The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China extends 21,196 km long across the northern border of China protecting it from invasions from Mongolia. It winds up and down across grasslands, deserts, mountains, plateaus and rivers. It is the largest construction project ever completed. The Great Wall and its construction started 2000 years ago by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Emperor of China and continued by the Ming Dynasty over several hundreds of years. It is visible from the Earth’s orbit!
The Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. With a history of more than 2,000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.
Of all the sections of the Great Wall, Badaling is the most famous and largest one. It receives the most visitors, with more foreign guests. Over 400 world leaders have visited Badaling This is by far the most representative and probably most famous. It is the grandest and most splendid section of all, closest to Beijing city proper, convenient to access and easier to climb, thus the most visited.
Mutianyu is the second most popular site and is hailed for hiking. The surrounding natural scenery is breath-taking. Woods cover over ninety-six percent of the total scenic area. Flowers bloom all over the mountains in spring. Grasses dress the hillside green in summer. Trees are laden with sweet fruit in autumn, and especially in October, leaves turn red or yellow, touching the mountain tops with gold. In winter, the wall is covered by snow, making it more magnificent. It is one of the best-preserved and best-known sections. Watchtowers are distributed along the Great Wall. Some of the watchtowers are seldom seen along other sections.
Jinshanling Great Wall is located in Luanping County, Chengde, Hebei Province, 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Beijing. It used to be a sound defensive system including barrier walls, battlement walls, watchtowers, gun emplacements, shooting holes, horse blocking walls, and branch cities. Today, it is renowned as the “Paradise of Photographers” and a popular tourist destination because of its magnificent appearance and intoxicating scenery.
If you fancy an adventure, Simatai is a good choice. It has had less renovation and maintains the original look of the wall. As well as its ruins, it also has an intact section, so Simatai is considered by many tourists from home and abroad as the best section of the Great Wall. It was ranked first in the list of the ‘World’s Top 25 Scenic Spots’ by the Times newspaper in 2012. A night tour can be undertaken in this section, offering you a different viewing experience. A cable car is available allowing visitors to save energy, making it possible for everyone to ascend it, even seniors and little kids. Mandarin Duck Lake lies at the foot of the wall, with a water town by the lake. Travelers can experience at the same time the beauty of the water town as well as the grand Great Wall.