World

The Great Wall of China Longer Than Previously Believed

by Yuliya Talmazan | April 20, 2009 at 02:02 pm

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A new study commissioned by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping has found that the Great Wall of China is longer than was previously believed. History text books cited the length of the Great Wall at 6,400 km (4,000 miles). Now, however, that estimate will be changed to 8,850 km (5,488 miles), 6,260 km (3889 miles) of which are wall sections, 360 km (223 miles) -- trenches, and 2,233 km (1387 miles) – natural barriers, such as hills and rivers. Infrared and GPS technologies helped to locate portions of the Great Wall that were buried underneath sand and not visible to the naked eye anymore. The news of recently found wall segments come amidst fears of Chinese archaeologists that the Great Wall is endangered and crumbling due to commercial development, farming and tourist activities in the vicinity of the Great Wall. The Great Wall was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

The Great Wall, built during the time when the Ming Dynasty was in power, was supposed to protect the northern border of China. The construction that spanned over two millennia cost lives to anywhere between 2 to 3 million Chinese.

A two-year government mapping study found that the wall spans 8,850km (5,500 miles) - until now, the length was commonly put at about 5,000km.

Previous estimates of its length were mainly based on historical records.

Infra-red and GPS technologies helped locate some areas concealed over time by sandstorms, state media said.

The project found that there were wall sections of 6,259km, 359km of trenches, and 2,232km of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

The study was carried out by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.

Recent studies by Chinese archaeologists have shown that sections of the wall in Gansu are being reduced to “mounds of dirt” by further sandstorms and may disappear entirely within 20 years.

They blamed destructive farming methods in the 1950s that desertified large areas of northern China. In addition, portions of the wall in Gansu were made of packed earth, which proved less resilient than brick and stone used in much of the wall’s construction.

In recent years China has begun restoring parts of the wall as well as trying to rein in commercial development on and around it.

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Uwe Paschen

at 19:04 on April 20th, 2009

Decades of Satellites and only now this realization.

A. Tran

at 19:31 on April 20th, 2009

Nice piece. It's unfortunate that the Great wall is deteriorating due to commercial activities. I'm sure it doesn't help to have high tourist traffic.