
Great Wall of China, Mutianyu, China

by Neale And Judith Clark
Title
Great Wall of China, Mutianyu, China
Artist
Neale And Judith Clark
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Great Wall of China, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mutianyu, Beijing District, China, Asia
The Great Wall of China is the collective name of a series of fortification systems generally built across the historical northern borders of China to protect and consolidate territories of Chinese states and empires against various nomadic groups of the steppe and their polities. Several walls were being built from as early as the 7th century BC by ancient Chinese states; selective stretches were later joined together by Qin Shi Huang (220–206 BC), the first emperor of China. Little of the Qin wall remains. Later on, many successive dynasties have built and maintained multiple stretches of border walls. The most well-known sections of the wall were built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Apart from defense, other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watchtowers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor.
Mutianyu is a section of the Great Wall of China located in Huairou District within the city limits of Beijing 70 kilometers (43 mi) northeast of the center of the city. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is connected with Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi in the east. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs
First built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi, the Mutianyu section is older than the Badaling section of the Great Wall. During the Ming dynasty, under the supervision of Marshal Xu Da (a.k.a. Zhongshan Wang, Zhongshan, or Xu Zhongshan), construction of the present wall began, building over the previous wall. In 1404, a pass was built in the wall. In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt and till today most parts of it are well preserved. The Mutianyu Great Wall has the largest construction scale and best quality among all sections of Great Wall.
Alamy reference DM40F7
Uploaded
January 14th, 2020
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