Booked a private tour to the Great Wall today. We picked the furthest point at Sima tai, as it is less touristed. A 3 hour drive there in a private car, with a monosyllabic guide resenting working on Sunday. The wall was rugged and spectacular – though I can’t decide which I liked best, the wall or the little cable car which takes you half way up the mountain to reach it. We were tailed by local farmers the whole way who hoped to sell us souvenirs. Felt guilty for not buying anything, as they have limited means of making money.
Can anyone tell me how the long the wall is and whether you really can see it from the moon, as our guide didn’t seem to know!
Hi Amanda,
In answer to your questions, sadly it’s only a myth that you can see the Great Wall from the moon. I was very dissapointed when I found that out! But alas it’s not to be.
With regards how long the wall is, according to Wikipedia;
“The Great Wall is the world’s longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. At its peak the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.”
Of course I knew ALL of that info myself anyway, but it was simply easier to quote Wikipedia! (cough..)
xx
p.s. Lovely photos by the way. The cable car ride looks terrifying!