The Great Wall of China is frequently described the only man-made structure visible from the moon, although common sense suggests that for all its length it isn't big enough. What is indisputable is the awesome majesty of the Great Wall. The most popular section for tourists is at Badaling, 80 kilometers north os Beijing. However, the Mutianyu section is equally impressive. Both can be scaled on foot or by cable car.
The history of the wall is one of China's great sagas. Its construction as a series of originally separate walls began in the 5th century BC and it attained its greatest length as a single wall only during the Ming Dynasty. It was intended by the early emperors of China to serve as a barrier against the marauding nomads of the barbarial North. Although it failed to keep out the Mongols it did establish a border within which the Chinese developed their distinctive civilization.
The wall - in varying states of disrepair - stretches over 3,500 kilometers from the Yellow Sea through the mountains to Jiayuguan Pass in the Gobi deseart. For much of its length it was built of earth and rubble faced with masonry and it is recorded that it took 300,000 men 10 years to complete one section.
Visitiors can reach the Badalign section by a modern prupose built
road. Those on a day's excursion vsvally combine the wall with a visit
to the Ming Tombs. There are altogether 13 tombs scattered around a valley,
complete eith a Spirit Way of stone animals, warriors and mandarins. Only
a few of the tombs have been restored, most notably those of the Yongle
and Wanli emperors.