Interesting Facts On The Great Wall of China - A man-made marvel!

Though historic texts state that the wall was built over 2000 years ago, most of the structures that have been built during that time have succumbed to the forces of nature. The fortifications that exist today are part of a much recent construction effort by emperor ming which could be traced to a period of (1358- 1644) proper carbon dating proves that most parts of the wall are not older than 500 to 700 years old.

Despite popular belief, The great wall was originally built during 210BC to repel the Xiongnu who were the ancestors of the Huns. The Mongol Empire emerged in 800AD which was approximately a millennia after the constriction efforts of the great wall began. The original attack from the Mongols happened in 14the century AD and though they succeeded in invading china, they were later defeated by emperor ming.

It has been believed that labourers who helped build the wall were executed and were buried inside the walls during construction. But recent scientific discoveries revealed that there aren't any type of human remains found inside the structures of the wall. And there is no documented evidence for this statement as well.

The original wall was believed to be over 21 000 kilometres long and was built in stages offer the reign of 6 dynasties. Unfortunately due to destruction occluded during invasions, and of natural forces, only a stretch of 8 851 kilometres of the wall remains. The average height of the wall is 7.88 meters but it stands at 14 meters high at its tallest point.

The wall is not a continuous line and some parts of the wall have side, circular and parallel walls. Some of the regions do not have walls at all, instead, there are a lot of gaps in between the total length. it is also estimated that over 800 000 people contributed to building this mega structure and the labour force included soldiers, peasants, convicts and slaves.

Nothing man-made lives forever and most of the things that are made of organic resources will last for a long time; sadly, this applies to the walls as well! The Great wall of china was built using stones and it is also evident that organic compounds such as clay, stones, bricks and lime are the common materials that were used to build the wall. Some part of the wall today are under the threat of disappearing due to lack of maintenance and abandonment. Despite conservation efforts, a lot of human activities such as agriculture and construction activities around the walls are weakening the structures and are further threatening the existence of this amazing cultural relic.

Being regarded as one of the worlds most popular tourist sites, travellers can visit the great wall and even walk over it for miles upon miles. The easiest way is to reach the walls from Beijing which would take you approximately 1.5 hours to reach here by taxi. If you are stationed at Beijing hotel the likes of Pan Pacific Beijing, travel excursion arrangements can be made by contacting the hotel's front desk.