Sierra Leone Students in China Visit “The Great Wall”

Sierra Leone students in China embarked on a conducted tour to one of China’s greatest historic and touristic sites; the “Great Wall.”

This was the greatest decision taken by the Sierra Leone Students Union, and it was the most exciting trip for students. Students were extremely excited during the tour and were stunned at the amazing view of the wall and the natural beauty of the landscape around it

According to the students, they had heard or read about the Great Wall at one time or the other back home, and for them this was indeed a dream come true to visit this wonderful historic site.

Former president of China, Chairman Mao once said “You are not a plucky hero till you climb the Great Wall!”. This means that, he who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man. It is also a common belief for foreigners staying in China that, if you have never been to the Great Wall, you have never been to China. This is perhaps the main reason why you see hundreds of people day- in and day-out streaming into the great wall.

According to one of our tour guides, of the eight sections of the great wall, five sections are officially open to the public, Badaling. Juyongguan, Mutianyu, Jinshanling and Simatai with more than 100 kilometres renovated and well preserved. All the five sections of the great wall in Beijing have unique features.

Students had the opportunity to have a bit of the history of the great wall through the tour guides and some of the writings on the walls, plaques and some of the books they sell in the stalls inside the Great Wall. The Great Wall was  built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty (221 B.C – 206 B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called “Wan-Li Qang-Qeng” which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km).

After subjugating and uniting China from seven Warring States, the Emperor connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over 2,500 years ago). Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes north of China (the Huns).

The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over 5,000 km long. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25feet) tall.
It is no secret that the Great Wall, symbolizing China’s ancient civilization, is one of the world’s most renowned projects. Of the six Great Wall sections that are currently opened to visitors in Beijing, Badaling Great Wall is the most popular one while Mutianyu Great Wall is considered to be the most beautiful section in Beijing. The other four sections have their own special features and beautiful landscapes.

The Ming Dynasty is the peak of wall building in Chinese History. The Ming suffered a lot of disturbances from minority tribes such as the Dadan, Tufan and Nuzhen. The Ming court from its first emperor to the last ceaselessly built walls in the north. The main line started from Jiuliancheng near the Yalu River in the east to the Jiayuguan Pass in the west and measured over 4,600 miles. Besides adding many more miles of its own, the Ming emperors ordered enlargement of the walls of previous dynasties into double-line or multi-line walls. For example, out of Yanmenguan Pass were added three big stone walls and 23 small stone walls. Eleven Garrisons were distributed along the main line of the wall. The countless walls, fortresses, and watch towers made the country strongly fortified.

The winding Great Wall is not merely a wall but instead a complete and rigorous defense project composed of countless passes. Today, the Great Wall has lost its military function, but as a great ancient engineering work, its magnificent beauty and austere structure are still worthy appreciating. It is now a huge and important international tourist sight, where people from different nationalities are coming every year to see the uniqueness of this ancient structure.

The visit is indeed an exercise vacation for the students, going round or getting to the top was not an easy work.  After this thorough exercise, the students returned to their respective cities as heroes, with medals and certificates. You can get these medal or certificate which carry your picture and name on them when you climbed to the top of the wall. Students shop all sorts of items that bear the name “The Great Wall” as life time souvenirs.

Visiting the Great Wall is not an opportunity one can easily come by, you really need to count yourself lucky if you eventually get to see it. China is so vast that moving from one point to the other is very expensive, and the Great Wall is situated in the capital city Beijing.

This is indeed a heroic opportunity to be to “The Great Wall”.

Wo men dou ai Zhongguo! (We love China!)

By Abu Bakarr Sesay, PRO, Sierra Leone Student Union in China, Masters Student International Relations, Jilin University, Changchun City, China

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