In late October 2010, Shelly, Melissa and I visited Beijing, Xian, and Shanghi in China. During our stay in Beijing, we toured a small section of the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China is the collective name of a series of fortification systems built across the historical northern borders of China to protect and consolidate territories of Chinese states and empires against various nomadic groups. Construction began as early as the 7th century BC with walls to protect ancient Chinese states. Selective stretches were joined in the 2nd century BC, and the most well-known sections were built between 1368 and 1644.
The Wall served defensive purposes, as well as defining borders, and controlling transportation, trade, immigration and emigration. The entire length of the Wall with all it's branches is about 13,000 miles.
We toured the Badaling Great Wall near Beijing, the most famous stretch of the Wall and the first section to be opened to the public. This section of the wall is built into rolling hills, and I was amazed by the structure and how steep it is (you can get a sense of this from the picture below). I imagined how ancient soldiers, burdened with armor, weapons, and other gear would lumber from point to point, watchtower to watchtower. We walked maybe a quarter to one-half mile of it and I was exhausted. It was a beautiful, sunny and cold day. I imagined myself traipsing the Wall hundreds of years ago, and firing arrows at invaders. It was a magnificent experience.
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