Places to see in the World: world 7 wonders

The Great Wall of China

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The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest sights in the world — the longest wall in the world, an awe-inspiring feat of ancient defensive architecture. Its winding path over rugged country and steep mountains takes in some great scenery.

The Great Wall facts

Chinese name: 长城 (Chángchéng /channg-chnng/ 'Long Wall')

Location: Northern China

Length: 21,196.18 km (13,170.7 mi), all known sections were measured

History: more than 2,300 years

How the Great Wall was Built

The majestic Great Wall was built with wisdom, dedication, blood, sweat, and tears. Families were separated, and many workers died and were interred as part of the Great Wall itself.

Workers: soldiers, peasants, rebels

Materials: stone, soil, sand, brick

Material delivery: by hand, rope, cart, goat (?)

The Great Wall's Structure — Walls, Watchtowers, Fortresses…

The Great Wall was not just a wall. It was an integrated military defensive system with watchtowers for surveillance, fortresses for command posts and logistics, beacon towers for communications, etc.

In the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the Great Wall was reconstructed to be stronger and more sophisticated, due to better construction techniques being developed.

The wall body: The Ming Great Wall usually had battlements 1.8 meters (6 feet) high with loopholes and crenels, and parapet walls 1.2 meters (4 feet) high.

Flanking towers: Every 500 meters or less (1,640 feet) on the Great Wall there was a flanking tower allowing defenders to shoot arrows at attackers at the face of the wall.

Fortresses were built at important/vulnerable access points (passes), such as Shanhai Pass Fortress, Juyong Pass Fortress, and Jiayu Pass Fortress. There were many archery windows and gates on the forts. The fortress gatehouses were the strongest and most impregnable structures on the Great Wall.

Present Condition — 30%+ of the Great Wall Is Gone

Due to natural erosion and human damage, about 2,000 kilometers, or 30% of the Ming Great Wall has disappeared. (Far more of previous dynasties' Great Wall sections is gone.)

Restoration and Protection to the Great Wall

To prevent further loss of the Great Wall, the Chinese Government has taken measures to protect it:

Laws to protect the Great Wall

Funds for protection, restoration, and maintenance

As individuals, we can do the follows to protect the Great Wall:

Plant trees to keep the Great Wall slopes protected from erosion

Don't litter and graffiti / remove trash and graffiti

Don't damage the Great Wall / take bricks home (it's illegal)

Great Wall Culture — Legends, Stories, Poetry…

The Great Wall is a China icon. It shows us not only China's culture of national pride, grand projects, and determined resistance, but also China's extravagant architecture and creativity.

During the construction of the Great Wall, there were many interesting legends and myths, such as Meng Jiang Nü weeping over the Great Wall, a sad but romantic love story set in the Qin Dynasty.

Great Wall Travel

The Great Wall of China is the must-visit China attraction. Perhaps the most powerful advertising words in history come from the poetic pen of Chairman Mao: "Until you reach the Great Wall, you're no hero." Figuratively this has come to mean 'to get over difficulties before reaching a goal'. See more Great Wall Sayings.

70,000 Visitors Per Day! — and that's just one section!

After the Great Wall opened to the public as a tourist attraction, hundreds of millions of visitors have been to its various sections. Badaling section is the most visited section (63,000,000 visitors in 2001). In peak seasons, the visitor flow can be up to 70,000 per day!

Why You Should Visit The Great Wall

"Greatest Human Feat in History": The Great Wall is the building project with the longest duration and greatest cost in human lives, blood, sweat and tears. It deserves its place among "the New Seven Wonders of the World" and the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Over 300 World VIPs Have Visited the Great Wall!

Over the years, many national leaders and celebrities have been to the Great Wall...

Barack Obama, President of the U.S., visited the Great Wall in November 18, 2009.

David Cameron, Britain's Prime Minister, visited Juyong Pass on November 10, 2010.

Recommended Great Wall Tours

If you are planning a Great Wall tour, see our guide to how to plan a Great Wall tour. Or see our recommended tours for inspiration:

· The most beautiful hiking route: 1-Day Simatai-West-to-Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour

· The comprehensive classic Beijing itinerary: 4-Day Essence of Beijing Tour with Mutianyu Great Wall Hiking

· Hike two wild, two restored sections: 4-Day Jiankou to Simatai West Great Wall Hiking Tour

· The hikers' Great Wall adventure: 7-Day Great Wall Hiking from Huangyaguan to Mutianyu

grand canyon

Grand Canyon: USA - World of New 7 Wonders

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The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the state of Arizona in the United States. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, the Havasupai people and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters). Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 or 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.

For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk

The Skywalk, managed by the Hualapai Tribe and located on tribal lands, consists of a horseshoe shaped steel frame with glass floor and sides that projects about 70 feet (21 m) from the canyon rim. While the Skywalk is the most famous attraction at Grand Canyon West, tours also include other points of interest and unique canyon views. The Hualapai Tribe collects fees to enter any part of the reservation as certain parts of the reservation are restricted to the general public. All fees are subject to change at any time.

Weather

Weather in the Grand Canyon varies according to elevation. The forested rims are high enough to receive winter snowfall, but along the Colorado River in the Inner Gorge, temperatures are similar to those found in Tucson and other low elevation desert locations in Arizona. Conditions in the Grand Canyon region are generally dry, but substantial precipitation occurs twice annually, during seasonal pattern shifts in winter (when Pacific storms usually deliver widespread, moderate rain and high-elevation snow to the region from the west) and in late summer (due to the North American Monsoon, which delivers waves of moisture from the southeast, causing dramatic, localized thunderstorms fueled by the heat of the day). Average annual precipitation on the South Rim is less than 16 inches (41 cm), with 60 inches (150 cm) of snow; the higher North Rim usually receives 27 inches (69 cm) of moisture, with a typical snowfall of 144 inches (370 cm); and Phantom Ranch, far below the Canyon's rims along the Colorado River at 2,500 feet (762 m) gets just 8 inches (20 cm) of rain, and snow is a rarity.

Grand Canyon tourism

Grand Canyon National Park is one of the world's premier natural attractions, attracting about five million visitors per year. Overall, 83% were from the United States: California (12.2%), Arizona (8.9%), Texas (4.8%), Florida (3.4%) and New York (3.2%) represented the top domestic visitors. Seventeen percent of visitors were from outside the United States; the most prominently represented nations were the United Kingdom (3.8%), Canada (3.5%), Japan (2.1%), Germany (1.9%) and The Netherlands (1.2%). The South Rim is open all year round weather permitting. The North Rim is generally open mid-May to mid-October.

Amazing places to visit

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and pulling away from it, and viewing it from a greater distance, you can understand why. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space.

Where Is The Great Barrier Reef?

The marine park stretches over 3000km (1800 miles) almost parallel to the Queensland coast, from near the southern coastal town of Bundaberg, up past the northern tip of Cape York.

The reef, between 15 kilometers and 150 kilometers off shore and around 65 Km wide in some parts, is a gathering of brilliant, vivid coral providing divers with the most spectacular underwater experience imaginable.

A closer encounter with the Great Barrier Reef’s impressive coral gardens reveals many astounding underwater attractions including the world’s largest collection of corals (in fact, more than 400 different kinds of coral), coral sponges, mollusks, rays, dolphins, over 1500 species of tropical fish, more than 200 types of birds, around 20 types of reptiles including sea turtles and giant clams over 120 years old.

Tourism

A scuba diver looking at a giant clam on the Great Barrier Reef

Helicopter view of the reef and boats

Due to its vast biodiversity, warm clear waters and accessibility from the tourist boats called "live aboard", the reef is a very popular destination, especially for scuba divers. Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef is concentrated in Cairns and also The Whitsundays due to their accessibility. These areas make up 7%–8% of the Park's area. The Whitsundays and Cairns have their own Plans of Management. Many cities along the Queensland coast offer daily boat trips. Several continental and coral cay islands are now resorts, including Green Island and Lady Elliot Island. As of 1996, 27 islands on the Great Barrier Reef supported resorts.

In 1996, most of the tourism in the region was domestically generated and the most popular visiting times were during the Australian winter. At this time, it was estimated that tourists to the Great Barrier Reef contributed a$776 million per annum. As the largest commercial activity in the region, it was estimated in 2003 that tourism generated over A$4 billion annually, and the 2005 estimate increased to A$5.1 billion. A Deloitte report published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in March 2013 states that the Reef's 2,000 kilometers of coastline attracts tourism worth A$6.4 billion annually and employs more than 64,000 people.

Approximately two million people visit the Great Barrier Reef each year. Although most of these visits are managed in partnership with the marine tourism industry, there is a concern among the general public that tourism is harmful to the Great Barrier Reef.

A variety of boat tours and cruises are offered, from single day trips, to longer voyages. Boat sizes range from dinghies to superyachts. Glass-bottomed boats and underwater observatories are also popular, as are helicopter flights. By far, the most popular tourist activities on the Great Barrier Reef are snorkeling and diving, for which pontoons are often used, and the area is often enclosed by nets. The outer part of the Great Barrier Reef is favored for such activities, due to water quality.

Management of tourism in the Great Barrier Reef is geared towards making tourism ecologically sustainable. A daily fee is levied that goes towards research of the Great Barrier Reef. This fee ends up being 20% of the GBRMPA's income. Policies on cruise ships, bareboat charters, and anchorages limit the traffic on the Great Barrier Reef.

The problems that surround ecotourism in the Great Barrier Reef revolve around permanent tourism platforms. Platforms are large, ship-like vessels that act as a base for tourists while scuba diving and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Seabirds will land on the platforms and defecate which will eventually be washed into the sea. The feces carry nitrogen, phosphorus and often DDT and mercury, which cause aspergillosis, yellow-band disease, and black band disease. Areas without tourism platforms have 14 out of 9,468 (1.1%) diseased corals versus areas with tourism platforms that have 172 out of 7,043 (12%) diseased corals. Tourism is a major economic activity for the region. Thus, while non-permanent platforms could be possible in some areas, overall, permanent platforms are likely a necessity. Solutions have been suggested to siphon bird waste into gutters connecting to tanks helping lower runoff that causes coral disease.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has also placed many permanent anchorage points around the general use areas. These act to reduce damage to the reef due to anchoring destroying soft coral, chipping hard coral, and disturbing sediment as it is dragged across the bottom. Tourism operators also must comply with speed limits when travelling to or from tourist destinations, to prevent excessive wake from the boats disturbing the reef ecosystem.

Fishing

The fishing industry in the Great Barrier Reef, controlled by the Queensland Government, is worth a$1 billion annually. It employs approximately 2000 people, and fishing in the Great Barrier Reef is pursued commercially, for recreation, and as a traditional means for feeding one's family.