Wall of China

State visit to China. Beijing (April 29 2010)

The Great Wall of China is the longest architectural construction in human history – so big they say it can be seen from the moon. A veritable challenge to the Gods, it was built between the 3^rd century BC and the 17^th century AD along China’s northern border. Closely associated with the Ming dynasty, the wall is not just a monument but also a place for reflection. Ten million workers died on the project, which exhausted the strength of the nation. They were all buried in the environs. Five metres wide and with a height varying between five and 17 metres, the wall is on UNESCO’s world heritage list. For the French president and his wife, it was a key symbolic moment on their state visit to China. The day after their trip to Xi’an, the couple went to a lesser-known part of the wall, a so-called “wild section” where once invading tribes managed to break through. That is the very essence of the wall: a history of China in construction, destruction and reconstruction.