Gansu Great wall
The well-preserved sections of the Great Wall in Beijing are China's most famous tourist site. These sections are mainly the remains from the Ming Dynasty, an era of tremendous construction. The wall runs across the northern part of Beijing for over six hundred kilometers with various passes and towers. The main sections includeBadaling, Simatai, Jinshanling, Mutianyu, Gubeikou, Huanghuacheng and Jiankou. You really have to see this fantastic, amazing and breath-taking scenery once in your life. But remember to ask yourself what kind of scenery you want to see before you pack, because the scenery varies depending on which section you visit.
 Jiayuguan Great Wall |
 Dunhuang Great Wall |
Most people think of high and substantial walls, castles or passes built on the steep ridges when talking about the Great Wall. However, due to the terrain and the various historical periods, the sections of the Wall in Gansu are very different from the one in Hebei Province. For example, the western sections of the Qin Wall which went along the Yellow River were not solid walls. Because the Yellow River served as a natural barrier, no wall or moat was necessary, instead forty-four towns were built at key points to prevent the Huns from passing the river. The garrison towns and the river combined together functioned as a defensive barrier in that region.
 Yumenguan Great Wall |
 Yangguan Great Wall |
In the western part of Gansu, the terrain features deserts and moats formed the main fortification with beacon towers built along it at intervals. Most remnants of the Han Wall found in Dunhuang, Yumenguan and Yangguan are fine examples.
The present state of the Gansu Great Wall is the result of using compacted earth; hundreds of years have not been kind to this ancient section. One third of the section is basically complete, one third is broken and the rest is disappearing. The wall in Gansu is not an exception. It is suffering from both natural disasters and human intervention. The natural factors include wind erosion, floods, heavy rains and earthquake. Human activities are even more destructive. Ever ready to innovate and use their surroundings, local people have used parts of the wall in order to build railways, highroads and houses. In Gansu, the valuable wall relic built during Warring States is only half of the original 373 miles. The Great Wall of Han Dynasty is only left 621 miles compared to the original 1,367 miles and 621 miles of the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty can be seen from the original 870 miles.
Gansu Great Wall List |
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|---|---|
| Dunhuang Great Wall of Han Dynasty | Jiayuguan Great Wall |
| Juyan Fortress of Great Wall | Overhanging Great Wall |
| Shandan Great Wall | Yangguan Great Wall |
| Yumenguan Great Wall | |
