Walking the Wall China's greatest monument stretches for thousands of miles, and traverses some of the country's most majestic landscapes. But as Bruce Holmes discovers, it only takes a few days to get its measure

From: The Sunday Telegraph London | Date: December 9, 2007| Author: | Copyright information

How did an invading army breach this extraordinary barrier, we wonder, as we march in single file through the cornfields of northern China and cast our eyes upward towards our first goal.Treachery, is the answer. As we stand upon the Great Wall of China and pause for breath, Ken Collins, our Australian guide, begins the history lesson.

This so-called Simatai section of the Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty period to keep out hostile tribes from the north. The wall did its job, but the dynasty's fall in 1644 came about when a disaffected general was bribed to open the gates at the ...

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