The Great Wall

The Great Wall The Great Wall is the longest building in the world. It begins from Shanhai Guan and ends at Jiayu Guan, covering more than 6,000km (12,000 li). In China the Great Wall is called “Wanli Changcheng”. The Great wall was built to prevent the northern nomadic tribes from getting into the Central Plains. The completion of the Great Wall took a long time. Its first section was built in the 7th century BC. After more than 2,000 years of rebuilding and connecting of different sections thus came the present Great Wall. The best-preserved section of the Great Wall is at Badaling, which is also the best place to appreciate the greatness of the Wall. The Great wall is made up of three parts, the passes, the wall and the watchtowers. The passes were places where troops were stationed. The sites of the passes were usually of strategic importance. There is a Chinese saying: ”If one man guards the pass, 10,000 unable to get through. ” which shows the importance of the pass. The wall is the main part. During the ancient war time, there were soldiers on the wall. On its side, there were peep-holes and apertures for archers on the top. There is a watch tower every several kilometers used to pass military information. As a historical site, the Great Wall symbolizes for Chinese people courage, strength and strong will. So, there is a Chinese saying: ”He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man.” In 1987, the Great Wall was listed on the World Heritage List.