Sunday, April 13, 2008

Great Wall, Simatai


Great Wall, Simatai
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck
The Great Wall of China is arguably the greatest of all structures reated by humans. At one time the wall stretched some 3600 miles in a generally east to west direction, guarding the southern dynasties from a potential invasion by northerners.

The wall took centuries and millions of men to build, and was guarded by over one million soldiers.

Here, at Simatai, is one of the Great Wall´s most dramatic cliffside exposures. Reconstruction is underway here but slow, leaving much of the original structure to explore. The hike is breathtaking in all directions and magnificent views of the wall are all around. The downside is a hair raising highway experience to get to Simatai, which is about 100 miles from Beijing and thus much farther than the most common viewing area at Badaling.