The entire Great Wall made up of branches
 overlapping, trenches and barriers stretches over
 13,000 miles.  (Not continuously, but still massive!)
That’s like travelling from the coast of Oregon
 to the coast of Massachusetts…
   about 4 times.
One of the purposes of the Great Wall was to
protect borders (for example, from the fierce
Mongolians).  Other purposes were to collect
taxes, lookout, and signal troops about various
 enemies.  In this case, the Mongols plundered us
 for about 20 Chinese yuan, or about $3 USD.
We arrived via a ski lift.  The easy way to
climb this particular point – the Mutianyu
section.  There are SO many sections that
are climbed, each one looks different.
Different construction was used
over different periods of time,
including brick, stone, tamped
earth and wood.  Generally
along an East – West pattern.
All sections were not flat!  Some
sections were intentionally made
steep or bumpy so that enemies
would have difficulty storming
the wall.  In ancient times,
as many as 1 million troops
were engaged in defense along
the Great Wall.
Some sections were built as
early as the 8th century B.C.
 – 14th century A.D.  The section
we were in was very sturdy, but
many places have been eroded
by sandstorms.  Mud sections of
the Wall have been destroyed by
heavy rains.  In the 70’s, Mao
Tse Tung ordered parts of the
 Wall torn down to use bricks
 for communal building.

           

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