I. GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
The biggest man made structure ever built, is the Great Wall Of China. The Great Wall Of China is a wall that was built during the Chin dynasty. The Emperor during the Qin dynasty, Qin Shihuangdi, gave the order to build the wall. Parts of the enormous structure date back to the 4th century BC., but the earliest major work on the wall came during the Ch’in Dynasty, which lasted from 221 to 206 BC. The Great Wall Of China stretches about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from Bo Hai, a gulf off the Yellow Sea in the east, to a point deep in Gansu province in the west. The wall was origanally 6,000 miles ,but because of erosion and thievery the wall’s length has shortened down to 1,500 miles.
In about 214 BC, the emperor Shih Huang Ti ordered the different parts of the wall to be
connected. The emperor Shi Huang united the different parts of China into one country and ordered the existing sections of the wall to be connected to form one long wall as a protection against invading nomads, or wandering tribes, from the north. The nomads he was especially concerned about were the Hsiung-nu, sometimes thought to be forebears of the Huns. One reason the Great Wall was built was to keep Chinese farmers from leaving their farms,and the second reason was for protection. The wall helped in wars because it provided square stone windows ,which let the soldiers in the wall, fire there weapons at invaders. But sometimes the wall didn’t help ,because invaders went around it,or over it.
The wall is simple in structure. It is built of dirt, stone, and brick. Its height ranges from 15 to 30 feet (5 to 9 meters), with watchtowers rising at regular intervals above it. It is 15 to 25 feet (5 to 8 meters) wide. Along the top runs a 13-foot- (4-meter-) wide roadway. The wall took about 300,000 forced slaves and laborers to build. Behind the wall there are at intervals permanent camps for troops.
The wall’s use as protection against invading nomads ended in 1644 with the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. The wall protected the people inside because it was 30 feet tall and sometimes invaders couldn’t get over,but ussually they found a way. Parts of the wall fell into disrepair, but in the 20th century parts were rebuilt. Since that time the great wall has been extended, rebuilt many times, and destroyed in part. But it still stands and has become one of the major tourist attractions in the world. A new visitors’ site was opened at Mutianyu, northeast of Beijing, in 1985. It shares the tourist traffic that was previously concentrated at Beading, northwest of the city.
I. THE LAND
China is one of the largest countries in the world. China is approximately 37 million square miles which makes China one of the largest countries in the world. There are only two countries in the world that are bigger than China , they are Canada and Soviet Union. China is actually so big ,it is almost as big as the whole entire continent of Europe. The one billion people in China make up one-fifth of the human habitants.
There are several countries that form a border with China. The Soviet Union is China’s largest neighbor and borders China to the northwest and northeast. The country of Mongolia borders China to the north. To the west of China is Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Some natural barriers such as forests and mountains separate China from other countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam in the south. Korea borders China to the northeast, while the nations southeastern and eastern boundaries lie along the South China, East China, and Huang seas.
Because of china’s size it is a land of great geographical diversity. In China’s boundaries there are barren deserts, snowcapped mountains, and fertile coastal areas. China also has one the world’s highest plateaus. China’s climate zones,range from alpine to subartic tropical,with the worlds highest mountain,and the world’s second largest depression.
A large part of China is made up of deserts. The Gobi desert is on the north of China ,and borders Mongolia. The Mu Us desert is located right below the Mongolian plateau in northern China. In efforts to save some grasslands the Chinese government had workers build wells ,and electric water pumps to help improve grazing conditions for farmers and there herds. The Taklimaken desert is in the northwestern part of China ,and is near the Tarin basin. The world’s second lowest desert is in China. It is the Turfan Depression. China also has one of the world’s driest deserts.
There are also many mountain ranges, including one the highest in the world – the Himalayas. The highest mountain in the world is in China, its called Mount Everest it is 29,028 feet and is part of the Himalayan mountain range,. The Tian mountain’s border two nations the Soviet Union ,and Mongollia. In western China the main mountain ranges are the Tian mountians,the Parmis mountains ,and the Himalayas, they are all some of the highest in the world .
Most of the rivers in China flow towards the Pacific ocean. One of China’s largest rivers is the Chang river. It is 3,434 miles long and is one of the three largest rivers in the world. On the side of the Chang river there are heavily etched rock formations ,that have formed over the years. The Chang waterway ,floats hundred of miles through canyons that it has cut into mountains,but eventually the river empties into the East China Sea ,north of shanghai-one of China’s most important ports. The Huang river in China travels eastward into the Bo and Huang seas. The river travels 2,900,and is important because it waters 35 million acres of farmland . The Huang River carries vast quantities of a fine yellow soil -called loess,the loess is washed into the river from the banks.