The Great Wall of China

On July 24th, yourLDSNeighborhood will draw a winner from all their Neighborhood Newsletter subscribers, which number in the thousands, to win a Trip for Two to China. Yes, an exciting time will be possible for all who receive the Neighborhood Newsletter in their inboxes four times a week. Filled with wonderful articles, products, services and interviews from around the world, the Neighborhood Newsletter is one of the most popular newsletters available to people. And just a quick reminder, it's not too late to be included in the drawing. Just click on any of the links above and subscribe and you're "in like Flynn." But it was China we were talking about . . .

One of the places you'll get to visit on this fabulous vacation is the Great Wall of China. So I thought we'd take a quick look at one of the famous Seven Wonders of the World, or are their eight now? But I digress.

The Great Wall of China winds up and down across mountains, deserts, grasslands and plateaus of China. It stretches over 4,100 miles, can you imagine that, running east to west across that vast expanse of the Orient.

Constructed over 2,000 years ago, from Wikipedia we learn:

"The long wall of 10,000 Li (里)"^[1]) is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. The most famous is the wall built between 220–200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.^[2]

The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men.^[5] It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.^[6] ~ Wikipedia

Rich in history and sorrow, the Great Wall of China brings thousands of visitors each year. You have a chance at actually standing on this ancient wall, steeped in the history which surrounds it . . . if . . . you subscribe to the yourLDSNeighborhood Newsletter.

So drop by the Neighborhood today and toss your hat into the proverbial ring . . . you just might win.