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Travel the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is not just an ordinary travel icon; besides the role it plays in China’s tourism, it has led to the development of China’s long history and culture. People are curious to understand the facts of how the great wall came about; however, it is not until one visits this majestic structure, you can truly understand the significance of the great wall to China and the rest of the world.
The origin of story of the great wall is unknown, but history shows that the construction of the wall began in the early seventh century B.C and was made out of stone, wood, grass and earth. This was when the earliest regional kingdom was built for the defensive military needs. The purpose was to protect the farming lands from the invasion of the tribes from the north and to hold the natives from vacating the lands. Used as a military demarcation, there were various watchtowers which stood at varying distances from each other; these towers substituted the time warning system used during the ancient times. The fire and smoke signaled the day and night time respectively. Many of these watch towers still remain in their original position where they stood while some have been destroyed during the revolution.
Over the years, parts of the great wall was destroyed and rebuilt and more sections were added. Due to this construction, it stretched so wide from the east to the west bordering almost the entire country. At present, they say it measures about 7300km from one end to the other.
There are different sections to travel the wall, all of which have different attractions and features. The sections also represent the roles played during the construction of the great wall. For adventure lovers, it would be a challenging task to travel the entire length of the wall. The Great Wall Marathon and Half Marathon is an annual marathon race which takes place every year in China. For runners and adventures, this marathon is one of the experiences of a lifetime as they run through 7km of the incredible wall passing through beautiful countryside villages and mountain trails.
For tourists on short stays in China, climbing the great wall from almost any part of northern china is possible, although, many travelers prefer to climb the wall from Beijing because the sections of this part of the wall are very good for sightseeing and have great features. Besides that, it affords them the opportunity to see other historical attractions like the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Tiananmen Square etc.
The most popular sections to visit and climb the great wall in Beijing are the Badaling, Simatai, and Mutianyu sections.
Badaling section of the great wall is located 70 km away from the center of Beijing and is the most popular section to climb the wall in Beijing. It was the first part of the wall to be opened to tourists. History has it that Badaling section was built to protect the Juyongguan Pass, along which the Guan’gou gorge and several interesting sites of interest are located. This section of the Great Wall was made by huge bar stones and paved with square bricks making the wall pavement smoothly ordered. The Badaling section became a national cultural relic and a world heritage listing by United Nations in 1987.
Simatai section in Beijing is a very remote and quiet section on the great wall. The ruins and untouched parts of this section is what helped Simatai section earn its reputation of being the unique section of the wall. There are features retained from over the years which were untouched and looks like what it used to be like over 500 years ago. This section of the wall has about twelve watch towers at different intervals and takes about 2hours to reach the twelfth tower. Simatai section is great for adventure hikers and trekkers.
The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is located on Huairou County northeast of Beijing. This section of the wall is known for its unique quality of construction and features compared to other sections of the wall. It is known as the main essence of the great wall because of the style which it was built.
In Summary, traveling the great wall is one of the greatest experiences of a lifetime and it is difficult to understand its history until it is visited. It is assumed to be one of the top 100 things to do in this lifetime.
For more information about China Travel, China Tour Vacations, visit Passport to China.
About the Author
Lola writes about travel and adventure tours for China Tour & China Travels a foreign inbound tour operator in China.
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