China is a mystical country with thousands of years of history and culture to explore. From the Great Wall of China to the Forbidden Palace, there are lots of things to do and see in this most stunning of countries. It is a massive country with over one billion inhabitants, encompassing hundreds of sub-cultures and languages. It can be a daunting place to visit but the adventurous are rewarded with memories of this most fantastical and mythical place.
One such miracle of human endeavour which should not be missed is the Great Wall of China, which spreads across a vast part of the country and was built to keep the Mongol hordes to the west out. It is a most arduous of solutions to undertake to keep ones neighbours out; however it was perhaps the best solution when considering the sheer size of the country and the tenacity of the Mongol tribesmen who always had an eye out for any weaknesses in the Chinese defences. It was from these tribesmen that the great Genghis Khan arose and eventually conquered what was a fractious nation in those times. Genghis united his own disorderly people into a vast mobile horde who did not have any great cities to defend or worry about when declaring war on the Chinese. This was one of their greatest advantages as they had nothing to defend once the entire nation went to war. Their other greatest asset was their tactics, which relied on absolute manoeuvrability and the great skill which the Mongol tribesmen had with their bows. It was through this, at the time, unheard of level of manoeuvrability and pace which enabled them to conquer both in the east and the west. By the time the Mongols made war on the Chinese, the Great Wall had fallen into disrepair and its guardians had become sleepy and inattentive in their watch on the west. The brilliance of Genghis Khan's tactical ability cannot be discredited, however as it took many tactical masterstrokes to whittle the Chinese army down and eventually conquer the once great nation.
The Great Wall of China is but one tourist attraction, and all historical sites in China bear similarly epic stories behind their existence. This is perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to visit china, as it was the crucible of many modern technologies and the history of its rise and fall throughout the ages is absolutely fascinating.
One such miracle of human endeavour which should not be missed is the Great Wall of China, which spreads across a vast part of the country and was built to keep the Mongol hordes to the west out. It is a most arduous of solutions to undertake to keep ones neighbours out; however it was perhaps the best solution when considering the sheer size of the country and the tenacity of the Mongol tribesmen who always had an eye out for any weaknesses in the Chinese defences. It was from these tribesmen that the great Genghis Khan arose and eventually conquered what was a fractious nation in those times. Genghis united his own disorderly people into a vast mobile horde who did not have any great cities to defend or worry about when declaring war on the Chinese. This was one of their greatest advantages as they had nothing to defend once the entire nation went to war. Their other greatest asset was their tactics, which relied on absolute manoeuvrability and the great skill which the Mongol tribesmen had with their bows. It was through this, at the time, unheard of level of manoeuvrability and pace which enabled them to conquer both in the east and the west. By the time the Mongols made war on the Chinese, the Great Wall had fallen into disrepair and its guardians had become sleepy and inattentive in their watch on the west. The brilliance of Genghis Khan's tactical ability cannot be discredited, however as it took many tactical masterstrokes to whittle the Chinese army down and eventually conquer the once great nation.
The Great Wall of China is but one tourist attraction, and all historical sites in China bear similarly epic stories behind their existence. This is perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to visit china, as it was the crucible of many modern technologies and the history of its rise and fall throughout the ages is absolutely fascinating.