Great Wall
By admin on 2015-01-29

Chinese Name: 长城/万里长城                                                               
Chinese Pinyin: Cháng Chéng/Wàn Lǐ Cháng Chéng
English Translation: Great Wall/Great Wall of 10,000 Li   
Length: 8,851.8 km (5,500 miles)
Builder: the ancient Chinese laboring people (common people, farmers, soldiers and slaves)
Construction Period: About 2,000 years from the Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC) to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Enjoying the fame of "Wan Li Chang Cheng", China Great Wall starts from Hushan in Liaoning in the east and ends at Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu in the west, via the nine provinces or cities in northern China, including Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Gansu. It is often compared to a huge dragon winding up and down in the mountains, grassland and deserts. In Chinese history, over 20 states and dynasties have built the Great Wall, and the sections built in Qin (221 BC-206 BC), Han (206BC-220) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties exceed 10,000 Li (about 3,107 miles). The new survey of the length of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty has confirmed that  it is 8,851.8 km (5,500 miles) long.

At present, the China Great Wall has already lost its military function, and many sections have been repaired and opened to the public. Among them, Badaling is the most famous and greatest which receives the most visitors from home and abroad. Mutianyu is famous for its spectacular scenery, Jinshanling and Simatai are well known for the wildness and cragginess, and Jiankou is attracted by its dangerous location. Due to these varieties, it's no wonder that Great Wall is the most welcomed scenic sight in China.

 Great Wall Tops

 The wall receives most visitors: Badaling Great Wall
 The most eastern wall (Ming Dynasty): Hushan Great Wall
 The most western wall (Ming Dynasty): Jiayuguan Pass
 The most western wall (Han Dynasty): Yumenguan Pass
 The most dangerous wall (Ming Dynasty): Jiankou Great Wall
 The earliest wall: wall built in Chu State in Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC)
 The wall with most construction styles: Great Wall in Zhangjiakou City
 The highest wall: the wall built in 2,000m (6,562 feet) tall Huapiling and bingshanliang mountains in Zhangjiakou City
 The wall with most fortresses & the wall where the most frequent wars took place: Great Wall in Zhangjiakou City

The No.1 city terrace: Zhenbeitai in Shaanxi  
The No.1 fortress: Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu
The No.1 tower: Nine-Eye Tower in Beijing
The No.1 city gate: Dajing Gate in Zhangjiakou
The first pass under heaven: Shanhaiguan Pass in Hebei

The three inner side passes: Juyongguan Pass, Zijingguan Pass, Daomaguan Pass
The three outer side passes: Yanmenguan Pass, Ningwuguan Pass, Pianguan Pass
The eight big passes: Shanhaiguan Pass, Juyongguan Pass, Zijingguan Pass, Yanmenguan Pass, Niangziguan Pass, Pianguan Pass, Jiayuguan Pass, Yumenguan Pass

The first Chinese finished Great Wall hiking: Liu Yutian in 1984
The first foreigner to explore the whole length of the Great Wall: William Edgar Geil in 1908.