Great Wall, China

The Great Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. More than 10,000,000 people visit the Great Wall every year! Over time the effects of wind and the exposure to the elements has deteriorated the Wall. But also new sections have been discovered through the years.

The Great Wall is actually much longer than Halliburton knew; total length is about 5500 miles! The portion he visited may have been a shorter, 1900 mile long section. As large as the structure is, it still cannot be seen from the moon as Halliburton suggests.

The last Emperor of Manchu was Henry Puyi and his Empress, the Manchu Princess, was Wanrong.

Extra: Watch a short video of the history, and present-day standing, of the Great Wall (TED-Ed: 4:29) 

See all the sections of the Great Wall that were erected during the different reigns through time.

See beautiful drone footage of the Wall and surrounding areas (5:40).

 

In places the slope of the mountainside up which the Wall climbs is so steep that the road on the Wall-top becomes a stepladder. This section is in the Juyongguan area. (CC BY 4.0 ©2018 Peter K Burian)
The Great Wall at Badaling. The wall was first built 200 years before the birth of Christ. It has been enlarged and strengthened several times since. (CC BY 2.0 ©2012 Keith Roper)

 

Nothing on earth, created by the hand of man, even remotely approaches the Great Wall of China in sheer size, in amount of masonry piled up, in amount of labor required. Twenty to forty feet high, fifteen feet thick, and 1900 miles long, it contains enough material to build thirty Great Pyramids. Starting at the sea, it twists and writhes its way into the deserts of western China—up hill and down dale. History tells us that every third man in China was forced to work on the Wall. So many laborers died that the Wall became known as the longest cemetery in the world. This image shows the Great Wall during tourist season. (CC BY-SA 4.0 ©2016 Ctny)

 

The Great Wall ripples through valleys, swoops up the mountainsides. It races along the topmost mountain rum. It dodges and dips and disappears, to reappear at the summit of the next wave of peaks. Legends say that a winged horse chose the route. The horse must have been winged, for no ordinary horse could climb some fo the slopes the Wall climbs. (©2015 carrieisme)

 

Wanrong and Puyi, years after Halliburton watched the procession that would take the “child Empress” to the “Boy Emperor.” Their marriage lasted for 24 years. (public domain)