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| The Great Wall of China |
Many people are curious about the overall length of the Great Wall. This question is difficult to answer as many dynasties have participated in building the Great Wall, and many sections are located in remote mountains, grassland or deserts which make the investigation a big problem.
On April 18 in 2009, the length of the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was announced after a full investigation. It is 8,851.8 km (5,500 miles) long from Hushan Great Wall in Liaoning and Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu. The wall in Beijing measures over 550 km (342 miles) long.
The Great Wall is no doubt the largest manmade cultural relics in the world. According to the new data, it passes 156 counties in ten cities or provinces including Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. The Ming Dynasty Great Wall is composed of 723 beacon towers, 7,062 lookout towers, 3,357 wall platforms and 1,026 other ruins.
In order to create a thorough database of the Great Wall, research included an investigation into means of construction and living conditions of both the military and workers along the Great Wall. This included the research of stone pits, post houses, walls as a specific defense against cavalry, ditches, and the cultural geography including the terrain, vegetation, climate, animals and hydrological conditions.
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| Badaling Great Wall |
The Great Wall of China is becoming shorter and shorter day by day due to the natural erosion and human activity. Many parts of the Great Wall are unrecognizable. We can do little about natural erosion but we can enhance awareness to protect the wall. People should stop taking bricks from the wall for private use, stop cutting through the wall in the name of modern construction and stop depositing litter along the wall. It is vital to love and cherish this precious cultural relic, so that generations to come may inherit and also appreciate this great ancient project.
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Travelers' Voices on How Long is the Great Wall
1.
Sep. 19,2009 07:20 Reply
Mr.xi(china) said:
Being a chinese , i'm proud of the Great Wall!
Nov. 9,2009 07:38
Ms.Vicky(USA) replied:
You certainly have every right to be proud...the Wall is amazing! I recently had the privilege of visiting China and walking a small section of the Great Wall. I was totally overwhelmed with the history and the feelings that were invoked when I did this.
2.
Nov. 6,2009 07:59 Reply
Mr.sam said:
the great wall of china is 96,800 football feilds long
3.
Nov. 1,2009 04:22 Reply
Mr.Adbo Djeb "3Lang"(Algeria) said:
5,500 miles!! looks endless,,
thanks for the information
4.
Oct. 14,2009 19:51 Reply
Mr.gaie(Canada) said:
how long is it
Oct. 14,2009 21:56
Mr.awais replied:
5,500 miles
Oct. 27,2009 18:24
Mr.Leo(USA) replied:
8851.8 killometers
5.
Sep. 22,2009 09:00 Reply
Mr.david(chicago) said:
it is the biggiest in the world
Sep. 23,2009 07:06
Mr.Maseruka Michael(Uganda) replied:
Indeed. the Chinese people are naturally gifted. no wonder they did not employ any engineer.
6.
Sep. 14,2009 05:57 Reply
Mr.anandraj(india) said:
such a nice constuction by chinese people they are very ceative people.......
7.
Aug. 9,2009 12:15 Reply
Mrs.lisa myers(USA) said:
i want to know why they built it in the first place?
Aug. 9,2009 20:08
Mr.joje replied:
They built it for wars, and to protect themselves from being invaded by the northern nomadic tribes.
8.
Jul. 23,2009 04:05 Reply
Mr.Baoman said:
Yes, it is a long wall. I can see in the picture. It seems endless.
Aug. 9,2009 03:29
Mrs.leado (australia) replied:
yes you are right!