In the mountains north of Beijing, the Great Wall of China winds snake-like from mountain crest for upon mile. This is the most spectacular part of the world’s longest man-made wall, which starts in the arid west at the Jiayuguan fortress at the foot of the Qilian Shan Mountains.
Crossing deserts, pastureland, river valleys and forested ridges, the wall reaches to the Yalu River on the Korean border in the east — a stretch of some 2000 miles (3200km) across northern China. But when branches from the main wall are included, its total length is around 4000 miles (6500km).
About 3000 years ago, the many warring states of northern China built defensive walls round their territories. In 221 BC, the Prince of Qin, one of the states, annexed six other states and called himself China’s First Emperor. Qin Shi Huang. He destroyed all but the northern walls, and linked them to protect his territory from the Huns and other nomadic northern tribes.
In the following centuries, other rulers rebuilt and extended the wall, particularly those of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644).
Picture Credit : Google
