Nov 11th, 2009 at 6:00PM: It was built to keep out foreign invaders, but apparently the Great Wall of China can't protect itself from the greed of Chinese corporations.
The Hohhot Kekao Mining Co. is accused of destroying 330 ft (100 m) of China's most famous structure while prospecting for gold. The damage occurred in Inner Mongolia, where the company is prospecting. This stretch of the wall is one of the oldest, ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
GreatWallofChina posts
Miners accused of destroying part of Great Wall of China
Nov 11th, 2009 at 6:00PM: It was built to keep out foreign invaders, but apparently the Great Wall of China can't protect itself from the greed of Chinese corporations.
The Hohhot Kekao Mining Co. is accused of destroying 330 ft (100 m) of China's most famous structure while prospecting for gold. The damage occurred in Inner Mongolia, where the company is prospecting. This stretch of the wall is one of the oldest, ...Dive the Great Wall of China with Urbane Nomads
Sep 21st, 2009 at 11:30AM: Did you know that parts of the Great Wall of China are underwater? Yeah, me neither. But according to Urban Daddy, one particular section of the wall has been submerged under a lake since the 1980's. And now a luxury tour company called Urbane Nomads is offering the first-ever guided diving trips to the hard-to-reach spot.
Guides will carry your gear to the submerged portion of the Wall and ...How great is the Great Wall of China? Very!
Apr 23rd, 2009 at 3:00PM: I bet you thought the name said it all. A recent survey by of this World Heritage site – billed as "technologically advanced" – puts the original length of the wall at 5,500 miles, much further than the previous estimate of 3,700 miles. That's a difference of almost 50 percent!
This effort took more than two years of surveying with GPS tools, infrared technology and other mapping ...5 Non-Tourist Destinations in Beijing
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 11:30AM: Everyone is looking forward to the Olympics. It is expected that well over half-a-million visitors will descend on Beijing during the Games. While all those people will probably contribute to the excitement and energy of the event, it going to be crowded. Imagine trying to visit The Great Wall of China or the Forbidden City in mid-August. The crowds will make a packed weekend at Disney World look ...Knitting public art
Apr 15th, 2008 at 2:00PM: I don't knit. I've tried, but even when I've attempted a scarf, it ends up weird shaped. Anna knits. She's waxed poetic about it in a post about the pleasures of knitting and travel. Here's another reason to grab some knitting needles and yarn.
While leafing through a back copy of Reader's Digest at my in-laws this weekend, I saw a snippet on women in Houston, Texas who are turning their scraps ...A Canadian in Beijing: The Wild Wall Will Not Be Tamed
Jun 10th, 2007 at 11:50AM:
When I went to the Great Wall on that first weekend I arrived in China, I simultaneously learned about the "rest of the wall." By this, I mean the "wild wall" that isn't a tourist attraction but lies along the spines of mountains across China, crumbling and often forgotten. National Geographic Adventure Magazine ran an article called "Astride the Dragon's Back" (written by Matthew Power). My ...Researchers to Measure The Great Wall
Feb 12th, 2007 at 9:22AM: The Great Wall of China, built to protect the northern border of the Chinese Empire, is an amazing spectacle. In fact, the Great Wall -- known to the Chinese as the "Long Wall of 10,000 Li" -- is actually a series of walls and earthen works begun in the 5th Century BC and connected centuries later. Since it's so old, it seems odd that no one really knows the precise dimensions of the iconic ...The Great Wall Crumbles
Nov 27th, 2006 at 9:00AM: Following up on my recent blog regarding construction crews taking a bite out of the Great Wall of China, here's an interesting piece from the NY Times about folks who are trying to preserve the Wall.
An official at the Great Wall Society thinks that most of the damage to the Wall was probably done in the 1950s and 1960s, since Mao encouraged farmers to use bricks from the Wall to build homes. A ...
