Album: By Country | By Date China | July 2001 < Prev Image | The Great Wall | Next Image >
Travelogue: By Country | By Date China | July 2001  

 

The beginning of our hike. To the left is a dam for a reservoir. In the old days, the wall had a gate in it here. The Wall is over 4000 miles long, We hike several miles worth. In about 221 BC Shih huang-ti, the first emperor and "Mr. Terra-cotta warrior," unified China. He removed most of the fortifications set up between the previous states and, beginning in about 214 BC, linked others into the "10,000 Li Long Wall" (2 li equal approximately 0.6 mile [1 km]). After Shih huang-ti's death, the Ch'in dynasty went with him, and the wall was left largely ungarrisoned and fell into disrepair.

© Monica & Mark Hughes 2000-02