many locations
the Wall is in disrepair.Those parts might
serve as a village playground or a source
of stones to rebuild houses and roads. Sections
of the Wall are also victims of graffiti
and vandalism. Parts have been destroyed
because the Wall is in the way of construction
sites.
Repaired portions of the Wall near developed
tourist areas are often plagued with hawkers
of tourist kitsch. The Wall was made a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1987.
Tourists often become exhausted climbing
the wall, and traverse no more than a mile
because of this reason.
Mao Zedong had a saying: "You're
not a real man if you haven't climbed the
Great Wall".
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