Great Wall of China
Transcript: This is a picture of the Great Wall of China. The length of the Great Wall of China, is over 6400 km (4000 miles).The height is 5 to 8 meters (16 to 26 feet). The thickness is 4.6 to 9.1 m (15 to 30 ft) at the base and 2.7 to 3.7 m (9 to 12 ft) at the top. Another activity to do at the Great Wall is paragliding. People usually paraglide at Simatai, a section of the Great Wall. It gives tourists a chance to jump off the edge and paraglide 1,000 feet into the valley below. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is close to Beijing. The Mutianyu section looks just like it did centuries ago. At the Mutianyu section there more than 20 watchtowers along the 1 1/2-mile stretch of wall, with three watchtowers connected by a tunnel that runs along the inside. There are overhead cable car rides that are more scenic. The Mutianyu pass is open to visitors all year and is easily accessed by car or bus from Mutianyu village at the foot of the Great Wall One thing to do at the Great Wall is to hike. Hiking is very popular at the Great Wall. There are hiking tours which can range from being hours, or even overnight. There are several companies that offer these guided tours that include food, transportation and accommodations for those staying overnight. All of trails around the wall is because of the terraced rice paddy farms that have been implemented in Chinese farming for centuries. Another fun activity to do at the Great Wall is the Great Wall Marathon. It is 26.2 miles long. It is very difficult and has over 5,000 steps. The history of this amazing wall goes back to the Chunqiu period (722- 481 B.C.) and to the Warring states period (453- 221 B.C.). It was built by the Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty. The Great Wall was first built in the 7th century B.C. In 221 B.C., the first emperor of Qin Dynasty combined the walls of the three states in the north and formed the first "Wan Li Chang Cheng". The Great Wall of China was originally built as separated walls by different states before the unification of China to protect their land from invasions. After the Qin Dynasty was the most powerful and took over most of the lands, Emperor Qin Shi Huang connected some of the walls and built the first Great Wall of China between 220–206 BC, and, it was called “10,000 li Wall.” The wall was to prevent any invasion attempts and attacks by the northern nomadic tribes and dynasties. Genghis Khan was able to penetrate the wall and able to conquer northern China. After the Mongol Empire, China was once again back to the leadership of their countrymen; this time, the Ming Dynasty was the most powerful. During the Ming Dynasty, the concept of the Great Wall was revived once again. The Ming Dynasty revived the Great Wall of China under its 10 year project. They further extended it to the desert where the nomadic tribes used to came from. Unlike the earlier walls, Ming used bricks and stones instead of earth to strengthen it, and was devoted to the reconstruct and repair the walls as Mongols continued their attempts. The history of the walls The History of The Great Wall of China How the Great Wall of China was built