The Great Wall of China

Jinshanling's Great Wall is in a mountainous area 80 miles northeast of central Beijing. This section of wall connects the Simatai Great Wall section in the east, and Gubeikou Section in the west.

 

The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world. What was a huge military line of defense in the past has now become a unique world heritage site and a symbol of China. With a total length of 13,170 miles (equal to half the length of the Equator) the Great Wall of China is the longest feat of human engineering.

Special features of this section are the 31 watchtowers. According to the different terrain, the watchtowers were built in different shapes: tall or short, rectangular or square, with three to five embrasures. Most watchtowers are one or two floors.

During the 2,500 years from 7th century BC to 19th century AD, more than 20 dynasties and states had undertaken the construction of the walls, section by section, bit by bit. Today’s best-known and best-preserved walls were results from the Ming Dynasty’s massive construction begun around 1381