THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA - 4
The Great Wall and the Manchu conquest of China

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

No structure of brick and mortar could endure the severe frosts and changing seasons of that region for two thousand years. The ancient wall is in ruins. The parts that are well preserved are not more than four or five hundred years old. These have been twice rebuilt. In the seventh century 1,800,000 men were ordered to rebuild the portion extending from the Nankow Pass, northwest of Peking, to Tatung-foo in Shansi. About the same time 200,000 men renewed another portion between Yülin and Shan Hai Kuan. That portion most frequently visited by travelers, which crosses the Nankow Pass, is an offshoot from the old wall, known as the inner wall, and was first built about twelve hundred years ago; but the wall now existing there dates from the time of the Mings, hence it is only four hundred years old. This is the wall represented in the illustrations, which are from photographs taken at the Pataling or Chatow gate. This important gate is two thousand feet above the sea-level, at the head of the Nankow Pass, forty miles from Peking. The line of demarcation between the granite masonry and the brick is clearly shown in the view of the outer gateway. Access to the top of the wall is by means of broad, inclined planes running up from the ground on the Chinese side; also by wide stairways within the wall itself leading up from openings in the side. In the view of the gate one of these inclined planes is shown, and in the general view of the wall the opening to one of the stairways is to be seen just beyond the second tower. Through the arch of the gate we have the first glimpse of the barren wastes of Mongolia. The gate dates from the fifteenth century. Read on The Great Wall of China... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Romyn Hitchcock The Great Wall - UNESCO World Heritage Centre Forgotten Wonders: The Great Wall of China Great Wall of China Great Wall of China - Wikipedia The Great Wall @ National Geographic Magazine China-Wall Great Wall China Pictures Great Wall of China on Encyclopedia.com Great Wall, China Great Wall of China