The Tales of the Great Wall
Annette Lam Kwan Kiu, Group 1: Non-Fiction, Marymount Primary School
The Great Wall of China is not only a display of culture in China, but also one of the marvellous
grandeurs of the world.
The Great Wall is also named as “Wan Li Chang Cheng” which starts from Hushan in Liaoning
in the east and ends at Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu in the west, stretching approximately 8,851.8 km long
across the northern China. The Great Wall was originally built for military function by Yan, Zhao and Qin as a
defensive fortification. It began as independent walls for different states. Thanks to Qin Shihuang's efforts, those
independent sections were being unified and further extended as a front line defence. The Great Wall was thus
formed.
Besides Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC), Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) also played an important role in
repairing and reinforcing the Great Wall with the use of bricks and stones instead of rammed earth. At Ming
Dynasty, the Great Wall (as confirmed by the new survey) was already up to 8,851.8 km in length.
To me, the construction of the Great Wall is a myth. I wonder what people and what strength they needed to
build such a Great Wall! It was often said that they were soldiers, common people and criminals and many of
them died during its construction. I feel very grieved when I learnt that they were simply buried into the wall
after they died. I think, though they were not great heroes, they had devoted their lives in building the wall and
we should at least pay some respect to them.
Presently, the Great Wall is no longer for military defence and many sections after repairing have been
opened to the public for scenic sight. Badaling is the most famous and spectacular part that attracts lots of
attention and receives the majority of visitors. So, it's no wonder why most of the foreign leaders or government
heads visit Badaling when they visit China. Over the years, more than 400 world leaders had visited Badaling
e.g. President Voroshilov of USSR, President Ronald Reagan, President George Walker Bush, Queen Elizabeth
II, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, Emperor Akihito etc.
The question whether “the Great Wall is truly visible from the moon?” does arouse my curiosity. Based on
the information I searched from the internet, “...the apparent width of the Great Wall from the moon is the same
as that of a human hair viewed from 3.2 km away...” Here, I know what the first astronaut of China, Yang Liwei
stated – he had not been able to see the Great Wall from the moon – is definitely true.
The Great Wall is one of the world's greatest cultural and natural heritages, everyone of us has the
responsibility to protect it e.g. people living around or visiting the Great Wall should not take away the bricks or
do anything like littering or graffiti to defect it. As a primary student aged 8, I will try my best to convey this
message to my classmates, friends, relatives and everyone I meet in my life in a hope to bring the Great Wall to
become a legend with an endless life.
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Shortlisted
