The Great Wall, symbolizing China’s ancient civilization, is one of the world’s most renowned projects. A well-known popular saying goes: “He who hadn’t been to the Great Wall is not a true man”/ “You are not a pluck hero till you climb the Great Wall.” Therefore, everyone tried to make it.
Construction of the Wall first began during the period of the Warring States (476 BC-21 BC). Formerly, walls were built at strategic points by different kingdoms to protect their northern territories. In 221 BC after the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified China, he decided to have the walls linked up and extended.
Historical records show that about one million people, one-fifth of China’s population at the time, were involved in the project, which took more than ten years. When it was finished we call it “Wan Li Chang Cheng” which means “Ten Thousand Li (5,000 kilometers) Long Wall” .Now, nature has taken over most of the Great Wall.
The Great Wall, which we are going to visit, was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century. It extends from Shanhai (mountain and sea) Pass, a seaport along the coast of Bohai Bay, to Jiayu Pass in Gansu Province. Its total length is more than 6,700 kilometers.

Badaling means "giving access to every direction", the name itself suggests its strategic importance. Badaling Great Wall lies in Yanqing County, northwest of Beijing. It covers five counties and one district, namely: MIyun, Huairou, Pinggu, Yanqing and Changping County and Mentougou District.
Badaling Great Wall was the best preserved part of the Ming Great Wall. Here, the wall averages 7.8 meters high, 6.5 meters wide of the base, and 5.8 meters at the top. The wall was designed to allow five horsemen or ten soldiers to march side by side along the wall. The flights of stairs up to the outer wall are fairly widely spaced.
The wall could almost be considered as a superhighway on the rough mountain terrain. On the highway, news, men or even food could travel rapidly. Suppose you were a solider 500 years ago in the Ming Dynasty, when you found some enemies were about to invade your country, what should you do well? In the daytime, you should start a heavy smoke to tell the other solders to get ready and your friends, when seeing your signal, would start another smoke in the distance, this signal would be relayed until finally it reached the capital and the whole country would be ready for the war. But you may also ask, what if the enemies invade the country at night, as most invasion started then ? Well, you should light up recon fires to communicate military information to the emperor at a very rapid speed.
For every few hundred meters, you can see a watchtower. Also, the wall of this section was built of giant rocks and bricks of similar size. It was faced with stone, and the inside was filled with earth and rubber, therefore, Badaling Great Wall was also regarded the strongest section of the Ming Great Wall.