As the largest man-made structure in the world, the Great Wall of China is one of the most iconic and popular heritage sites in the world. Over 10 million people visit each year—but not everyone has the opportunity to see the Great Wall first-hand.

Below are photos and videos taken today March 27, 2023, by Dominica News Online reporter Ronda Luke, who is in Beijing, China, courtesy of the China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC).

Here are a few things you should know about the Great Wall of China.

1. The complete length is approximately 20,000 kilometers

The official length of the Great Wall is 21,196.18km, about one and a half times the distance from Los Angeles to Singapore — currently one of the longest flights in the world! Walking the full distance would take you approximately 17 months.

2. It took over 2,000 years to construct The Great Wall as we know it today

It was built over the course of five dynasties. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, took the remnants of ancient fortifications, walls, and earthworks and linked them into a unified wall around 220 BC. Because of climate conditions and human activities, a third of this UNESCO World Heritage site— approximately 2,000km — has already disappeared. Still, many sections of the wall are being restored as we speak.

3. It’s not just a wall — it’s a whole defense structure

The Great Wall is not a single-structured wall. It includes beacon towers, barriers, barracks, garrison stations, and fortresses along the walls. Together, they form an integrated defense system.

“Walk the Great Wall of China” includes a feature on the western starting point of the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty. Tragically, all that remains today is a lonely earthen mound.

4-Constructions of the wall

According to the Travel China Guide, some 20 states and dynasties contributed to the construction of the Great Wall of China over the course of many millennia.

According to History.com, Qin Shi Huang had a labor force of nearly 300,000 soldiers, commoners, and prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of men died while working on the wall, which required them to carry heavy materials on their backs up to the top of the ridgelines.

Much of the work on the oldest sections of the Great Wall was done by hand, though primitive technology — wheel barrows, ropes, basket-and-pulley-systems, and horse or oxen-drawn carts.

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