Going to
enjoy your holidays on some exotic spot? Gaining some acquaintance about the
place makes you better than the rest. Especially, if the place none other than
The Great Wall of China. Visiting a tourist spot without any perception of its
specialties is like a person going to a bank without knowing its purpose.
Whether you are just a tourist or a hiker or cyclist, distinguishing the
following facts is going to set you apart from your friends and other travel
enthusiasts.
1.
Not
what you think: The Great Wall of China does NOT belong to the
seven wonders of the ancient world. This fact is bound to make your pals
on the Great Wall tour jump in surprise. It is one of the
seven wonders of the medieval world.
2.
War-torn:
The Wall has seen more battles than any other fortification in the world. You
will notice bullet marks during your Great Wall tour by https://www.trekclub.org/.
These happened during the Sino-Japanese War in 1938.
3.
Not
just a Wall, an animal too: The entire Wall spreads across a
massive area of 21,196.18 km or 13,170.70 miles. It is a representation of the
mythological being all know as the Dragon. According to Chinese belief, this
Dragon bequeaths life during spring.
4.
Use
of a unique bolstering agent: The wall is made of bricks, stones,
rammed earth and rocks. The mortar used as a binding agent is rice flour. Yes,
processed rice flour holds the entirety of the wall together.
5.
Popularity
began late: This construction was never even acknowledged as
a Chinese work of art. It was only after the 14th century when more westerners
started to know about this structure. After United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO declared it as a world heritage
site, it gained further popularity.
6.
A
humongous tombstone: The 1 million people who built the
Wall are now resting underneath it. Almost every one of the workers died during
its construction and got buried there. Legends say that a woman’s husband died
during the installation. The woman’s bitter lament led to the crashing of a
portion of the wall revealing the husband’s bones.
7.
Unending
construction time: The entire construction continued
for almost 2,000 years. The whole Wall is not just one building. Different
Chinese dynasties built different portions during the reign of every Chinese
Emperor. The creation started in the 8th century BC and went on till 1644.
8.
Threatened
of extinction: The Wall is facing a threat from erosion. A
section from the North-western portion of the Wall is rapidly deteriorating and
will probably vanish in the next 20 years.
9. Theft:
Many bricks were taken for private purposes from 1966 to 1976. This incident
further damaged the structure of The Wall.
10. A hoax: Construction
of roads will replace The Great Wall. This fake news came up in a Western
newspaper in the year 1899.
Epilogue
One of the
most significant monuments of the world, The Great Wall of China has thousands
of facts. These are just ten. This article is just a surface scratch. While
trying to go deeper, even you may stumble upon some new detail.
