Walked all over the wild Great Wall of Beijing (Mountain River Wild Run Series)

Author: A Jian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Over 500 kilometers of the Great Wall were located within Beijing during the Ming Dynasty. The exact distance is difficult to determine for several reasons: many sections of the wall were either intermittently present, replaced by steep cliffs, connected only by beacon towers, or seamlessly linked to the old walls of previous dynasties; some sections had completely collapsed, leaving only markers on ancient maps; most sections of the wall were undulating and winding, making accurate measurement challenging. As a result, there are varying accounts of the length of the Ming Great Wall in Beijing, even among different maps. For example, archaeologists might refer to the length of remaining ruins, while researchers of ancient architecture might focus on the length of existing walls, and tourism development might have its own estimation. Therefore, "500 kilometers" is a general approximation.