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THE GREAT WALL.
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The Great Wall can be seen from space, it's beauty and vast size staggers the imagination beyond all credibility.
If you do nothing else in your life, you must visit The Great Wall.
The wall as we see it today was mostly built during the Ming dynasty until it reached an awesome length of 5,660 kilometres, starting from Shanhai Pass in the east to Jiayu Pass in the west by the way of Hebei, Beijing, Shanxi, inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu. In terms of the designing and engineering, the Great Wall was a paragon of the resourcefulness of Chinese strategists and builders. Passes were built at places of strategic importance. Construction was carried out in line with local conditions and by drawing on local resources, so that knotty construction problems could be solved without compromising the Great Walls defensive formability.
The wall hugs the contours of the terrain, and as it climbs up and down the mountains, it keeps changing in height and width and building material. Gate-towers are built atop the wall for guarding and lodging purposes, passes are found at spots of vital strategic importance, and signal towers are set at intervals so that smoke or fire signals were relayed to the army command in Beijing in times of emergency.
The Great Wall, a monumental landmark built by the Chinese of different ethnic backgrounds, has long fulfilled its historical mission. Today, it stands as a precious witness to history, and its value in culture, art, architecture and tourism seems to be multiplying. Spring comes and goes constantly, and several centuries seem to have passed in the twinkling of an eye.
Those who have been to the Great Wall never fail to be captivated, encouraged and inspired by its splendour and charm as a masterpiece of mans great creativity. The Great Wall belongs to all those in this world who love it. Please remember this famous Chinese saying, "One who fails to reach the Great Wall would not be regarded as a hero."
Above is the Huangya pass, which stands 30 kilometres north of Jixian county, and 100 kilometres from Tianjin. Built in 556 Qi dynasty. However was restored again in 1567 (Ming dynasty). It is built on sharp mountain edges, with watchtowers, barracks, and battlements. The most menacing sight for invaders would be the circular watchtower called Phoenix towering some 23 metres high, and has a circuference of 16 metres.
In the city called Eight-Trigrams, there is a legend that the streets were designed like a maze in order towering confuse the enemy. The majestic view above is the Taipingzhai section of The Great Wall.
This picture (above) also contains a legend. It is believed the tower was built from money donated by twelve women. The tower is called Widow Tower, and the legend is that they all had husbands who perished whilst building The Great Wall.
Approximately 120 Kilometres from Beijing stands the Simatai section, which allows access to Gubeikou. Built in the Qi Dynasty (550-577), and reconstructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It appears to be hanging from the Yanshan Mountains.
Towers touching the skylines.
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