رفـــــاعي
13-11-2006, 01:10 PM
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a large Middle Eastern nation that ranks as one of the world's leading producers of petroleum. Much of the country consists of vast deserts where few people live and little or nothing grows. But beneath the sand and rock of Saudi Arabia lie some of the largest petroleum deposits in the world.
Saudi Arabia exports more oil than any other nation. Wealth from these exports has made Saudi Arabia a leading economic power in the Middle East. Oil riches have also made Saudi Arabia a land of contrasts. Cars and trucks speed along highways where camel caravans once provided the only transportation. High-rise apartment buildings have replaced nearly all of the mud houses that once lined city streets.
Saudi Arabia includes about three-quarters of the land region called the Arabian Peninsula. Coastal plains and rugged mountains cover the western part of Saudi Arabia. Most of the country's central and eastern areas consist of waterless plateaus and deserts. Parts of these regions have fertile oases.
Before the development of Saudi Arabia's oil industry after World War II (1939-1945), most of the people lived in rural areas. With the development of the oil industry, large numbers of people moved to cities and towns. Today, most Saudis live in urban areas. Most of the Saudis who live in rural areas are farmers or nomadic (wandering) herders who tend their camels, goats, and sheep. The urban people are employed in the oil industry and in other occupations. Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Nearly all the people of Saudi Arabia are Arab Muslims. The country holds a place of special honour in the Muslim world. Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities of Islam, are in Saudi Arabia. Thousands of Muslims from all over the world visit these cities on annual religious pilgrimages.
For hundreds of years, the land that is now Saudi Arabia was divided among many warring groups. The various regions joined together under the leadership of the Saud family during the early 1900's. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was proclaimed in 1932. Saudi Arabia remained a poor, backward nation until the mid-1900's, when income from the oil industry enabled the country to begin modernization programmes.
Government
National government of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy based on the laws of Islam. The king holds executive and legislative powers. He is both the chief political leader and imam (supreme religious leader). The country has no formal constitution. The sharia, the body of Islamic law, regulates most public affairs. The king issues royal decrees dealing with matters not covered by the sharia, such as traffic regulations.
The royal family consists of several thousand people and is the most important political group in Saudi Arabia. Leading members of the royal family select the king from among themselves. Their choice must be approved by a group of Muslim religious leaders called the ulema. To stay in power, the king must have the support of the royal family, the ulema, and local tribal leaders. The king appoints a Council of Ministers to assist him in managing the government. The king himself serves as prime minister.
A 60-member Consultative Council appointed by the king provides Saudi citizens with a voice in the government. The council has no legislative power. Its purpose is to advise the king. Council members serve four-year terms.
Local government. Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 provinces. A governor appointed by the king heads each province. Provincial councils assist the governors. Several Saudi Arabian cities elect municipal councils that handle city government affairs. Smaller towns and villages are governed by local leaders.
Courts. A system of religious courts handles all civil and criminal cases based on the sharia. A qadi (judge) presides over each court. There are no juries. Responsibility for the making of laws and enforcing them lies with the Council of Ministers and the king. A Grievance Board appointed by the king settles all complaints. The board also deals with problems of administration and taxation, and handles matters concerning foreign nationals and their commercial interests in Saudi Arabia.
Armed forces. A total of more than 100,000 men serve in Saudi Arabia's army, navy, and air force. All military service is voluntary. Saudi Arabia also has a National Guard of about 55,000 men. France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have provided Saudi Arabia with military training and equipment.
People
Population and ancestry. For Saudi Arabia's total population, see the Facts in brief table with this article. About three-quarters of the people are native Saudis. They are descended from people who settled in the Arabian Peninsula several thousand years ago. Other Saudis are people--or descendants of people--who arrived later. Many of these people or their ancestors first came to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimages before settling there permanently. All Saudis share the Arabic language and the Islamic religion.
Many other people who live in Saudi Arabia have moved there temporarily because of the large number of jobs created by the country's oil wealth. There are not enough qualified Saudis to fill all these jobs. About half of the foreign workers are from other Arab countries. The rest came from many countries, including Pakistan, the Philippines, and South Korea.
About 80 percent of the people of Saudi Arabia live in urban areas. Riyadh ranks as Saudi Arabia's largest city. Jidda is the second largest city. The number of urban dwellers in Saudi Arabia has increased rapidly since the mid-1900's. Several new urban areas have developed near the oil fields in eastern Saudi Arabia. See JIDDA; MECCA; MEDINA; RIYADH.
Language. Almost all the people of Saudi Arabia use Arabic, which is the official language of the country. English is taught in the secondary schools and is widely used among educated Saudis in business dealings and international affairs.
Religion. More than 90 percent of all Saudis belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. Members of the Shiah, another branch, live mainly in the Eastern Province. The only non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia are foreigners.
Islam influences family relationships, education, and many other aspects of life in Saudi Arabia. Most Saudis recite prayers five times daily. Other religious rituals include fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. Each year, more than 2 million Muslims from Saudi Arabia and other countries go to Mecca on a religious pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is called the hajj (see HAJJ).
Way of life. Many of Saudi Arabia's rural people live in farm villages or oasis settlements. A smaller number are either nomads or seminomads. The nomads, called Bedouins, roam through the vast deserts with their herds of camels, goats, and sheep in search of water and pastureland. The seminomads follow a nomadic way of life part of the year but spend several months in settled rural areas. Since the 1960's, many nomads and seminomads have become settled farmers or have moved to urban areas in order to work in the oil industry.
The development of the oil industry has caused many advances in the Saudi way of life, especially in the cities. Since the 1960's, the country has used much of its oil income to build modern schools, transportation systems, and communication networks. The government also has taken steps to improve housing and to extend electricity and other modern conveniences to Saudi Arabia's remote rural areas.
In spite of these improvements, most rural Saudis still follow a simple way of life. A typical farm village consists of a cluster of one- or two-room houses made of stones or sun-dried mud. The Bedouins, who move from place to place, live in large tents made of animal hides. The village marketplace serves as a social centre. There, farmers and Bedouins gather to buy and sell goods and chat with friends. Lively conversation is a favourite form of recreation for Saudis. The people enjoy telling stories and reciting poems or verses from the Quran, the sacred book of Islam.
In Saudi cities, modern apartment buildings have replaced many of the mud houses. Wealthy Saudis have large homes with spacious gardens. Radio and television have become popular forms of entertainment in the cities.
Family ties are strong among most Saudis. Although a Saudi father is considered the head of his family, his wife has much authority in running the household. Outside the home, Saudi women have traditionally had little freedom or opportunity for personal advancement. Before 1960, few women received any formal education, and almost none worked outside the home. Since then, the government has improved educational and job opportunities for women. Increasing numbers of women work in such fields as teaching and nursing. They also work in businesses that deal only with other women. But the activities of women are still restricted. Saudi women are not allowed to drive cars or to demonstrate for changes of regulations concerning their rights.
A number of Saudi religious leaders have opposed changes that have occurred since the mid-1900's. For example, many opposed the introduction of television and the education of women. They believe such developments violate the teachings of Islam. Islam still has a strong influence over everyday life. But many Saudis, especially young people, believe the country can benefit from modernization without losing its basic traditional values.
Food and clothing. Dairy products, dates, lamb, and rice are the chief foods of most Saudis. Farmers and city dwellers also eat a variety of fruit and vegetables. Tea and coffee are the most popular beverages. The laws of Islam forbid the eating of pork and the drinking of alcoholic beverages.
Most Saudis, in both urban and rural areas, wear traditional Arab clothes. Men wear a long cotton garment called a thawb, which may be covered by a robe, jacket, or cloak. A headcovering called a ghutra provides protection against the sun and wind. It consists of a piece of cloth held in place by a rope band. Outside the home, most Saudi women cover their face with a veil and wear a floor-length robe called an aba.
Education. Most of the people of Saudi Arabia 15 years of age or older can read and write. Since the mid-1900's, the government has established adult education programmes and has built hundreds of new schools to improve the country's literacy rate.
The government provides free schooling for Saudi citizens at all levels of education. School attendance is not required by law although it is vigorously encouraged. Saudi boys and girls attend separate schools. The first state schools for boys were established in 1926. Before that time, the country's only schools were religious institutions called kuttabs. The first state girls' schools opened in 1960. In 1953, the country had about 330 state primary and secondary schools. Today, there are about 10,000 schools with more than 1 1/2 million students. More than a third of the students are girls.
More than 90,000 students attend Saudi colleges or universities. Many other Saudis attend colleges or universities abroad, mostly in the United States. Saudi Arabia has seven universities.
Land and climate
Saudi Arabia covers 2,149,690 square kilometres, or about three-fourths of the Arabian Peninsula. The country consists largely of dry, barren land that slopes downward from west to east. There are no permanent rivers or other bodies of water in Saudi Arabia. During rainstorms, dry valleys called wadis fill with water, but the water quickly evaporates or soaks into the ground.
Saudi Arabia can be divided into five land regions. They are: (1) the Western Highlands, (2) the Central Plateau, (3) the Northern Deserts, (4) the Rub al Khali, and (5) the Eastern Lowlands.
The Western Highlands border the Red Sea. The northern part of this region is called Hejaz, and the southern part is called Asir. Along much of the Hejaz coast, low, rocky mountains rise up sharply from the sea. The mountains slope more gently toward the east. In parts of Hejaz and in Asir, a narrow coastal plain called the Tihamah separates the sea from a ridge of rugged mountain peaks. The highest peaks in Asir rise more than 2,700 metres above sea level. Asir is the most fertile area of Saudi Arabia, and small farm villages are scattered throughout much of this region. Farmers grow a variety of crops in the Tihamah and in terraced fields on the mountainsides.
The Central Plateau. The mountains of Hejaz and Asir slope eastward toward a large region called the Central Plateau, or Najd. Most of the region has little vegetation. In parts of the rocky plateau, fertile oases support small farm communities. Riyadh is the largest city in the Central Plateau region. Nomadic herders bring their animals to feed on patches of grass that grow in the region for a short time after occasional brief periods of rainfall.
The Northern Deserts lie north of the Central Plateau. Most of this thinly populated region consists of a vast area of sand dunes called An Nafud. The Syrian Desert, a low-lying plain of rock and gravel, covers the northernmost area.
The Rub al Khali is a huge sandy desert that covers about 647,500 square kilometres of southern Saudi Arabia. This vast, desolate area, whose name in English is the Empty Quarter, is about five times the size of England. Windswept sand dunes reach heights of nearly 300 metres in parts of the Rub al Khali. Other areas are flat. The Rub al Khali is uninhabited, except for a few groups of nomadic people who travel through it.
The Eastern Lowlands, also known as Hasa or the Eastern Province, lie along the Persian Gulf. Salt flats extend along parts of the shallow coastline. Sand and gravel cover most of the inland plain, which contains the world's largest known deposits of petroleum. The oil industry has led to the development of Dhahran and several other cities and towns in the lowlands. The region also has a number of fertile oases that support large agricultural settlements.
Climate. Most of Saudi Arabia has a year-round hot climate. The coastal regions are hot and humid during the summer, when the average daytime temperature is over 32 °C. Summer temperatures in the Central Plateau and the desert regions may reach 49 °C. But these areas have drier air and cool nights. From November to April, temperatures throughout the country are slightly lower than in summer. Winter temperatures in parts of the country can be very much colder. Parts of central, northern, and western Saudi Arabia occasionally dip below freezing.
Asir is the only part of Saudi Arabia that receives much rainfall. Summer monsoons (seasonal winds) cause an average annual rainfall in Asir of from 30 to 51 centimetres. The rest of the country receives less than 10 centimetres annually. Parts of the desert regions of Saudi Arabia may have no rainfall at all for several years in a row. A northwesterly wind called the shamal causes frequent and severe sandstorms in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Economy
Saudi Arabia has a rapidly developing economy, based largely on the oil industry and agriculture. The oil industry accounts for about 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's economic production. Agriculture accounts for only a small share of Saudi Arabia's economic production. In the 1980's, however, the government encouraged agricultural expansion. As a result, wheat production increased to 3 million metric tons in 1987 from a total of a mere 30,000 metric tons in 1977.
Since the 1960's, the government has worked to develop new industries in Saudi Arabia. Such industries would allow the country's economy to keep growing even after the oil resources have been used up. The government of Saudi Arabia has worked on development programmes with the help of business and technical experts from Europe, Japan, the United States, and other parts of the world. A shortage of skilled Saudi workers has delayed the progress of some of these development programmes.
Natural resources. Petroleum is by far Saudi Arabia's most important natural resource. The country's huge oil fields contain over 250 billion barrels of oil--about a quarter of the world's known oil reserves. The oil fields lie in the eastern part of the country and in the Persian Gulf. Newly discovered oil fields lie in the Al Hora region and other areas near Riyadh. Saudi Arabia also has small deposits of copper, gold, iron ore, silver, and other minerals. But few of these deposits have been developed.
The oil industry is Saudi Arabia's chief source of wealth. Saudi Arabia leads the countries of the world in petroleum production. It also exports more petroleum than any other country. Saudi Arabia is a leading member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (see ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES). Petroleum and petroleum products account for about 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's total economic production. But the oil industry employs only about 2 percent of all Saudi workers.
Other industries. Money spent by people who visit Saudi Arabia is another source of income. Most of the visitors are Muslims who go to the country on religious pilgrimages. The construction industry has grown since the 1960's, when thousands of Saudis began working on government-sponsored building projects.
Saudi Arabia does not have many manufacturing industries. The country's chief manufactured goods include cement, fertilizer, food products, petrochemicals (chemicals made from petroleum), and steel.
Agriculture, including the herding done by nomads and seminomads, employs about a quarter of all Saudi workers. Cattle, goats, and sheep are important sources of dairy products and meat. Chickens and eggs are also produced. Only about 1 percent of Saudi Arabia's land is used to grow crops. The chief cultivated areas include Asir in the southwest and the scattered oases of central and eastern Saudi Arabia.
Farmers grow such crops as dates, melons, tomatoes, and wheat. Dates formerly ranked as the chief crop. However, the introduction of modern irrigation techniques during the mid-1900's enabled Saudi farmers to produce more, and a greater variety of, crops. As a result of an ambitious agricultural programme, 854,000 hectares were put under cultivation in 1987. This enabled Saudi Arabia to begin the export of poultry and allied products to the Gulf states, and wheat to several other countries.
Saudi Arabia has only a small fishing industry. Shrimp caught in the Persian Gulf are the only important seafood product.
Transportation and communication. Since the mid-1960's, Saudi Arabia has expanded its transportation and communication networks. A good road system connects various parts of the country. A railway system operates between Riyadh and the Persian Gulf port of Ad Dammam. The government owns and operates Saudi Arabian Airlines. International airports are located at Dhahran, Jidda, and Riyadh. Ras Tanura, a Persian Gulf port, handles most of Saudi Arabia's oil exports. The country's other major ports include Ad Dammam and the Red Sea ports of Jidda and Yanbu.
Saudi Arabia has about 10 daily newspapers. Two are published in English, the others in Arabic. Most Saudi families own at least one radio and television set. A telephone network serves about 90 percent of the country.
Foreign trade. Petroleum accounts for about 99 percent of Saudi Arabia's exports. Most of the oil goes to Japan and Western Europe. The United States also buys large amounts of Saudi oil. Saudi Arabia also exports shrimp. Leading imports include food products, machinery, military equipment, and transportation equipment. The United States, Western Europe, and Japan provide most of the imported goods.
History
Various Semitic peoples lived in what is now Saudi Arabia several thousand years ago. Bedouins occupied the interior of the Arabian Peninsula. Other peoples established trade centres along caravan routes. These routes linked the Arabian Peninsula with other parts of the Middle East.
A people called the Sabaeans inhabited what are now southwestern Saudi Arabia and western Yemen around 700 B.C. The Sabaeans became prosperous traders of frankincense, myrrh, and spices. Another group, the Nabataeans, controlled the trade routes in what are now northwestern Saudi Arabia and Jordan from the mid-400's B.C. to about A.D. 100.
The rise of Islam. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca about A.D. 570. At that time, most of the people of the Arabian Peninsula worshipped many gods. Muhammad worshipped one God. In Mecca, many people opposed Muhammad. In 622, he and his followers went to Medina. He returned with an army and captured Mecca in 630. Muhammad converted the people of Mecca to Islam. By the time he died in 632, much of Arabia was under Muslim rule.
The decline of Arabia. During the mid-600's, Muhammad's successors, called caliphs, conquered large amounts of territory to the east, west, and north of Arabia. About 660, the caliph Muawiya moved his capital from Medina to Damascus, in Syria. The Arabian Peninsula then began to decline in importance as the political and religious centre of the Muslim empire.
Beginning about 750, the Muslim empire broke up into individual states. For more than a thousand years, numerous warring groups of people controlled the various areas that make up most of Arabia. During the early 1500's, the Ottoman Empire gained control over Hejaz and parts of Asir in western Arabia. Britain established protectorates along the southern and eastern coasts of Arabia during the 1800's. But local Arabian leaders still ruled most of the vast inland region.
The Saud dynasty. During the mid-1400's, the Saud dynasty (family of rulers) established control over a small area around the town of Dariyah, near what is now Riyadh. The dynasty remained relatively unimportant until the mid-1700's. At that time, the Saudi ruler, Muhammad ibn Saud, formed an alliance with a religious reformer named Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab.
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab strongly opposed a growing disregard of Islamic teachings in Arabia. He preached that the people should return to a strict observance of Muslim laws. The Wahhabi movement, supported by Saudi armies, quickly spread over most of Arabia.
The Saud family enlarged the Saudi state by taking over the regions that were converted to Wahhabi beliefs. By the early 1800's, they had captured Mecca and Medina. The Ottoman governor of Egypt then attacked the Saudi state to stop its expansion. Ottoman troops occupied the Hejaz region in 1814. In 1818, they occupied the Najd region and captured the Saudi capital of Dariyah. The Saud family set up a new capital at Riyadh in 1824 and fought to regain its lost land. By 1843, Saudi armies had regained control of most of Arabia.
After 1865, family feuds led to civil war and the weakening of Saudi power. As a result, stronger tribes captured Saudi territory. By 1891, control over most of Arabia was divided among various tribal chiefs and the Ottomans. The leading members of the defeated Saud family fled into exile in Kuwait.
The founding of Saudi Arabia. In 1902, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, a young Saudi leader, led a military raid from Kuwait. He succeeded in capturing Riyadh. During the next 25 years, Ibn Saud fought to regain the territory that his ancestors had controlled and to revive the Wahhabi movement.
By 1906, Ibn Saud had taken control of the Najd region. His forces captured Hasa in 1913 and Asir in 1920. In 1925, he conquered Hejaz. Ibn Saud then unified the four regions. In 1932, he proclaimed the union the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The new kingdom formed by Ibn Saud was isolated and undeveloped. Most of the people were poor farmers or nomads who lived much as their ancestors had lived for hundreds of years before them.
The development of Saudi Arabia's oil industry began in 1933. That year, Ibn Saud's government granted Standard Oil of California, an American oil company, the right to explore for and produce oil in Saudi Arabia. Other oil firms joined the California company. This group of companies became the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) in 1944. A major oil deposit was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, but large-scale petroleum production did not begin until after World War II ended in 1945.
After the war, the oil industry developed rapidly and brought wealth to Saudi Arabia. Aramco paid the Saudi government a share of its oil profits in return for the right to produce and sell oil. Ibn Saud began programmes of economic and social development in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government and Aramco built roads, schools, and hospitals throughout the country.
Saudi Arabia became a charter member of the United Nations in 1945. It became a charter member of the Arab League the same year.
In 1953, Ibn Saud organized a Council of Ministers as a step toward modernizing the government. He named his oldest son, Saud, as his successor. Later that year, Ibn Saud died, and Saud became king. Saud's brother Faisal became crown prince and prime minister.
Saud continued the development programmes begun by his father. But Saud was a poor financial manager, and his government spent money unwisely. This led to serious economic problems by the late 1950's. In 1958, Saud gave Faisal control over the government. Faisal restored economic stability. But he resigned as prime minister in 1960 because of disagreements with Saud. Saud again took control of the government.
In 1962, a civil war in Yemen (Sana) caused a crisis between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Yemeni military leaders had overthrown their government and set up a republic. Egypt supported these rebels, while Saudi Arabia backed Yemeni royalists who fought to restore the government. The conflict threatened to become a war between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Tension continued until 1967, when Egypt withdrew its forces from Yemen.
During the early 1960's, Saud's health weakened, and with it his ability to rule. In 1962, Faisal again became prime minister. That year, Faisal announced a large-scale reform programme. He planned to reorganize local governments, promote industrialization, and introduce such new developments as television to Saudi Arabia. In 1964, a council of royal family members and religious leaders forced Saud to give up the throne. They then made Faisal king.
Faisal's rule brought continued progress to Saudi Arabia. Profits from the oil industry financed the construction of modern hospitals, schools, and apartment buildings. The government improved and expanded the country's transportation and communication systems. At the same time, Saudi Arabia began to take a more active interest in Arab and world affairs.
In 1967, Saudi Arabia supported the Arabs of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six-Day War against Israel. Saudi Arabia did not send troops. But after the Arabs lost the war, Saudi Arabia promised to give Egypt and Jordan financial aid to help them recover.
The Six-Day War left Israel in control of large sections of Arab territory. This land included part of Jerusalem, one of Islam's holiest cities. During the early 1970's, Faisal took a strong stand against this Israeli occupation. After another Arab-Israeli war broke out in 1973, Faisal used Saudi Arabia's oil as an economic weapon against supporters of Israel. Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries temporarily stopped exporting oil to the United States and the Netherlands. They also sharply reduced oil shipments to other countries that they classed as "neutral." The oil cutback created serious fuel shortages in many countries.
In 1973, the Saudi Arabian government took over part-ownership of Aramco's oil facilities. In 1974, the government and Aramco began negotiating for Saudi Arabia to assume full control of the country's oil industry. In 1980, the Saudi Arabian government completed payment for ownership of Aramco's oil facilities and assets. The takeover became official when the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) was formed in 1988.
In the mid-1970's, oil prices jumped sharply, causing a dramatic increase in Saudi Arabia's wealth. The added income enabled the government to devote huge sums of money to new projects.
Recent developments. In March 1975, King Faisal's reign ended abruptly when one of his nephews assassinated him. Prince Khalid, a half brother of Faisal, succeeded Faisal as king and prime minister. Khalid made his half brother, Prince Fahd, crown prince and first deputy prime minister. Khalid died in 1982, and Prince Fahd became king and prime minister.
Generally, Khalid and Fahd continued Faisal's policies. Saudi Arabia continued to take an active role in Arab and world affairs. Rapid construction of transportation and communication facilities continued, and industry expanded. But a sharp decline in worldwide oil prices reduced the country's income. The government began to put more emphasis on developing human resources and less on constructing physical facilities. These policies included steps to increase the training of Saudi's people in skills needed for management and technical jobs.
In August 1990, Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait. Many people feared that Iraq would next invade Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia requested assistance in defending its territory. In response, the United States and other Western nations sent military forces to Saudi Arabia. Egypt, Syria, and other Arab nations also sent forces. In January 1991, war broke out between these allied nations and Iraq. During the war, Saudi and other allied planes bombed military targets in Iraq and Kuwait. Saudi forces also took part in the ground offensive that liberated Kuwait in February.
رفـــــاعي
13-11-2006, 01:16 PM
Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China is the longest structure ever built. Its length is about 6,400 kilometres, and it was erected entirely by hand. The wall crosses northern China between the east coast and north-central China. For location..
Over the centuries, various rulers built walls to protect their northern border against invaders. Some of the walls stood on or near the site of the Great Wall. Most of what is now called the Great Wall dates from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The eastern end of the surviving Ming wall is at Shahaiguan, a town near Qinhuangdao on the coast of the Bo Gulf. In the west, the wall ends near the town of Jiayuguan. But during some periods, the wall reached as far east as Dandong and as far west as Dunhuang, near Anxi.
Parts of the Great Wall have crumbled through the years. However, some sections have been restored. The main part of the wall is about 3,460 kilometres long. Additional branches make up the rest of its length.
One of the highest sections of the Great Wall, on Mount Badaling, near Beijing, rises to about 11 metres high. This section is about 7.5 metres wide at its base and nearly 6 metres at the top. Watchtowers stand about 90 to 180 metres apart along the wall.
In the east, the wall winds through the mountainous Mongolian Border Uplands. This part of the wall has a foundation of granite blocks. It has sides of stone or brick, and the inside of the wall is filled with earth. The top is paved with bricks set in mortar. The bricks form a road that was used by the workers who built the wall and by the soldiers who defended it.
Further to the west, the Great Wall runs through hilly areas and along the borders of deserts. Stone and brick were scarce in these hilly and desert areas, and so the workers used earth to build this section of the wall. The workers moistened the earth and pounded it to make it solid.
Written records indicate that the Chinese built walls along their borders as early as the 600's B.C. Emperor Shi Huangdi of the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.) is traditionally regarded as the first ruler to conceive of, and build, a Great Wall. Most of the Qin wall was north of the present-day wall. Shi Huangdi had the wall built by connecting new walls with older ones. Building continued during later dynasties, including the Han (202 B.C.-A.D. 220) and the Sui (581-618).
By the time the Ming dynasty began in 1368, much of the wall had fallen into ruin. In response to the growing threat of a Mongol invasion, the Ming government began building a major wall in the late 1400's. This wall included most of what remains today. Like earlier ones, it protected China from minor attacks but provided little defence against a major invasion.
Through the centuries, much of the Great Wall again collapsed. However, the Chinese Communists have done restoration work since 1949, when they began to rule the nation. The wall no longer serves the purpose of defence, but it attracts many visitors from around the world. Historians study writing and objects found in fortifications and tombs along the structure. Scientists study earthquakes by examining parts of the wall that have been affected by these earth movements.
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