Discovery sheds new light on Great Wall
Print Edition
Ruins of the Great Wall discovered along the border of northwest China鈥檚 Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Gansu Province have dispelled the common belief that there were no sections in the area, according to researchers.
Archaeologists found nine sections with a total length of more than 10 kilometers believed to be part of the wall built during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).
Zhou Xinghua, a former museum curator and Great Wall expert who was part of the research team, said the discovery is giving historians a fresh insight into where the wall was built.
鈥淔inally, we鈥檙e able to see the whole picture of the Qin Great Wall,鈥 Zhou said.
Six sections stretch between Nanchangtan Village in Ningxia and Gansu鈥檚 Jingyuan County on the southern bank of the Yellow River.
Because of flooding and natural degradation, their height has been reduced to 1 to 5 meters.
The other three sections are in Jingyuan County鈥檚 Damiao region, 50 meters long in total and 5 meters high.
To prevent foreign invaders from crossing the Yellow River when it was frozen, the Qin state, which defeated other powers during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and later established the Qin Dynasty, built fortifications along the valley beside the river, Zhou said.
The Great Wall was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. The central government spent more than 500 million yuan (US$81.6 million) on protecting the wall during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010).
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
