Beijing Great Wall

Colossal endeavor, brave folly, futile contrivance or splendid achievement, the Great Wall inspires awe no matter how you look at it. Straddling northern China from the Yellow Sea in the east to its crumbling finale beyond Jiayuguan in the Gobi Desert of Gansu Province, it’s entirely measures nearly 4000 miles (6430 kilometers) long. Several sections have been restored outside Beijing, the most popular being Badaling Great Wall and Mutianyu Great Wall. For those with a little more time, the wilder parts, particularly Jinshanling Great Wall, Simatai Great Wall, and Huanghuacheng Great Wall are worth the jaunt.
Beijing Great Wall Tour is a must for all travelers to Beijing. In addition, Great Wall Camping would be excellent if you love outdoor activities.

History of Great Wall
The Great Wall was built to prevent hostile nomadic groups from the north – like the Huns, Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols and Manchus, all of whom threatened China at one time or another – from ridding their horses south to invade and plunder. Not so much one wall as an articulation of ramparts, most of the Great Wall’s sections were built independently of the others during different dynasties. The earliest parts date back to the seventy century B.C., when many ducal states began buildings walls along their boundaries.

The wall did not take on its gargantuan character until the third century B.C. when China became a united nation. Emperor Qin Shihuang, of terracotta warrior fame, ordered General Meng Tian to incorporate existing walls into his own defense network, threading together the ramparts, erecting watchtowers and constructing beacons to alert the capital of attack. His creation became the first Ten Thousand Li Great Wall.

The wall advanced during the Han dynasty, whose emperors extended Qin Shihuang’s efforts into the Gobi Dessert. Little was done to lengthen the wall during the flourishing Tang and Song Dynasties, but the Jin and Ming Dynasties heralded a spate of enthusiastic construction – most of the wall we see today dates from the Ming dynasty. In some areas, two walls built in two different dynasties can be seen running side by side over the hills and mountains.

Based on the different technologies available to different dynasties, construction methods varied through the centuries. In general, the wall’s foundation consisted of layer upon layer of tamped earth, sometimes mixed with sticks, pebbles or reeds. The Ming had later encased exterior sections of the wall in brick that were fired in local kilns. Many of the kilns can still be found in the valleys around the outskirts of Beijing.

The Great Wall’s average height is 32 feet (10 meters), with an average width of 16 feet (5 meters) – wide enough for ten soldiers or five horses to stand abreast. Natural features such as mountain ridges, river gorges, and narrow passes were incorporated into the design. Watchtowers, signal towers, and moats are regularly spaced. Three overlapping layers protected extremely strategic areas.

Security Breach
Despite the care taken by the Chinese to erect and impenetrable structure, the wall failed spectacularly, most notably with the incursions of nomadic groups from the north that established the dynasties of the Jin (Jurchen) in the 12th century, the Yuan (Mongol) in the 13th century and the Qing (Manchu) in the 17th century.

The Ming Dynasty fell to a peasant rebellion in year 1644, but the new regime was short-lived. General Wu Sangui, who commanded the forces guarding the Great Wall in Shanhaiguan, decided to throw his lot in with the nomadic Manchus from the north and opened the gates. Manchu forces poured into China. The early Manchu rulers debated the need for such border defenses and apparently decided not to put any more effort or money into them. Eventually they were too occupied with the onslaught of Western forces and European Catholic missionaries that was coming from the coast to spend time maintaining the wall. Ultimately, the wall was superseded by technology and circumvented by forces that moved into China from other directions, such as the Japanese and the Western powers that mustered along the coastline. Though much preservation work needs to be done, the Great Wall became a UNESCO World Heritage site in year 1987. The sections you can realistically visit have been rebuilt and cosmetically touched up for the benefit of visitors; this gives a false impression of the condition of the wall. The fortress-like segments viewable around Beijing quickly peter out. But that doesn’t make a visit here any less impressive.