The Great Wall: A Trip Back in Time to the Dawn of China

Brooding, enigmatic, and steeped in history, the Great Wall ranks with, or even ahead of, the Egyptian pyramids as one of the foremost wonders of the world. No wonder visitors consider it a "must see" during a trip to the People's Republic of China. The best place to see the fortification is at Badaling, just northwest of the Chinese capital. It's one of the few sections still relatively intact, largely the result of a massive restoration effort launched by the Central Government in 1949. From the ramparts at Badaling, looking east or west for as far as the eye can see, you can begin to get some idea of the enormous size and scope of the structure. The average height is 215 feet, while at its widest the wall is more than 21 feet thick. Just so you can picture the height of this thing in your head, most rollercoaster that you have been on could not make it over most sections of this wall; and this thing was built by hand.

Once straddling China's northern frontier for 31,250 miles, time and neglect have reduced the fortification to 3,750 miles. Yet it's still awe inspiring, especially when visitors realize it was virtually raised stone-by-stone by an ancient people without the help of modern technology and construction equipment. Once again, to put the size of this thing in perspective; Interstate 95 is less than 2000 miles long. This means that the remaining section of the Great Wall is still almost twice as long as I-95. Building of the wall began during the Era of the Warring States (403 BC), almost at the same time that Greece was spawning a Cradle of Western Civilization. At the start, it was a host of scattered and highly vulnerable segments. The first Qin emperor (221 BC) connected these sections. But after the Qins, except for several isolated and haphazard attempts to strengthen the rampart, it was all downhill.

It's an irony of history, moreover, that despite the Great Wall's massive dimensions, it never really served its prime purpose - preventing invaders from penetrating to the heart of the Imperial Empire. The trip from Peking to Badaling takes about two hours by excursion bus, car or special train. But historically, it's far, far longer than that a journey back through time from the bustling, businesslike, forward looking capital of the "New China" to the very dawn of the old one.

Sources:

Herzberg, Larry and Qin China Survival Guide: How to Avoid Travel Troubles and Mortifying Mishaps 2008

Lovell, Julia The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC - AD 2000 2007