The Great Wall

THE Great Wall is one of the greatest wonders of the world. Like a gigantic dragon， it winds up and down across deserts， grasslands， mountains and plateaus， stretching approximately 21，196 km from east to west of China.

In around 220 B.C.， under Emperor Qin Shihuang， sections of earlier fortifications were joined together to form a united defense system against invasions from the north. Construction continued up to the Ming Dynasty （1368–1644）， when the Great Wall became the worlds largest military structure.

The Great Wall was continuously built from the third century B.C. to the 17th century on the northern border of the country as the great military defense project of successive Chinese empires. It begins in the east at Shanhaiguan in Hebei Province and ends at Jiayuguan in Gansu Province to the west. Its main body consists of walls， horse tracks， watch towers and shelters on the wall， and includes fortresses and passes along the wall.

The Great Wall reflects collisions and exchanges between agricultural civilizations and nomadic civilizations in ancient China. It provides significant physical evidence of the far-sighted political strategic thinking and military and national defense forces of central empires in ancient China. It is an outstanding example of the superb military architecture， technology and art of ancient China. It embodies unparalleled significance as the national symbol for safeguarding the security of the country and its people.