Asian Travel to the Great Wall of China

One of the most famous tourist attractions for Asian travel is The Great Wall of China. The majestic Great Wall was built with wisdom, dedication, blood, sweat and tears. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall. The construction of the Great wall had never ceased for nearly all the Chinese fuadal dynasties. The smaller and less powerful dynasties of North Wei, North Qi, East Wei and North Zhou all spent a lot on the Great Wall. Few cultures today have lasting landmarks of their rich cultural heritage and powerful past, and even fewer have a landmark so large. 2000 years ago, the Chinese built a functional landmark that still stands today in all of its splendor.







The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during the rule of successive dynasty's. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.




The Great Wall stretches over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia , but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men.

The Great Wall is not just a wall. Other defensive works such as forts, passes and beacon towers were built along the Wall to house auxiliary soldiers, store grain and weapons, and transmit military information. As a product of the clashes between agricultural and nomadic economies, the Great Wall provided protection to the economic development and Asian cultural progress, safeguarded the trading routes such as the Silk Road, and secured transmission of information and transportation.






While some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even reconstructed, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair. Those parts might serve as a village playground or a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads. Sections of the Wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism.
Parts have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction. No comprehensive survey of the wall has been carried out, so it is not possible to say how much of it survives, especially in remote areas. Intact or repaired portions of the Wall near developed tourist areas are often frequented by sellers of tourist kitsch.






Through Western contact with China from the 17th through 20th centuries, the legend of the Great Wall of China grew along with tourism to the wall. Restoration and rebuilding took place in the 20th century and in 1987 the Great Wall of China was made a World Heritage Site. Today, a portion of the Great Wall of China about 50 miles (80 km) from Beijing receives thousands of tourists each day from USA, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Australia.









Erosion from sandstorms is a problem to this Great wall such as more than 60 kilometres (37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years. In places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than five meters (16.4 ft) to less than two meters. The square lookout towers that characterize the most famous images of the wall have disappeared completely. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud, rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion.