万里长城

　　长城始建于公元前7世纪前后的春秋战国时期。秦始皇統一六國後，將原來秦、趙、燕等國修建的防禦性長城擴建修葺，連接成為東起遼東，西到臨洮(今甘肅境內)綿延五千多千米的巨大軍事防禦工事。这就是举世闻名的万里长城。此后许多朝代都进行过修整。明朝初年大规模修筑长城，约200年后完成，东部主要为砖石结构。

　　历史上的长城东起鸭绿江，西到嘉峪关，横穿中国北方8个省、自治区和直辖市(辽宁、河北、北京、山西、内蒙古、宁夏、陕西、甘肃)，全长6,700多千米(约13,000华里)的长城，成为世界的著名奇迹之一。

　　长城由千百座关隘、城堡、堞楼和高大的城墙组成。遇有敌情，士兵会在长城北侧沿线的烽火台上点燃烟火，将情报传递到附近的城市直至皇帝的都城。

　　位于北京的八达岭长城、慕田峪长城、司马台长城都是明代修筑的。这里的长城依山而建，高大坚固，绵延起伏，城顶的信道可以容纳五六匹马并排前进，充分展现了万里长城的建筑风格和雄伟气魄。现今是著名的旅游胜地。

　　The Great Wall

　　The origin of the Great Wall can be traced to defensive walls erected by various states during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (around the seventh century BC). After Qinshihuang united the country, he repaired, linked up and extended the walls built by the former states of Qin, Zhao, Yan and others into huge military defense works which started from the Liaodong Peninsula in the east and ended at Lintao (in today's Gansu Province) in the west - distance of more than 5,000 km. This is the world-famous Great Wall. The Wall was repaired and maintained over the course of many dynasties, especially during the Ming Dynasty, when the work continued for some 200 years.

　　Nowadays, the Great Wall crosses five provinces (Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu), two autonomous regions (Inner Mongolia and Ningxia) and one municipality (Beijing) in north China, with a total length of over 6,700 km. It is one of the foremost wonders of the world.

　　The Great Wall is composed of hundreds of passes, fortresses, towers and stretches of wall. Beacon towers are situated at suitable intervals to give the alarm if an enemy approached.

　　The parts of the Great Wall located at Badaling, Mutianyu and Simatai in Beijing were all constructed during the Ming Dynasty. These parts of the Wall were built along mountain ridges. On many parts of the Wall five or six horsemen could ride side by side. Parts of the Wall renovated in modern times are popular tourist attractions.