The Great Wall of China is the largest man-made structure in the world and has a total length of about 4000 miles/6400 kilometers. It stretches across northern China into Central Asia.
In 221 BC the Qin emperor Shih Huang-di united China and had early sections of the wall (made of rammed earth) linked and rebuilt into a single system. The purpose being to defend settled communities from nomadic invaders. The 15th-16th century Ming dynasty saw to the present structure - a complex of fortified walls and constructed of masonry (though the original was sometimes faced with bricks). In general the wall is about 30ft/9m high, and the towers about 40ft/12m. The wall is up to 12ft/3.75m across, enabling a column of ten men wide to march along it. The wall did deter raiding parties but did not prevent large-scale invasions. After the Manchu conquest of 1644, the frontier moved farther north and the Great Wall became redundant. It deteriorated over the years but then large parts have been restored now to cater for international tourism.
We visited the Great Wall in 2007, at the Mutianyu section just north of Beijing. I managed to climb up to the Juyong Pass and it felt like a great feat, even if it was only a teeny, tiny section of the Wall. My fascination with this world wonder continues to this day. In 2011 I bought a book by John Man, "The Great Wall"*, and on and off I have been dipping into it to read about 'the extraordinary story of China's wonder of the world'.
Ref: The World's Greatest Architecture; Past and Present / D. M. Field. Ex Libris 1988
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