There are a lot of myths about the Great Wall that need to go away. First of all: you can’t see it from the moon. Second: While portions of the wall have been constructed and linked and rebuilt in stages since before the Qin dynasty, the Great Wall that most people see today is of a (comparatively) recent vintage, dating back to the 14th century when the Ming emperors sought some means to separate themselves from their Mongol enemies. It never really worked as a “wall,” but it did serve an important defensive purpose as an elevated highway and means of sending communications quickly along the northern mark.
But even so, if you’ve been standing on the northern frontier for such a long time, you’d like to get some respect. First, the announcement that the Wall, which used to protect the Chinese state, now needs state protection. Starting this week, you can no longer carve your name or other graffiti nor take portions of it home as souvenirs or use stones from the landmark to rebuild your pig shed. The Wall sees a reported 10 million tourists a year, but not all of them behave. Getting the chop are such