The Great Wall of China – a wonder in the ancient world, and today.
Watch Tower on the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China has its origins in the Spring and Autumn Periods, during the 3rd century BC. As the kingdoms of Zhao, Qin and Yan fought, each built defensive fortifications to keep the others’ armies at bay. The walls belonging to different states reached a length of 4,971 km (3,107 miles).
The wall was expanded and upgraded for centuries, reaching a total length of 7,360 kilometers (4,600 miles), stretching east to west across most of north China.
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- History of the Great Wall of China
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A team of Chinese confectioners has recreated the Great Wall of China in chocolate. The 10 meter sugary replica was create to help a Chinese market their chocolate.
The chocolate Great Wall debuted at a trade show earlier this year. Recreating China’s famous landmark in Chocolate was not an easy feat, said the chocolate engineer that undertook the job. Each brick had to be placed, one by one, with a lower and upper level being built.
Chocolatier Wang Qilu said they built an exact duplicate, including the crumbling sections at the wall ends. His team had to ensure the wall did not melt.
The chocolate Great Wall was built from dark chocolate blocks, with white chocolate holding the blocks together. This sweet Great Wall was a popular attractions at the World Chocolate Wonderland exhibition and trade show in January 2010.
More than 80 tones of chocolate were used to build the wall, and small army of the China’s famous Terracotta Warrior, in chocolate, standing post on a field of shaved chocolate.
Tina Zheng, manager of the trade show, said she hoped the displays would give boost chocolate awareness and sales in China. Chocolate is relatively new to China, she said, it doesn’t have the same history as it does in the west.
Photo from: Metro
US President Barack Obama on the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is always at the top of the list of attractions that VIP visit on trips to China.
Barack Obama, US President visited the Great Wall on his visit to China in November 2009. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also visited the Chinese Wall last year.
Since international relations with China started to thaw in the 1970, and through the reform and opening changes in the 1980s, maybe politician and VIP have visited the Great wall of China.
Richard Nixon visited the Great Wall in 1972. Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau visited the Wall in 1973. British PM Margaret Thatcher visited in 1977.
The list of political VIPs on the Great Wall is long, some are:
- Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov, President of the USSR Politburo in the 1950s.
- Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo of Japan visited in 1981.
- King Moshoehoe Ⅱ of the Lesotho in 1985.
- Chairman U San Yu of Burma in 1984.
A visit to the Great Wall is not only a chance to see history, but also a chance to walk where great men have walked.
The famous section of the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu has received a facelift to 502 meters of the landmark. Work on the section has been ongoing since July 2008. Officials expect the new section to open to the public at the end of 2010.
More than 1,100 donkeys and mules ferried an estimated 20 tonnes of lime and wood up a ridge of heights from 640 to 1094 meters to the project site. More than 1,800 craftsmen worked on the project that used 60 tons of stone to renovate the failing parts of the Great Wall The new section of the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu has five beacon towers.
The famous saying is: He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man. Now more than 1,100 donkeys and mules have become “true men.”
Sanctioned by the Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage, a further 1,900 meters of failing Great Wall will be renovated. When finished, the Mutianyu Great Wall will be 5,400 meters long, the longest Wall in China.
Source: Global Times
Government officials in Hong Kong are hoping their bid for UNESCO World Heritage status will place a new park on the same level as the Great Wall of China.
The new 49-square-kilometer geo park, the 183rd in China, shows off the world’s largest collection of hexagonal rock columns. The columns were formed by volcanoes more than 140 million years ago. The park also offers view of Hong Kong’s amazing landscapes and seascapes.
Hong Kong tourism officials hope that receiving UNESCO World Heritage designation will assist as they promote the park to international visitors.
There are more than 800 UNESCO heritage sites across the globe. These locations are preserved with heritage in mind. Some UNESCO sites are the Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef, the Pyramids of Egypt, and Stonehenge in England.
