The Awesome Great Wall

We walked the Great Wall of China Sunday and it was awesome.  We traveled, by taxi, about an hour and a half north of Beijing to Mutianyu, where we saw the wall high atop a mountain.  Everyone agreed it was an unforgettable experience.  Several students took cable cars up the side of the mountain to get to the wall and a few walked up to reach the Great Wall.  Most of the students walked the length of the restored section of the Wall at Mutianyu, where you could see for miles, on a warm May day.  Walking along the stone Wall, gazing at the countryside below and talking to other visitors from around the world, was impressive.
The experience of being on the wall is perhaps reflected by the ancient history of the structure.  Some of the oldest sections of the 1,500 mile long Great Wall were built in 200 or 300 BC.  It was during the short Qin Dynasty that the emperor wanted a defensive wall to protect China from Mongolia and Manchuria.  Much of the Wall we see today was built during the Ming Dynasty in the 14th and 16th centuries…to protect China from raids by Mongol or Turkic tribes.  Not all of the Wall is intact. 
The Great Wall of China is often considered to be among the Seven Wonders of the World.  The internet refutes myths that the Wall can be seen from space.  Even some astronauts on recent space shuttle missions say the Wall is not completely visible from just a few hundred miles above Earth.

Four members of a UIUC journalism class prepare to walk the Wall. L-R: Sam Unger, Ted Land, Liz Reising, John Paul