The Great Walls of China

The Great Walls of China is one of the most popular monuments in the whole globe and it is the only construction that can be seen from outer space.

Pursuant to the phrase said by Mao Zedong, the former Chinese leader, "You are not a real man if you have not climbed the Great Wall of China", no tourist coming for a vacation in China can miss exploring the Great Walls of China.  The Great Walls of China is considered to be one of the most popular and famous monuments all over the world with more than 10 million tourists visiting the walls every year as part of their travel packages to China.

Travelers visit the Great Walls of China to climb up the walls to view the beauty of the green fields and admire the greatness and skillfulness of the ancient Chinese people who were able to erect such a huge magnificent structure.

The Great Walls of China is located in the Northern section of the country. The construction work of this huge structure has started more than 2000 years ago in the era of the warring kingdoms.

The Great Walls of china starts from the Jiayu Pass at the Gansu Province in the West and it ends at the pass of Shenanigan in the East passing through huge high mountains as if the walls was a monstrous dragon laying down on the lands of China.

The story of the construction of the Great Walls of China has begun when the Zhou Dynasty, who ruled over the Northern section of China from 1046 until 256 BC lasting longer than any other Chinese dynasties in history, started building walls to protect their kingdom against the attacks of the tribes and the enemies coming from outside the Chinese borders.

After some time, many other dynasties like the Shaw and the Chen were impressed with the idea of having walls to protect their lands and belongings and they started constructed their own walls. When Qin Shi Huang, the first ruler of unified China, and the first king of the Chen dynasty came in power, he was able to link all the walls built by many several dynasties and tribes all together until the Great Walls of China was established the way they are.  Afterwards, more than 20 kingdoms and dynasties have contributed to the construction and the restoration of the walls.

The total length of the Great Walls of China, erected by all the dynasties, is estimated to be around 50 thousand kilometers. The Chinese assert that the if bricks used to erect the Great Walls of China were used in building a wall that is 5 meters high and one meter wide, it could encircle the whole world more than once.

Unfortunately only one third of the original Great Walls of China is still present as one third of the walls have turned into ruins and the one third has totally disappeared.

The finest parts of the Great Walls of China that are well preserved and open for tourists coming from all over the world for a holiday in China are the sections located in the Badaling and Motain Yo.

The most notable section of the walls, being visited by thousands of travelers coming for a tour in China,  is the section situated Badaling, that is located two hours away from Peking, the Chinese capital. Statistics have stated that more than 130 million tourists have visited Badaling since it was officially opened in 1954.

The number of guests visiting this section of the walls, as part of their China tour, is increasing everyday especially after the UNESCO has added the Great Walls of China to the international heritage list in 1987.

The sections of the Great Walls of China located in the Badaling consist of a strait, the walls of the city, the platform of the city, and the monitoring tower that was constructed at the edge of the mountains.

One of the most remarkable activities to be done when guests travel to China is that they should go to climb the rectangular rocks that range from 6 to 8 meters high that combines the stairs of the Walls. These stairs are magnificent for taking photographs and enjoying memorable moments.  Many Chinese will also request taking photos with the tourists visiting their lands as group tours to China. This is because the Chinese are very proud of their heritage and ancient achievements.

A popular thing to do while visiting the Great Walls of China is to dress in the traditional outfits and take a photo, with the Walls in the background, as if theses tourists belong to the royal family who were protecting the Walls against the tribal attacks in ancient times.

While climbing up the Great Walls of China to reach the platform of the city, looking like a small fortress, the guest will view the balconies of the Walls on its outer layer with slots for monitoring and other slots for shooting to fire canons and guns.

The platform of the city consists of two floors; the upper floor was constructed fro defending the walls with many fire and monitoring slots while the lower floor was where the soldiers used to live and store crops, tools, and military equipments.

When tourists who travel to China visit the Great Walls, they will notice the several strategic points located in the walls. There are many forts and monitoring and warning towers that were used to spread news, issuing orders and guidance for the soldiers using the smoke language.

Around one million and 500 thousand soldiers and civilians have participated in the erection of the walls. The parts constructed in desert areas were built out of willows. This is because of the rareness of the bricks and rocks in these regions0.

During the ruling period of the Ming Dynasty, who governed the country from 1368 to 1644, the walls were built out of rocks and stones and sometimes with a mixture of rocks and bricks.

One of the most significant features of the Great Walls of China is the water canal constructed at the top of the walls to discharge the rains automatically away from the walls to preserve them.  The Great Walls of China offers the guests coming for custom tours in China with a chance to view the marvelous natural scenery and enjoy mediating at this fabulous historical site. Many affordable tours to China can be organized to include a visit to the Great Walls.

There are some sections of the Great Walls of China that the tourists who come for vacations in China know very little about. This includes the section located in Huang Cheng, located 60 kilometers to the West of Peking.  Although this section of the Great Walls of China is less famous that many other sections, it includes the most original parts of the walls, The stones and bricks in this section of the wall were installed using rice soup which made it Solid and impregnable.  Unfortunately many parts of the walls located in this area were ruined with time but many of its balconies, passageways, and towers are still intact in many sections.

The guests visiting the Great Walls as part of their China package discover that the greatness of any people must be reflected in their monuments. The Great Walls of China were not only constructed with the objective to defend the country, but also to become one of the major touristic attractions in the world pouring a huge amount of money in the Chinese national income.