The Great Wall
Chinese Great Wall – Great Wall of China
The construction of the Great Wall started during the Warring States Period on 7th century B.C, it had a history of more than 2,500 years. Many dukedoms built walls in Central China to protect themselfs and their northern territories. When Qin Shihuang, the first emperor in Chinese history, unified China and established the first centralised feudal state in China, he decided to have the walls linked up and extended.
great wall
There were about one million people, one-fifth of China’s population at the time, were involved in the project which took more than ten years. Most of the walls we see today were rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century. It extends from Shanhaiguan Pass in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west. It is the only construction that the American astronauts could recognize with their naked eyes on their first flight to the Moon.
Those who succeeded in climbing the wall today are often regarded as “Real heroes”, from this we should realize the difficulty in climbing the wall, and can imagine how difficult it is to build the Great Wall without modern machinery at that time.
In Beijing, the Great Wall is about 630 km long, 6 sections of the Great Wall have been opened to visitors. There are Badaling Section, Juyongguan Section, Simatai Section, Mutianyu Section, Jinshanling Section and Gubeikou Section.
Great Wall Tours
Join a Great Wall Tour, to visit the seven wonders of the world.
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Beijing Feeling offer the top Beijing Great Wall tour package for your great wall travel.
Great Wall Tour – Travel Beijing, a must see attracition should be the Beijing Great Wall. Join in a Great Wall Tour visit Beijing Top Attractions.
Great Wall Bus Tour – A cheaper way to travel Great Wall to meet more friend with a Great Wall Group Tour
History of the Great Wall
The construction of the Great Wall started during the Warring States Period on 7th century B.C, it had a history of more than 2,500 years. At that time, it was the Warring States Period, Many dukedoms built walls in Central China to protect themselves from each other and from the “barbarians”, the walls were built in the states of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin. These seven dukedoms conquered many other small states and became “the Seven Most Powerful States in the Warring States Period”.
great wall-qinshihuang
When Qin Shihuang, the first emperor in Chinese history, unified China and established the first centralised feudal state in China, he ordered that the northern sections of the Walls built by different dukedoms be linked up and put together into one defensive bulwark. Emperor Qin Shihuang sent general Meng Tian with an army of 300,000 forced labourers for the mission and built part of the new wall. That was the Qin Great Wall-From Lintao in Gansu Province in the west to Liaodong in the east.
The Han Great Wall started from Lop Nur in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Liaodong in the east, which stretched about 10,000 Km (20,000 Li, one li = 500 metres) and in the following dynasties, except tthe Tang Dynasty when the Great Wall was all within the boundary of the Great Tang Empire, the Great Wall was under constant construction and repairing. Today, you may find some remnants of the wall scattered in the northwest of China, but not in the eastern part of China.
The Ming Dynasty was the last dynasty in Chinese history when large scale construction of the Great Wall took place, and most of the walls we see today were built in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Great Wall stretched from the Yalu River in the east to Jiayuguan in the west, covering a total length of more than 5,000 Km. At present, however, Shanhaiguan Pass is generally considered as the eastern end of the Great Wall because the section from Shanhaiguan Pass to the Yalu River was poorly built and maintained. Shanhaiguan Pass is also considered as “the First Pass Under Heaven”.
The Qing rulers did not continue building the Great Wall, they adopted a new policy by building a Summer Resort in Chengde to entertain the Mongolian and Tibetan nobles to ensure a peaceful boundary.
“If you haven’t climbed the Great Wall, you haven’t seen China.”
“If you haven’t climbed the Great Wall, you haven’t seen China.” Many of your friends who visited China before might have told you this. It is, indeed an experience of life. Who would leave the country without seeing the only construction that the American astronauts could recognise with their naked eyes, on their first flight to the Moon!
The Great Wall of China starts from Shanhaiguan Pass, a seaport along the coast of Bohai Bay in the east, to Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province in the west, covering 16 provinces, cities and autonomous regions in China. It is more than 6,000 Km long (one li=500 meters), hence the name “Ten Thousand-li-long Wall”.
The Great Wall traverses many mountains and gullies, a countless number of inner walls, outer walls, fortified towers, signal beacon towers, fortifications and garrisons complete this complex, and make up the whole system of the Great Wall.
Those who succeeded in climbing the wall today are often regarded as “real heroes”, from this we should realize the difficulty in climbing the wall, but can you imagine how even more difficult it is to build the Great Wall without modern machinery?
The bricks, rocks and lime used to build the Wall had to be carried up the mountains at the cost of back-breaking labor, morever, goats and donkeys carried the earth and bricks in baskets, some of the rocks were moved up slopes by means of rolling rods and hoisting bars. It is hard to calculate the amount of manpower used in the construction of the Great Wall.
Hiking Great Wall
Travel to Beijing China the top thing you must to do is to join a Great Walll Hiking Tour for a Great Wall Hiking.
The following is some of best Great Wall sections for a Great Wall Hiking Tour.
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Beijing Feeling also organize Great Wall Hiking Group Tour, easy for your Great Wall Trip.
Hiking Jinshanling Great Wall – Jinshanling Great Wall is the longest Great Wall Section in Bejing China, also is the best place for a Great Wall Hiking Tour.
Beijing Great Wall
Great Wall
In Beijing, the Great Wall is 629 Km long, five sections of the Beijing Great Wall have been opened to visitors. There are Badaling Section, Simatai Section, Mutianyu Section, Jinshanling Section and Gubeikou Section. Of all these five sections, the Great Wall at Badaling Section is the most famous and best preserved.
In ancient China, military information is usually conveyed through horsesiders and beacon-towers. In pain area, emergent military information is conveyed from one station to another by riding horses-at each station the horses should be changed and supplies refilled. However, in the Tang Dynasty, when the whole country is not at war, horses were used to carry fresh Lichii to Chang’an, the capital at that time for the emperor’s most favorite concubine-Lady Yang Yuhuan. Du Fu, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty wrote certain poems to criticise the corruption of the emperor.
In the mountainous area, on the other hand, it could ne extremely difficult for the horses to send messages, therefore, beacon towers were built along the wall to relay information from place to place. When the enemy invaded in the daytime, wolve’s dung was used to burn for a strong smoke, while at night, beacon fires were lit on the towers to give a warning message. But you may ask why wolve’s dung were used?
One reason is that there were many wolves in the region and wolve’s dung could easily be found, another reason is that the wolve’s dung gathered closely and went straight upward so it can easily be seen from afar. Moreover, the number of the smoke signals could reveal the number of invading enemies. One smoke used to represent 100 enemies, two smokes, 500, and 3 smokes,1,000 etc, and the amount of smokes also expressed the degree of emergency.
It is evident that the purpose of building the wall was to prevent the frontier from the invasion of the northern nomadic tribes.
Badaling Great Wall
Badaling means “giving access to every direction”, the name itself suggests its strategic importance. Badaling Great Wall lies in Yanqing County, northwest of Beijing. It covers five counties and one district, namely: Miyun, Huairou, Pinggu, Yanqing and Changping County and Mentougou District.
badaling great wall
Badaling Great Wall was the best preserved part of the Ming Great Wall. Here, the wall averages 7.8 metres high, 6.5 metres wide of the base, and 5.8 metres at the top. The wall was designed to allow five horsemen or ten soldiers to march side by side along the wall. The flights of stairs up to the outer wall are fairely widely spaced.
The wall could almost be considered as a superhighway on the rough mountain terrain. On the highway, news, men or even food could travel rapidly. Suppose you were a solider 500 years ago in the Ming Dynasty, when you found some enemies were about to invade your country, in the daytime, they should start a heavy smoke to tell the other soliders to get ready, when seeing their signal, would start another smoke in the distance, this signal would be relayed until finally it reached the capital and the whole country would be ready for the war. But what if the enemies invade the country at night, as most invasion started, they should light up beconfires to communicate military information to the emperor at a very rapid speed.
For every few hundred metres, you can see a watchtower. Also, the wall of this section was built of giant rocks and bricks of similar size. It was faced with stone, and the inside was filled with earth and rubber, therefore, Badaling Great Wall was also regarded the strongest section of the Ming Great Wall.
To experience the real splendor of the Great Wall, you should not only see the Great Wall and take pictures from down here, but also walk on it. There’re two entrances where you can climb the Badaling Great Wall, most people, however, climb the Great Wall from the right entrance because it is an easier way. It takes about an hour to climb to the top of the raised towers either way. From the top on the right looking northwest, you can see the famous Guanting Reservoir; The wall on the left is a little more steep, naturally, less people climb the wall from this side.
Different people may have very different preferences. Make your choice and start climbing now
Badaling Great Wall Tour – Travel to Beijing Badaling Great Wall, you can join a Badaling Great Wall Tour.
Badaling Great Wall Bus Tour – By a cheaper way to the Badaling Great Wall, you can join a Badaling Great Wall bus tour.
Zhangjiakou Railway at Beijing Great Wall
Everyday, there’re two trains from Beijing Xizhimen Railway station to Badaling Great Wall at Qinglongqiao Railway Station, where you can see a bronze statue erected by the Chinese government. But who was he?
This railway is very famous in China, known to almost every household, because this railway was the first of its kind designed and built by us Chinese, it was called Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and recorded in the textbook for primary school pupils.
The chief engineer is Zhan Tianyou, a Yale graduate majoring in Civil and railway engineering, he was born in 1861 in Guangdong Province, and he was very intelligent and interested in machinery at an early age. Upon graduation from the Yale University in 1881, he returned to China and became the Chief engineer in 1905 for the first railway in China, he succeeded in overcoming the gradient problem by switching back the line, and he initially used two locomotives instead of one, one pulling, another pushing the train over this area. The railway was completed in 1909, two years ahead of time. It added a brilliant page in the history of the Chinese Railway Construction.
Therefore, the Chinese government decided to erect a bronze statue at Qinglongqiao Railway Station in memory of his great contribution.
Badaling Great Wall Fortress
Badaling Fortress was built in 1505, it was 7.5 metres high, 4 metres thick. Badaling was actually a hub of communications in ancient times.
The Badaling Fortress is about 600 metres above sea level. East of the Fortress is a huge rock seven metres long and two metres high. It is called Looking-Toward Beijing Rock. The name of the rock was from the Empress Dowager Ci’xi, who passed here as she fled to the north when the Eight Allied Forces invaded Beijing in 1990. From this big rock, she looked back and gave Beijng her last look. Hence the name.
Standing on the rock, you may see the east side of the Fortress, on which four Chinese characters are written, the outer town of Juyong. That is to say, this is indeed an important defensive area on the north side of Juyongguan Pass.
When you entered the Fortress, you will soon find on the west side of the Fortress another four Chinese characters: the key to the north gate of Beijing. This simply means that strategically, this area is very important.
Juyongguan Great Wall Pass
Juyongguan Pass lies 50 Km northwest of Beijing, it is located in a 15 Km long valley. Many passes were built at strategic points along the wall, and the Juyongguan Pass was one of them. Besides its strategic significance, this pass was also famous for its beautiful scenery.
juyongguan great wall
In fact, in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234 A.D), Juyongguan Great Wall was listed one of the Eight Best Scenic Spots in Beijing.
The gate in the center of Beijing Juyongguan Great Wall Pass is built of finely carved marble and called Cloud Terrace or Guojie (crossing-street) in Chinese. This building was originally the base of three towers and was built as early as 1345, more than 500 years of history now, this marble Cloud Terrace is nearly 10 mtres high, the bottom is 27 metres long from east to west, 15 metres wide from north to south. Seen from distance, this terrace is bigger at the bottom and smaller at the top.
Originally, on the top of the cloud terrace stood three towers, but an earthquake in the early Ming Dynasty destroyed the three towers on the top, only the terrace itself left. An arch gateway is underneath the terrace, which is more than 7 metres high, 6 metres wide, wide enough for carriages to go through. Both side of the arch gateway are decorated with carvings of Buddhas, four Celestial Kings, and the text of a buddist Sutra in Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit and three other minority languages.
In 1644, the troops of Peasant Uprising led by Li Zicheng, whose statue we saw on the way to the Great Wall, took over Beijing and entered the city from here. It was Li Zicheng, this peasant general who overthrew the Ming Dynasty that same year. At that time, this was a very crowded area. Later on, buses as well as railways went by here, nobody would stay here for the night or do business any more, therefore, this area gradually became deserted.
Juyongguan Great Wall Tour – For Juyongguan Great Wall Section is far from city of China, Most tourist will join a Juyongguang Great Wall Tour to the Juyongguang Great Wall Section.
Mutianyu Great Wall
Mutianyu Great Wall is a section of the Great Wall in Huairou County 70km northeast of Beijing. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is connected to the west and the east Jiankou Lianhuachi.
Mutianyu great wall
As one of the best preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall used to serve the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs.
Only in the mid-6th Century during the Northern Qi built, Mutianyu Great Wall is older than the Badaling section of the Great Wall. In the Ming Dynasty, led by General Xu Da of the construction of the wall began to show on the foundation of the wall of Northern Qi. In 1404 a passport was built into the wall. In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall rebuilt and today most of the parts are well preserved. The Mutianyu Great Wall is the largest construction scale and best quality in all parts of the Great Wall.
Built mainly with granite, the wall 7-8 meters high and the top is 4-5 meters wide. Compared with other parts of the Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall possesses unique characteristics in its construction.
Located in Huairou County about 45 km from Beijing, Mutianyu Great Wall has a long history and is part of the glorious culture of China. It combines Juyongguan Pass in the west and the Great Wall Gubeikou in the east. (- 557 550) The wall was built in Northern Qi Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), Tan Lun and Qi Tsziguana, two famous patriotic generals, rebuilt it strengthen its defense capability, as they guarded the strategic pass. He served as the Northern shield to protect the capital and imperial mausoleums for generations.
Mutianyu Great Wall winds 1.4 miles through the high mountains and high ridges, many sections which are made of granite. The unique structure makes the walls are almost indestructible. He 23 by 26 feet and four fifty-six meters wide measures. Both the interior and exterior walls have hand rails for protection from enemies on both sides are based. Some railings are sawtooth instead of the regular rectangular shape. Below the parapet, there are loopholes space above, designed in an arc structure, which is the traditional round of loopholes.
There are 22 watch towers distributed at frequent intervals along the wall. They are not only in the main wall, is but the distinctive character of the city branch. Branch city on a hill crest on the inside of the outer wall or built. They measure from a few meters to ten meters in diameter. In the north-west more 3281 as the base of the hill is part of the wall is called “Ox Horn Edge.” On the steep and high peaks, there are two walls with the name ‘Flying Eagle flies and Arrow Lock. In addition, rarely seen on the southeast side of a common platform for a gateway guarded by three towers together. In countries that have strategic importance, the batteries are installed to strengthen defense capabilities. Mutianyu Great Wall is truly deserves to be the archetype of ten thousand li Great Wall.
Mutianyu Great Wall Tour – Mutianyu Great Wall tour is one of the best way for you travel to the Mutianyu Great Wall.
Mutianyu Great Wall Bus Day Tour – 180 RMB travel to Mutianyu Great Wall with a group of tourist, can meet many new Great Wall travel friends.
Jinshanling Great Wall
Jinshanling Great Wall
Located about eight kilometers (five miles) southeast Bakeshiying Township in Luanping County in Hebei Province, Jinshanling Great Wall is the best preserved part of the Great Wall of China, with many original features. It begins with the tower Wangjinglou east and ends in Longyukou west and stretches about 10 kilometers (six miles).
Part of the Jinshanling Great Wall of China is 10.5 miles. Jinshanling Great Wall have 67 towers and two towers of the lighthouse. The first section of the wall has been restored to its original state, but conditions are deteriorating wall in its natural state with the approach of Simatai. entrance fee is 40 yuan. cable car was built to bring visitors to the highest point along the wall. There is a reception fee of 50 yuan to continue under Simatai, and a 5-yuan fee for moving the suspension bridge.
Jinshanling Great Wall Tour – Jinshanling great wall is far from the city of Beijing, So most tourist will join a tour to the Jinshanling Great Wall Section.
Jinshanling Great Wall Bus Tour – Jinshanling great wall bus day tour, 280 RMB/Tourist.
