• It is possible to arrive at the famous scenic spot, Great Wall itself easily because the expressway guides there, it takes one hour travel, and there is a rope way in addition. However, Great Wall's ascending and descending is also serious because it is in the top of the mountain, and exists in the top where it is very steep. Though just walking on the sharp slope is hard, staggering fact is for the stone of 500kg to be brought up. I am just surprised at the size of the scale. There are a lot of tourists at the famous Badaling Fortification because transport is convenient. Many people were walking on the wall.

• Great Wall
  As an emblem of Chinese civilization, a cultural phenomenon of world caliber, and another UNESCO = endorsed world cultural heritage site, the 6350km Great Wall was in China's feudal years a mammoth defense bulwark that serpentines its way across mountains and valleys in the northern part of the country. The Great Wall came under construction in the 7th century BC. But it was Qinshihuang, the founding emperor of the Qin, who brought it to completion. Repeated extensions were done in later dynasties until the Ming. The 600-year-old Badaling Fortification in Yanqing county in northwest Beijing is representative of Ming sections of the Great Wall. The Great Wall looks equally breathtaking at such sections as Jinshanling, Mutianyu and Simatai. Source : China Travel Bureau
  Distance of 6,000 km is same as that from Tokyo to Delhi in India and it was quite huge. Tokyo to Delhi is 5849km or 3656 miles according to flight milage and it is about 6,000km. We can imagine the distance in the map above.

• NASA images of the Wall from the space satellite
  It is an extra chapter but interesting. Images of Great Wall were recorded from the satellite by NASA. It is said the Wall might be called huge construction that people can see from the space satellite but actually no one can see it with the unassisted eye because it can be recognized only after image processing and that is easily understood by the photographs. NASA explanation follows
  These radar images show two segments of the Great Wall of China in a desert region of north-central China, about 700 km (434 miles) west of Beijing. The wall appears as a thin orange band, running from the top to the bottom of the left image, and from the middle upper-left to the lower-right of the right image. 150 km (93 miles) of the wall appear in these two images. The wall is easily detected from space by radar because its steep, smooth sides provide a prominent surface for reflection of the radar beam. The images were acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Synthetic Aperture Radar onboard the space shuttle Endeavour on April 10, 1994. North is toward the upper right. Each area shown measures 25 km by 75 km (15.5 miles by 45.5 miles).

Get off the rope way and go down to see the Wall.	Climbing up steep slop.	The Wall continues actually with the long path when we look down from the mountain.
Here is the Wall's top.	Lookout at every 800m.	Surroundings are mountains.	Near the top is rapid ascent.
Amazing human construction.	It is so steep to climb just using a handrail unless only standing.		Badaling Fortification is 1000m
The Wall remains just same as 500 years ago.	The wall of 8m high in average continues.	Steep slope without steps looks falling down.	It passes right above the crest.
12,700 China mile = 6300km length.	It is said five horses and ten people can walk laterally, but actually is it possible for horses to run on this rapid ascent?		Loop hole that shoots arrow at opponent.
The Wall sideways follows the loop hole.	The Wall from the other side top.	How stones of 500kg were lifted !	Doorway of home country side.
Rocks can be used as a fortress at the discontinued place.	It also continues to the other side with the length.	The rope way on the other side of the top.	The rope way climbs the rapid ascent.

2005/05/01