The Great Wall of China

If you ever head to China, one of the sights you might stop to see is the Great Wall. The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It runs along the northern historical border of China.

Most people think the Great Wall of China is one giant wall. It is not. It is actually a series of walls. They were built to help stop nomads from attacking the country. Later the walls were joined together. This helped make them stronger. It also helped make them last longer. The connected walls also made it easier for people to travel from the eastern to western side of China.

Today, the Great Wall of China stretches 3915 miles (6300 kilometers). However, the wall twists and turns. With all of the individual sections it is around 13670 miles (22000 kilometers) long. At its widest point, the wall is 30 feet (9 meters) wide. At its highest point it is 26 feet (8 meters) high. It has become one of the Seven Wonders of the World because it is the longest structure ever built by humans. This is especially impressive because many portions of the wall were built over 2000 years ago!

Of course, since it is so old, parts of the wall have started to break apart. One part of the wall that is almost non-existent today was built in the state of Qin. It was built in 200-206 B.C. Because it is broken, the wall isn’t so good for travel. However, it is still good for tourists. Near cities like Beijing, the government has worked to restore the wall. This has helped make the wall safe for visitors. The most visited section of the wall is located in Badaling. Over 63 million people a year visit that section of the wall alone.