This is an introduction to a 3 part photo essay that I will be publishing about the Great Wall of China titled : The East, The West and the Middle. The history of the Great Wall of China has always fascinated me and given me the understanding about the true achievements of mankind; Strength, perseverance, defence and most of all, dedication.
Introduction
The Great Wall of China: The East, the West and the Middle
China’s culture and history has always intrigued me. My great grandfather is from China and my ancestors immigrated to South America back in the 19th century. When the opportunity came for me to participate in a Charity trek covering 60 kilometres along the Great Wall of China for 5 days, I signed up.
The trek started in Beijing, the most popular section for tourists. It has been well looked after, restored and in some sections includes a cable car to climb to the highest points. Stretching over thousands of kilometres, there were plenty of unique sections of the wall to explore. I was excited at the fact that the charity trek would take us to the less visited areas and parts where the wall was crumbled, destroyed and left in its original state.
Rather than being one long continuous wall, the Great Wall of China is made up of several different sections (See photo above). These sections were built by different dynasties over a long period of time from stone, mud and other materials. The Great Wall is the longest structure ever built by humans and stretches over 6000Km long. If you measured all of the sections of wall together it would total over 22000KM long. The task to build the wall over many years and dynasties took approximently 400000 lives with many bodies buried within the wall itself, it was often called the longest cemetery on earth.
Some History…
The Great Wall was built 2,221 years ago under the instruction of the Qin Shi Hunagdi, the first emperor of China (221 BC- 206BC). After taking control and uniting China from seven Warring States, emperor Qin connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated around 700BC. They positioned an army across the wall to protect the country against the invading nomadic tribes from the north of China.
Over the years and after the reign of Qin, following dynasties continued to build, expand and improve the wall. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), huge improvements were made to the wall. To add further protection, the wall was built from stone and in some places given double or triple walls to confuse the enemy. Large fortifications, watchtowers and passes were built in key locations. These passes controlled entries and exits into the areas and are secured by gates.
Construction on the Great Wall was an ongoing and successful effort under the Ming Dynasty until the 17th century when China could no longer resist the invaders from Manchuria who successfully conquered China. This takeover, which brought down the Ming Dynasty and gave rise to the Qing Dynasty, stopped the Great Wall’s development, which lasted more than 2,000 years.
Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the Great Wall was a symbol of both physical and psychological strength to the rest of the world and a representation of the barrier maintained by the Chinese state to repel foreign influences and exert control over its citizens.
Coming soon…
Over the next few weeks I will be publishing a photo essay highlighting my experiences and learnings from visiting the Great Wall of China. I will start with my 60 kilometre trek around the Beijing area and then continue to when I travelled alone to its most Western pass at Jiayuguan and to the East section of the wall where it meets the sea in Shanhaiguan.
