The Great Wall of China with Dan Snow (Ch5, 2026)

CETICOS

Dan Snow travels across China, uncovering the Great Wall's scale, true age and purpose.

Transcript

00:00:00O Grande Walla de China.

00:00:03An antigo, épico monumento que estrelas por milhares de milhares.

00:00:10O scale de isso é unimaginável.

00:00:13Quando você pensa em China, você pensa em O Grande Walla.

00:00:17É um lugar mais famoso no mundo.

00:00:21Mas, além da headline, como realmente sabemos sobre o Grande Walla de China?

00:00:26Quem construiu isso?

00:00:27How on earth did they build and why?

00:00:33I've come to China to find out.

00:00:35I'll be travelling from one end of the Great Wall to the other.

00:00:40To discover why the wall was built and learning about the people who did it.

00:00:45The suffering, the graft, is like nothing else in history.

00:00:50I'll see why it still draws millions of visitors every year.

00:00:54What a place for a wall and meet the people who know it better than anyone to discover the real

00:01:00Great Wall.

00:01:01They've invested so much manpower, so much money to build a death trap.

00:01:08The Great Wall is the longest man-made structure in the world.

00:01:13Yet, it still has so many more secrets to be revealed.

00:01:18This is the story of the Great Wall of China.

00:01:32Hidden in these mountains is one of the wonders of the world.

00:01:36The Great Wall of China.

00:01:39And I'm itching to get my first glimpse.

00:01:42We've just started driving up the hills now, and in the distance, I'm going to see on some of those

00:01:46ridges what looks like the wall.

00:01:51I'm heading to a section of the wall called Badaling, located in the mountains just to the north of the

00:01:57Chinese capital, Beijing.

00:02:02These are the first steps of my Great Wall adventure.

00:02:07Well, almost.

00:02:08I think this is the only section of the wall with a cable car, so I'm afraid I'm going to

00:02:12take the lazy option and make the use of it while I can.

00:02:19And I'm glad of the help.

00:02:21Some parts of Badaling soar over 1,000 metres above sea level.

00:02:26I've been to lots and lots of walls and fortifications before.

00:02:31I've never been to ones just built this high up on the ridgelines, right up on the mountaintops.

00:02:40And it looks like I wasn't the only one with the idea of visiting Badaling today.

00:02:45It's really busy.

00:02:50It might be a chilly winter's day, but the wall is packed.

00:02:59Everyone's here.

00:03:00Kids.

00:03:02Older folk.

00:03:04Not a nod to physical ability.

00:03:07They've got grandma hauling herself up the rail here.

00:03:12And it's easy to see why they make the effort.

00:03:17It's just astonishing.

00:03:19The scale of it, the way that it stretches as far as the eye can see, not in that direction,

00:03:23but in others too.

00:03:25And there's just one tiny part of the wall.

00:03:28You can see why in the past it was said that the root of the wall looks as if it

00:03:33had been laid out by a dragon

00:03:35as it swooped low over the ridges and summits of the mountains of northern China.

00:03:40It is just an incredible structure.

00:03:47You hear lots of stories about the wall, but not all of them are based on fact.

00:03:58I want to try and sort the truth from the tall tales.

00:04:02I'd like to try to get to the real story, the Great Wall of China.

00:04:06And so I'm afraid we need to deal with the biggest fib of all, right at the top.

00:04:11It is not possible to see the Great Wall of China from space.

00:04:16It's just not true.

00:04:18I mean, it is incredibly long, but it's very, very skinny.

00:04:21You just can't see it from that distance.

00:04:25But from down here at ground level, well, just look how impressive this is.

00:04:31The mountains, the blue-gray brick, the turrets and towers.

00:04:38For many, this is the classic view of the Great Wall.

00:04:44There's no wonder, then, that battling is so popular with tourists.

00:04:50Ten million visitors come here every year.

00:04:54That's three times more than visit the Tower of London.

00:05:06Tourism is big business here at the Wall.

00:05:08You can get the Wall on everything, which means the kids are sorted.

00:05:13Jigsaws, little models, even ice creams.

00:05:20But the Wall hasn't always been this way.

00:05:24It was only in 1957 that the now world-famous Badaling was open to the public.

00:05:30It became the very first stretch of Wall anywhere in China to officially welcome tourists.

00:05:38Some steep old sections of Wall, wow.

00:05:44It goes on and on and on.

00:05:51And this incredible stretch of Wall is a favourite of the great and the good, too.

00:05:58Queen Elizabeth II came here in 1986, the first British monarch to visit China.

00:06:03And slightly less highbrow, Wham, came here in 1985, the first Western pop group to play in China.

00:06:11And just like the Queen, this iconic stretch of Wall was on their itinerary.

00:06:17But the Great Wall is so much more than Badaling.

00:06:21In fact, Badaling doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of its incredible story.

00:06:28This might be the place for the tourists come.

00:06:30It might be the place for all the postcards.

00:06:31But if I want to discover more about this incredible structure,

00:06:36I've got to head out to the Wild Wall.

00:06:39That's where I'm going to uncover the real story of the Great Wall of China.

00:06:49Coming up, I head east to the very start of the Great Wall,

00:06:53where it meets the ocean and climb back into the mountains

00:06:57to see it snake along knife-edge peaks and plunge into steep valleys.

00:07:02We run out of superlatives on this wall.

00:07:05And start to answer some of the big questions about the Great Wall.

00:07:09Who were the people that built it?

00:07:12How on earth did they build it?

00:07:14And why?

00:07:20The Great Wall is one of the most iconic structures on the planet

00:07:24and the largest man-made structure ever built.

00:07:28I've already seen the most visited section of the wall at Badaling.

00:07:33But now I'm heading east to a spot that is absolutely crucial in the Great Wall story.

00:07:44We're just coming to Shanghaiguan now, where the Great Wall of China meets the sea.

00:07:53Never thought I'd be starting my trip at the seaside.

00:07:57I'm 200 miles east of Beijing and Badaling.

00:08:00If I keep going in that direction for 300 miles, I'd get to North Korea.

00:08:05This is the Bohai Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean.

00:08:10And that is what's known as the Old Dragon's Head.

00:08:16It is the start of the Great Wall of China.

00:08:20It's the start of my adventure.

00:08:22The Old Dragon's Head gets its name because people have said

00:08:26that it looks like the snout of a dragon dipping into the ocean.

00:08:30Maybe if you squint, you can see what they mean.

00:08:34The wonderful thing about this place is that it is mile zero of the Great Wall.

00:08:39It is the beginning.

00:08:40And it's also a very good place to have a look at a map,

00:08:43see where I'm off to next, because here you can see where we are.

00:08:48Shanghaiguan, right on the ocean.

00:08:49And usefully, it's that starting point of the Great Wall.

00:08:53Then it goes west all the way out here to Gansu province.

00:08:58And that is where I'm heading.

00:09:01So if I want to see more of the wall, I can't stay here, as glorious as this view might

00:09:06be.

00:09:08I'm leaving the ocean behind me and heading back into the mountains.

00:09:13I'm travelling 130 miles inland to the north-east of Beijing to a section of wall called Simitai.

00:09:21It's known as one of the best preserved stretches of the entire wall.

00:09:26Now this is what I've been dreaming of seeing.

00:09:29A vast stretch of wall going off there into the distance.

00:09:34Wild.

00:09:35Not a tourist in sight.

00:09:36It feels like the real adventure has begun.

00:09:42But I'm not here just to take in the view.

00:09:45I've come to Simitai for one very special reason.

00:09:49It's a real treat to have this section of wall to myself.

00:09:52And it's particularly useful here because this bit is famous for some very important clues which are literally written on

00:10:01the bricks themselves that tell us just when the Great Wall of China was built.

00:10:06They are known as character bricks because they have Chinese letters stamped into them.

00:10:13But they can be a bit difficult to spot.

00:10:17They were stamped to ensure quality control.

00:10:20But importantly for us, they often included the year they were made.

00:10:28It's just impossible to know how many of these bricks originally had all that information carved into them.

00:10:34Experts speculate around 5%.

00:10:37And how many of those are still readable today?

00:10:40Well, it's anyone's guess.

00:10:43And with billions of bricks in the wall, I might have my work cut out trying to find one.

00:10:49Too modern.

00:10:50But what is not making my job any easier are all the people that decide to come here and carve

00:10:54their names into these bricks more recently.

00:10:57Innow here.

00:11:01I don't think there's anything on these bricks in here, so I'm going to try and stretch further up.

00:11:11This is the sort of thing I'm looking for.

00:11:13It's just too worn down.

00:11:14It's not clear what it's saying.

00:11:17But it's a good sign.

00:11:17They're obviously still up here.

00:11:25It's a beautiful building here.

00:11:27It's one of the watchtowers.

00:11:28Almost entirely constructed of brick.

00:11:30Just look at that wonderful vaulted ceiling.

00:11:33And these have been inside, protected from the elements.

00:11:36So if there are inscriptions, they should be easy enough to read in here.

00:11:41What have we got here?

00:11:43No, no, no.

00:11:45Hi, up.

00:11:45There we are.

00:11:46What's this one?

00:11:47Can't quite make that one out.

00:11:48But that's one of them.

00:11:49If we come across.

00:11:50Look at this.

00:11:51This is a good one.

00:11:52Come across to here.

00:11:53Someone's actually seemingly made a plaster cast for this one or something.

00:11:56So some of the residue is stuck in there.

00:11:58It means we can read it.

00:11:59It's exactly what I'm looking for.

00:12:00Because I recognize that Chinese character there.

00:12:03That is an emperor's name, Wang Li.

00:12:05Excellent.

00:12:06And then here, this is the key piece of evidence.

00:12:08This is the Chinese character for number five.

00:12:12So this means, this is very exciting, that this brick was fired in the fifth year of Wang

00:12:18Li's reign.

00:12:21Wang Li ruled from 1572 to 1620.

00:12:26The longest ruling emperor from China's most famous dynasty, the Ming.

00:12:32But what does that mean for our brick?

00:12:34And the date of the war?

00:12:39Now, the fifth year of Wang Li sounds a bit confusing.

00:12:44But in fact, it's just a different kind of dating system.

00:12:47And it's a pretty straightforward one once you get your head around it.

00:12:49It's called a regnal year.

00:12:51So everything in the empire, everything that happens, gets its date, not from the birth of

00:12:57Jesus Christ, but from the first year of that particular emperor ruling.

00:13:03So in the British context, that would be like, 2026 is the fourth year of Charles III's reign.

00:13:11And in fact, I say British, we actually used to use this system in official documents up

00:13:15until the 1960s in Britain.

00:13:17But come back to this case, the fifth year of Wang Li.

00:13:22Well, we know he comes to the throne in 1572 in our Western calendar.

00:13:26So that makes it 1577.

00:13:30That brick was stamped and fired in 1577, 450 years ago.

00:13:39But Wang Li wasn't the only Ming emperor to build the wall.

00:13:43Over the course of their almost 300-year reign, the Great Walls extended east and west right

00:13:49across the north of China.

00:13:53The Ming never called this the Great Wall of China.

00:13:56They simply referred to it as Biancheng, the border wall.

00:14:01Well, it was a border wall that experts now think stretched around five and a half thousand miles.

00:14:10That's the equivalent, as the crow flies, of the distance from the UK to South Korea.

00:14:22I suppose the nearest British equivalent, the Great Wall of China would be Hadrian's Wall.

00:14:26I love Hadrian's Wall.

00:14:28No beef with it at all.

00:14:29I mean, not much of it is in the kind of condition that we see on for long stretches of

00:14:34the Great Wall of China.

00:14:35But it's great.

00:14:37It is short, though.

00:14:4072 miles from coast to coast.

00:14:42Great Wall of China, five and a half thousand miles.

00:14:47Which means that the Great Wall is 75 times as long as Hadrian's Wall.

00:14:56It's just extraordinary.

00:15:00You run out of superlatives on this wall.

00:15:10I'm finding this place a little bit overwhelming.

00:15:13It's one of the most magnificent and dramatic monuments I've ever seen.

00:15:16And what is doing my head in is the fact that just this five or six mile stretch that I'm

00:15:20able to see now,

00:15:22these walls stretching over mountain summits and along ridges and clifftops,

00:15:27just this stretch, if this was all that existed, this would be a World Heritage Site.

00:15:30People would come visit.

00:15:31Everyone would celebrate it and take pictures of it.

00:15:33This is just a minute fraction of a wall that stretches more than 5,000 miles.

00:15:42It is impossible to comprehend.

00:15:47This was clearly a monumental undertaking.

00:15:52But what made the Ming build the wall in the first place?

00:15:56Why did they need to protect their border?

00:16:00To find out, I'm heading to a section of the wall called Jiang Kao.

00:16:08It's about 40 miles as the crow flies.

00:16:11But through these mountains and valleys, my journey is almost double.

00:16:17Jiang Kao is known for being one of the most rugged sections of the Great Wall.

00:16:22So this is going to be a real treat.

00:16:28Yeah, you know, having made a journey along the wall,

00:16:31my next ambition was to have it right outside my door.

00:16:37And so I got my piece of history in heaven right here.

00:16:42William Lindsay, a native of the Wirral in northwest England,

00:16:46has now lived in China for 40 years.

00:16:49Back in the 1980s, he was one of the first people

00:16:52to run the length of the Great Wall.

00:16:54It took him 78 days.

00:16:57Oh, it's nice to get in for the sun.

00:16:59It's freezing down that way.

00:17:01His journey sparked a fascination with the wall.

00:17:04And he has since dedicated his life in China

00:17:07to researching his story.

00:17:09And a wonderful view awaits.

00:17:16Oh, my goodness.

00:17:16I've never seen anything like that.

00:17:18Look at that view.

00:17:21I think I've actually lost for words.

00:17:25One of the great panoramas.

00:17:28It certainly is.

00:17:54So, is this section typical that we're on now?

00:17:57It's typical in that we're on the classic Ming Wall in the mountains,

00:18:01but, of course, the Great Wall that most people have in their minds,

00:18:05that's the Tourist Wall.

00:18:06And this is the Wild Wall.

00:18:08Just this stretch that we can see now,

00:18:11it boggles the mind.

00:18:12The engineering, the materials involved,

00:18:15the precipices and the mountain peaks.

00:18:18And this is just a small part of the whole thing.

00:18:20Walls have always been such an essential architectural element of Chinese life.

00:18:25Okay.

00:18:26Around every compound, every hamlet, town, village.

00:18:29But this linear, extraordinary wall is something else.

00:18:33And you've got that big watchtower.

00:18:35Yeah.

00:18:36Is that manned all the time, the people up there?

00:18:38Yeah.

00:18:38The watchtowers are the places where the troops lived, day and night.

00:18:42Really?

00:18:42A tower like that accommodating probably about 30 to 40 men.

00:18:4730 or 40 men in that tower.

00:18:48And there's a lot of towers just on this stretch.

00:18:50So, I mean, again, my mind is trying to do the mathematics on that.

00:18:55How many men along the whole wall?

00:18:56Well, I found a figure of 120 per kilometre, roughly 400 years ago in the 1620s.

00:19:05So, you know, the length of the wall times 120,

00:19:10towards three quarters of a million men.

00:19:12No.

00:19:13Permanently stationed on the Ming Dynasty, Great Wall of China.

00:19:18Why did the Ming Dynasty go to such lengths to build and man this wall?

00:19:23The answer lies in the dynasty they replaced in 1368.

00:19:29The Yuan, or as you might know them better, the Mongols.

00:19:35Hailing from the vast plains of Mongolia,

00:19:38the Mongols swept south and took control of China,

00:19:42creating their own dynasty, the Yuan, in 1271.

00:19:49When the Ming took control almost a century later,

00:19:52they wanted to shore up their northern border and keep the Mongols out.

00:19:57When you stand up here and look down, you're looking down on your enemy.

00:20:02And this is the era when the best weapons are the bow and arrow, the crossbow bolts,

00:20:08and up here, whatever you fire, whatever you throw,

00:20:11is going to go so much further and faster.

00:20:14The enemy has no chance.

00:20:24But the Ming Great Wall is so much more than a defensive structure keeping out an enemy.

00:20:30Why is it all one continuous wall?

00:20:31Surely, like, when you get to this absolute mountaintop there,

00:20:34they could have just not worried about that.

00:20:36No one's going to ride a horse over the top of that barren crag.

00:20:38It's a good question.

00:20:40You know, it's a long frontier.

00:20:42It was impossible for the Chinese, even with their big population,

00:20:46to have enough men up on the wall at the right time

00:20:48when the enemy is choosing the place to attack.

00:20:53So, the wall had to be a signalling line to call for reinforcements.

00:20:58In case of an enemy sighting,

00:21:00the men in the watchtower would light a signal beacon,

00:21:03sending a chain reaction of fires along the wall.

00:21:07High up here on the mountain ridges,

00:21:09those fires would be seen for miles around.

00:21:12But signalling wasn't the only reason the wall was built all the way up here.

00:21:16Supplies, weapons, and reinforcements

00:21:19could be rushed through this rugged landscape along the wall.

00:21:24This was like a motorway through the mountains.

00:21:27Think of the Ming wall as a physical barrier,

00:21:30a signalling line, and a military road.

00:21:32You could have hundreds of troops running along here

00:21:36to a place a mile away,

00:21:38and they could be there within half an hour.

00:21:41The Great Wall of China is a monumental obstacle.

00:21:46But a barrier is only as good as the men who are on it.

00:21:50So I'm heading off alone

00:21:51to learn more about the people who were sent to the wall.

00:21:55We know that men from all across China

00:21:58were posted to this northern border,

00:21:59and they would have to deal with some pretty extreme conditions.

00:22:02Blazing hot summers,

00:22:04and like today, freezing winters.

00:22:07It's about minus one right now,

00:22:09and the only shelter you would get

00:22:11was inside your watchtower.

00:22:13These watchtowers were the centre of day-to-day life on the wall.

00:22:17If I was posted to guard this site,

00:22:21one of these watchtowers would have been home.

00:22:25But it's not quite my idea of a home.

00:22:28I'm not sure how warm it would have been,

00:22:30but it's a bit of shelter.

00:22:32You've got an access point to the upper storey there,

00:22:35and this is where the men would have played dice,

00:22:39chatted, eaten their rations.

00:22:43But there were no banquets

00:22:44with noodles and steamed buns up here.

00:22:48So what would they have eaten?

00:22:51Well, thanks to some recent research,

00:22:53we have the answer,

00:22:54giving me a chance to cook up

00:22:56some authentic Great Wall grub.

00:23:01Archaeologists have found the remains of cooking pots

00:23:03in watchtowers like this,

00:23:05and if you examine the residue inside,

00:23:08you can tell what they were eating,

00:23:09and it turns out they were eating a lot of this.

00:23:13It's millet, very hardy,

00:23:15grows in all sorts of mountain soils.

00:23:18It's a staple in East Asia,

00:23:20and if you mix it with water

00:23:22and heat it over a fire,

00:23:25you get a kind of porridge.

00:23:28Could be a little bit bland, taste-wise,

00:23:30but luckily the Chinese had a secret weapon.

00:23:34Thanks to China's empire stretching far off to the south,

00:23:37they had these.

00:23:38These are called red, prickly ash,

00:23:41but we know them as Sichuan pepper.

00:23:44Oh, I smell that.

00:23:45This is the spice that gives that lovely,

00:23:47hot, numbing feeling

00:23:49when you eat in a Chinese restaurant.

00:23:51It's light, it's portable,

00:23:53you can store it for ages.

00:23:55So this is a wonder ingredient

00:23:57that can transform even the most boring food

00:24:01into a banquet.

00:24:04It might not be pretty,

00:24:06but this would have kept the men of the wall fit and raring to go.

00:24:10And the scenery's not bad either.

00:24:15I can't believe I'm cooking the same ingredients

00:24:17that they were using 500 years ago

00:24:19on this stretcher wall

00:24:22high in the mountains.

00:24:25Life for the soldiers on the wall

00:24:27was undoubtedly tough,

00:24:29but their story is only part of the epic history

00:24:33of the Great Wall of China.

00:24:35Coming up,

00:24:36I find out more about the back-breaking work

00:24:39that went into building the Ming Great Wall.

00:24:41It is a mind-boggling,

00:24:44massive enterprise.

00:24:45And learn about the ordinary people

00:24:47who put in the hard graft

00:24:49in the harshest of conditions.

00:24:53The Great Wall stands today

00:24:56as one of the most recognizable structures

00:24:58in the world,

00:25:00an icon of China.

00:25:03The wall built by the Ming Dynasty

00:25:05is more than 500 years old

00:25:07and one of the most astonishing construction projects

00:25:10ever undertaken in all of history.

00:25:14But this vast structure

00:25:16is unlike any building site I've ever seen.

00:25:19In steep mountains and deep valleys,

00:25:22these are not the easiest conditions to work in.

00:25:25So how on earth did they build it?

00:25:27And who did it?

00:25:29As I walked along the wall,

00:25:31I've realized it's when you get to sections like this,

00:25:33which are undergoing renovations,

00:25:35that you really get to see inside the wall.

00:25:38you realize the volume of material,

00:25:41the sophistication of the labor

00:25:43that went into building this wall.

00:25:45You've got all these bits of limestone,

00:25:46you've got the smaller fired bricks.

00:25:49This is a monumental enterprise.

00:25:53Seeing this,

00:25:54you really start to get a feeling

00:25:55for the scale of the job.

00:25:58What's missing, though,

00:26:00is the laborers,

00:26:02the humans that were actually doing all the hard work

00:26:04and suffering.

00:26:05The sources are astonishing.

00:26:07One says here,

00:26:08the soldiers and civilians along the frontier

00:26:10toil day and night,

00:26:12building the defenses,

00:26:14suffering beyond endurance.

00:26:16In the works of wall building,

00:26:19those who collapse and die

00:26:21are beyond counting.

00:26:24And then we've got another source

00:26:26from the reign of Wan Li,

00:26:27and it says,

00:26:28in the labor of building the frontier walls,

00:26:31many of the civilians died along the way.

00:26:35I mean, it's easy to compare it,

00:26:38I suppose,

00:26:39to the pyramids

00:26:40or building the Colosseum.

00:26:42Well, they are as nothing

00:26:45next to the building of the Great Wall.

00:26:47This is just in a different league.

00:26:49The suffering,

00:26:50the graft,

00:26:52is like nothing else in history.

00:27:00The men who built the Great Wall

00:27:02knew that the best approach

00:27:03would be to use the materials local to them.

00:27:06So that might be stone in some places

00:27:08or even rammed earth in others.

00:27:10But there's one thing common

00:27:12to almost every stretch

00:27:14of the Ming Great Wall.

00:27:16Brick.

00:27:19Whether they used to build

00:27:21the pathway on top of the wall,

00:27:23the watchtowers along it,

00:27:25or the actual wall itself,

00:27:28bricks were essential.

00:27:35This is Mr. Shu

00:27:36and his grandson, Yi.

00:27:39Their family moved to this part of China

00:27:41to help build the wall

00:27:42over 450 years ago.

00:27:45And they continue

00:27:46in that family tradition today,

00:27:48making bricks

00:27:49just as their Ming ancestors did.

00:27:51Can I try making a brick?

00:27:54Why are we laughing?

00:27:56All right, OK,

00:27:56I'll give it a go.

00:27:58The bricks make use

00:28:00of the local clay-rich soil.

00:28:03It's like something

00:28:04you might have made

00:28:04in the back garden as a kid.

00:28:07Here we go.

00:28:08Oh, yeah, that's nice and damp.

00:28:10This is a brick wall.

00:28:13It's very nice.

00:28:15OK, yeah.

00:28:17Is that good?

00:28:17Go, go, go, go.

00:28:18Enough?

00:28:19Too much.

00:28:20OK.

00:28:21Sound good?

00:28:22OK, OK, OK.

00:28:24The wet clay

00:28:25is thrown

00:28:26into this special

00:28:27wooden mould.

00:28:28Happy?

00:28:29Shall I go?

00:28:30OK.

00:28:33It is pressed

00:28:33into the corners

00:28:34and then smoothed out.

00:28:37There we go.

00:28:39Don't want to take his fingers off.

00:28:40Turn this way.

00:28:41Turn this way.

00:28:42Oh, it's too dry.

00:28:44Too dry.

00:28:45That's better.

00:28:47That's nice.

00:28:49Are you happy?

00:28:51OK, good.

00:28:53Finally, there's the

00:28:54delicate task

00:28:55of removing

00:28:56the wooden frame.

00:28:58OK, this is it, guys.

00:28:59This is the big moment.

00:28:59It's like unwrapping

00:29:00a present.

00:29:02Oh, there we go.

00:29:03OK, how about that?

00:29:04That's a good brick.

00:29:05Hey?

00:29:05Perfect.

00:29:06Yeah, perfect.

00:29:06Oh, I wouldn't get that far.

00:29:08That's good.

00:29:10The bricks that Mr. Shue

00:29:11and Yee

00:29:12make here today

00:29:13are used to maintain

00:29:14sections of the great wall

00:29:15that need to be repaired.

00:29:17So maybe one day

00:29:18my brick

00:29:19might make its way

00:29:20up onto the wall too.

00:29:22Well, you never know.

00:29:25Once shaped,

00:29:26the bricks are left out

00:29:26to dry

00:29:27before being sent

00:29:28to the kiln,

00:29:29just like they would have been

00:29:30when the wall

00:29:31was first being built.

00:29:35Oh, look at this.

00:29:36So you could fit

00:29:375,000 bricks

00:29:38in a kiln like this

00:29:39and then you just leave them

00:29:40to cook

00:29:41for about four days

00:29:42and you end up

00:29:43with these big solid bricks,

00:29:45much bigger

00:29:45than the house brick,

00:29:46but then you're building

00:29:47the Great Wall of China.

00:29:49and the amazing thing

00:29:51to think about

00:29:51is they've found evidence

00:29:53just in this valley alone

00:29:54of hundreds of kilns

00:29:57and this is just

00:29:58one small valley

00:30:00along that great expanse

00:30:02of Great Wall.

00:30:04A village like this

00:30:06with a relatively

00:30:06small number of kilns

00:30:08could have produced

00:30:09as many as

00:30:10half a million bricks

00:30:11a week

00:30:12all to feed

00:30:14the immense

00:30:15Great Wall project.

00:30:21What's really clear to me

00:30:22is just the amount

00:30:23of labour

00:30:24that's going into

00:30:25making bricks

00:30:26just for one kiln.

00:30:28You've got

00:30:29the guys actually

00:30:30shaping these bricks.

00:30:31They're each capable

00:30:31of punching out

00:30:33two or three hundred

00:30:33bricks a day

00:30:34but someone has got to

00:30:35carry all the dirt.

00:30:37They've got to mix it

00:30:38with water.

00:30:38Where's that water

00:30:39coming from?

00:30:39That needs bringing

00:30:40from the nearest stream.

00:30:42Then these guys

00:30:43need feeding,

00:30:44they need shelter

00:30:44and then there's

00:30:45the firewood.

00:30:46These bricks

00:30:47need four days

00:30:49in the kiln

00:30:50before they're

00:30:51properly fired.

00:30:52That means feeding

00:30:52with firewood

00:30:53constantly around

00:30:55the clock.

00:30:55It is a

00:30:56mind-bogglingly

00:30:58massive enterprise.

00:31:01It's been fascinating

00:31:03getting a tiny

00:31:04taste of the work

00:31:05that was put

00:31:05into the Great Wall.

00:31:07But what would

00:31:09day-to-day life

00:31:10have looked like

00:31:10for the ordinary

00:31:12people of Ming China?

00:31:13To find out

00:31:14I've come to

00:31:15Nguanquan,

00:31:17a town that sprung up

00:31:18when the wall

00:31:19was being built nearby.

00:31:22Today,

00:31:23China is known

00:31:24for having a huge

00:31:25population,

00:31:26over 1.4 billion.

00:31:29Now,

00:31:30Ming China

00:31:30wasn't quite that big

00:31:31but it boasted

00:31:32a population

00:31:33of well over

00:31:33100 million,

00:31:35nearly twice

00:31:36that of the UK

00:31:37today.

00:31:39And a huge number

00:31:40of those people

00:31:41ended up in towns

00:31:42just like

00:31:44Nguanquan.

00:31:47And that made

00:31:48this a bustling town.

00:31:49Soldiers flocking

00:31:50here to spend

00:31:51their leave.

00:31:52Not just the soldiers,

00:31:53they'd been joined

00:31:53by their families,

00:31:54their wives,

00:31:55girlfriends,

00:31:56kids,

00:31:57and also all sorts

00:31:58of support staff.

00:32:00There would have been

00:32:00merchants here,

00:32:01there would have been

00:32:01farmers,

00:32:02everyone channeling

00:32:03supplies up to

00:32:04those garrisons

00:32:05on the walls.

00:32:06And the best thing

00:32:07about visiting here today

00:32:08is that it still feels

00:32:09like a Ming town.

00:32:17It's magical here.

00:32:18It's very rare in China

00:32:19to find

00:32:20an entire

00:32:22town

00:32:23that's preserved.

00:32:24There's usually,

00:32:25because of the

00:32:26extraordinary explosion

00:32:27of economic activity

00:32:28over the last

00:32:28generation or two,

00:32:30there's usually

00:32:30a lot of development

00:32:31that goes on,

00:32:31a lot of new buildings

00:32:32going up.

00:32:33But this is just

00:32:34a whole

00:32:36town.

00:32:37Like it's been

00:32:38lifted

00:32:39from the Ming period

00:32:40and dumped down

00:32:41in the present.

00:32:42It's wonderful.

00:32:49To help me understand

00:32:50what it would have been

00:32:51like for the people

00:32:52living here

00:32:53during the Ming dynasty,

00:32:54I'm joining

00:32:55Thomas Dubois,

00:32:56an American historian

00:32:58who's lived in China

00:32:58since the 1990s.

00:33:01So Thomas,

00:33:02lots of hustle and bustle

00:33:03in this town center.

00:33:04Oh yeah.

00:33:05Can you give us a sense

00:33:06of what it would have been

00:33:07like 500 years ago?

00:33:08500 years ago,

00:33:09it would have been new.

00:33:10It's got all of this area

00:33:12that just doesn't have

00:33:13a lot of people

00:33:14living in it.

00:33:14A lot of the people

00:33:15who were living here

00:33:16500 years ago

00:33:17had just shown up.

00:33:18They were here

00:33:19to work on the wall,

00:33:20they were here

00:33:20to build the wall,

00:33:21but they were also

00:33:22repopulating this area.

00:33:23This is actually part

00:33:25of that Great Wall story,

00:33:26just the resettlement

00:33:27of whole regions of China.

00:33:28Yeah, exactly.

00:33:29It's just like

00:33:30any military base.

00:33:31So you've got soldiers

00:33:32who would be

00:33:33coming here to eat,

00:33:34coming here with their wages.

00:33:35You know,

00:33:36where are you going

00:33:36to go to eat and drink?

00:33:37You would come

00:33:38to a town like this.

00:33:39So these two

00:33:40live off each other.

00:33:41The town created the wall,

00:33:43but the wall

00:33:43also feeds the town.

00:33:45Speaking of food,

00:33:46Thomas,

00:33:46it's getting a bit chilly

00:33:47out here.

00:33:48What say we go

00:33:48and get something?

00:33:49I would not say no.

00:33:50Let's do it.

00:33:50All right.

00:33:52I'm keen to learn

00:33:53what ordinary people

00:33:54would have been eating

00:33:54in towns like this

00:33:55when the wall

00:33:56was being built.

00:33:58So Thomas has brought me

00:33:59to a restaurant

00:33:59that specializes

00:34:01in a type of noodle

00:34:02that's as popular today

00:34:03as it was 500 years ago.

00:34:06Ooh, lovely and warm.

00:34:08All right.

00:34:09For you.

00:34:09Thank you very much.

00:34:11So is this just tea?

00:34:11This is just water.

00:34:13It's just water.

00:34:14Nature's tea.

00:34:15Yeah.

00:34:15Actually, it's nice.

00:34:16It's hot.

00:34:16It's so cold.

00:34:18Let's see.

00:34:19That is for you.

00:34:21Get some chopsticks here.

00:34:24Oh, thank you.

00:34:25Oh, $2,000 just got it.

00:34:29In Ming,

00:34:29Chinese food's famous today.

00:34:31You can get anything.

00:34:32It looks and tastes so different.

00:34:34Is it very much

00:34:34dependent on where you live

00:34:35back in the Ming Empire?

00:34:36Oh, yeah.

00:34:37The big question

00:34:38is what you can grow.

00:34:39And the big question

00:34:41within that

00:34:41is what kind of grain you eat.

00:34:43Where do you get your calories?

00:34:45So in Britain,

00:34:45we're eating,

00:34:46we grow lots of wheat,

00:34:47we eat lots of bread.

00:34:48Right.

00:34:48Okay.

00:34:49So what would the equivalent

00:34:50be here?

00:34:51These are made from

00:34:52Hollis Oats,

00:34:54which are better for this area

00:34:55because they grow

00:34:56in a drier climate.

00:34:57Okay.

00:34:58We're at a little bit

00:34:59of altitude here,

00:35:00so this is the main

00:35:02source of our calories.

00:35:03And this is becoming

00:35:05really popular in China

00:35:06right now

00:35:07because it's very good for you.

00:35:08It's good for you.

00:35:08Well, it's tasty as well.

00:35:09Oh, it is.

00:35:10It is.

00:35:10It does feel like

00:35:12it goes with this climate.

00:35:13We were freezing cold out there.

00:35:14Now I feel warm.

00:35:15Now, one thing is

00:35:16when you eat noodles,

00:35:17you don't want to bite them in half.

00:35:18Oh, really?

00:35:19And the reason for that

00:35:20is it's kind of symbolic

00:35:22of shortening your lifespan.

00:35:23What?

00:35:24Yeah.

00:35:24Okay.

00:35:25So keep those noodles long.

00:35:26I need to slurp them up?

00:35:27You need to slurp them up.

00:35:29That is not bad manners.

00:35:30It's the epitome of good manners.

00:35:32Really?

00:35:32Yes.

00:35:33So if I'm a guard on the wall

00:35:34and I've got a little bit

00:35:35of time down here

00:35:35for some R&R,

00:35:36I'm going to get

00:35:37a bowl of this, am I?

00:35:38Oh, yes.

00:35:39Nice.

00:35:40You might even get

00:35:40something a little bit more fancy.

00:35:42You might get

00:35:43a little bit of alcohol.

00:35:44You might get

00:35:45some pickled vegetables

00:35:46or you might even

00:35:47get some meat,

00:35:48especially sheep.

00:35:49would have been

00:35:50a really important

00:35:51part of the diet.

00:35:52So you can eat well here?

00:35:53Oh, yeah.

00:35:54Town like this

00:35:55is going to be

00:35:55a gourmet paradise,

00:35:57especially compared

00:35:57to what a soldier

00:35:58is going to eat

00:35:58every day up on the wall.

00:35:59Yeah.

00:36:04The Great Wall

00:36:05transformed regions

00:36:07like this.

00:36:08They had been

00:36:09a bit overlooked

00:36:10out on the edge

00:36:11of things,

00:36:11but suddenly

00:36:11they were centres

00:36:12of activity.

00:36:14Craftsmen moved here.

00:36:15There were carpenters,

00:36:17there were potters

00:36:17and there were metal workers.

00:36:21And when the working day

00:36:23was over,

00:36:23those people would need

00:36:25some form of entertainment.

00:36:28and when the metal workers

00:36:30came up with something

00:36:31you can't see

00:36:32anywhere else in China.

00:36:40It's crazy.

00:36:41He's just spooning

00:36:42the molten metal out

00:36:43and throwing it at the wall.

00:36:49What?

00:36:55They always say

00:36:56the Chinese invented

00:36:56fireworks.

00:36:58I just dip them in

00:36:59the metal like this.

00:37:02Imagine coming down here

00:37:03after a long stint

00:37:04on the wall

00:37:04for decent food

00:37:05and entertainment

00:37:07like that.

00:37:16You've watched that all night.

00:37:19Coming up,

00:37:21I continue

00:37:21my Great Wall journey

00:37:23making a huge

00:37:24800-mile leap

00:37:25to the west

00:37:26deep into some

00:37:27of the least visited

00:37:28parts of China

00:37:29on the hunt

00:37:30for the Great Wall's

00:37:31ancient beginnings.

00:37:33I mean,

00:37:33that is

00:37:34long-term planning.

00:37:36And learn

00:37:37which brutal emperor

00:37:38ordered it to be built.

00:37:41The Great Wall of China

00:37:43is the greatest

00:37:44building project

00:37:44ever undertaken.

00:37:46Stretching

00:37:47from the sea

00:37:48in the east

00:37:49to the desert

00:37:50in the west.

00:37:52It is an engineering

00:37:53achievement

00:37:53on an unbelievable scale.

00:37:58I've been looking

00:37:59at the iconic section

00:38:00of the Great Wall

00:38:01built just an hour

00:38:02and a half drive

00:38:03from Beijing.

00:38:06But there is evidence

00:38:08that the Great Wall

00:38:09is older

00:38:10than this

00:38:11iconic

00:38:12500-year-old

00:38:13Ming stretch.

00:38:15Much,

00:38:16much older.

00:38:18So far,

00:38:19the story

00:38:20has been

00:38:20literally written

00:38:21into the brick

00:38:22and stone

00:38:22of the wall itself.

00:38:24But to find out

00:38:25about the older

00:38:26parts of the wall,

00:38:27I need to look

00:38:28elsewhere.

00:38:30A very important book

00:38:32here.

00:38:32It's called

00:38:33Records of the Grand

00:38:34Historian.

00:38:35It's by

00:38:36Smaqian,

00:38:37who is

00:38:38the first

00:38:39really Chinese

00:38:40historian

00:38:40whose records

00:38:41survive to this day.

00:38:42and he talks

00:38:43about a man

00:38:44here called

00:38:44Meng Tian.

00:38:45He says here,

00:38:46he built

00:38:47the Great Wall.

00:38:49But this book

00:38:51was finished

00:38:51in 91 BC,

00:38:541500 years

00:38:55before the Ming

00:38:56came to power.

00:38:58Smaqian

00:38:59is in fact

00:39:00writing about

00:39:01China's

00:39:01very first

00:39:02dynasty,

00:39:03the Qin.

00:39:05Best remembered

00:39:06today

00:39:06for the famous

00:39:07Terracotta Army.

00:39:10thousands

00:39:10of lifelike

00:39:11statues

00:39:12all standing

00:39:12to attention

00:39:13ready to fight

00:39:14for the emperor

00:39:15in the afterlife.

00:39:19Qin Shiwandi,

00:39:20the first emperor,

00:39:21figured that

00:39:22some defences

00:39:23in this life

00:39:24might not be

00:39:24a bad idea

00:39:25either.

00:39:26So when he came

00:39:27to power

00:39:27in 221 BC

00:39:29he ordered

00:39:30a gigantic

00:39:31wall to be built.

00:39:33The Great Wall

00:39:34of China

00:39:34is in fact

00:39:37nearly

00:39:37two and a half

00:39:38thousand years

00:39:39old.

00:39:40And if you know

00:39:41where to look

00:39:41you can still

00:39:43see pieces

00:39:43of that

00:39:44original wall.

00:39:50I'm travelling

00:39:51800 miles west

00:39:53to find it.

00:39:55Away from the

00:39:56mountains around

00:39:57Beijing

00:39:57to Gansu province.

00:40:04I've been flying

00:40:05now over

00:40:05northern China

00:40:06for a couple

00:40:06of hours

00:40:06I've seen

00:40:07just vast

00:40:08spaces

00:40:09I've seen

00:40:09huge cities

00:40:10I've seen

00:40:10mountain ranges

00:40:11snow-capped peaks

00:40:13it goes on

00:40:14and on

00:40:15and on

00:40:15it's taking

00:40:16a long time

00:40:17in an aircraft

00:40:18and all the while

00:40:20somewhere below me

00:40:21snaking along

00:40:22is that Ming

00:40:24Great Wall

00:40:24of China.

00:40:26I've arrived

00:40:27in one of the

00:40:28least visited

00:40:29parts

00:40:30of all of China.

00:40:32Very different

00:40:33landscape here

00:40:34there's no more

00:40:34of those

00:40:35really jagged

00:40:36rocky

00:40:36tree-lined

00:40:37mountain slopes

00:40:39it's sandy

00:40:40by the looks

00:40:41of it

00:40:41and it's red

00:40:44and according

00:40:45to my history

00:40:45book

00:40:46this is an

00:40:47important place

00:40:48in the Great Wall

00:40:49story.

00:40:51So Smao Chen

00:40:52talks about

00:40:53building the Great Wall

00:40:54and he said

00:40:55it started from

00:40:55Lintau

00:40:56and it goes

00:40:56all the way

00:40:57as far as

00:40:57Liaodong

00:40:58extending more than

00:40:5910,000

00:41:00Chinese miles.

00:41:01So Liaodong

00:41:02is up by

00:41:03Korea

00:41:03it's way

00:41:04to the east

00:41:04where I started

00:41:05my journey

00:41:05on the ocean

00:41:06there

00:41:07next to

00:41:08the old

00:41:08dragon's head

00:41:09and this

00:41:10is Lintau

00:41:11where I am now

00:41:12so this is

00:41:12the other

00:41:13end

00:41:14of that

00:41:15Chin

00:41:15Great Wall

00:41:17The Ming Wall

00:41:18might be the one

00:41:19that people know

00:41:20today

00:41:20but I'm looking

00:41:21for the oldest

00:41:22and original

00:41:24part

00:41:24of the Great Wall

00:41:27we're getting

00:41:27up some very

00:41:28tight switchbacks

00:41:29we're getting

00:41:29some altitude

00:41:30here

00:41:39we're getting

00:41:40towards the

00:41:40ridgeline

00:41:41here

00:41:41surely

00:41:43I suppose

00:41:43the wall

00:41:44must be on

00:41:44the highest

00:41:45point of

00:41:45this ridge

00:41:47we're looking

00:41:48out here

00:41:50might have to

00:41:51get out

00:41:51a walk

00:42:04right

00:42:06it's close

00:42:06by now

00:42:07let's go

00:42:07and take

00:42:07a look

00:42:10I'm heading

00:42:11to a spot

00:42:12around

00:42:122,000 metres

00:42:13above

00:42:14sea level

00:42:14that's

00:42:15more than

00:42:15500 metres

00:42:16higher

00:42:17than

00:42:17Ben Nevis

00:42:18the highest

00:42:19point in

00:42:20Britain

00:42:24what an

00:42:25amazing

00:42:25landscape

00:42:26I feel

00:42:26like I'm

00:42:26the top

00:42:27of the

00:42:27world

00:42:27up here

00:42:28and look

00:42:29at those

00:42:29terraces

00:42:29all carved

00:42:30into these

00:42:31hillsides

00:42:31very different

00:42:33to what I've

00:42:33seen out

00:42:33east

00:42:34I cannot

00:42:34wait

00:42:35to see

00:42:36what the

00:42:36Great Wall

00:42:37of China

00:42:37looks like

00:42:38out here

00:42:41this place

00:42:41makes

00:42:42Badaling

00:42:42with all

00:42:43those

00:42:43tourists

00:42:44seem

00:42:44like a

00:42:45world

00:42:45away

00:42:46it's

00:42:46hard

00:42:47to

00:42:47believe

00:42:47that

00:42:48there's

00:42:48Great Wall

00:42:48all the

00:42:49way

00:42:49up

00:42:50here

00:42:58yeah

00:42:59this

00:42:59is

00:42:59definitely

00:42:59it

00:43:00this

00:43:00is

00:43:00just

00:43:00turned

00:43:00off

00:43:01the

00:43:01road

00:43:01onto

00:43:01this

00:43:02embankment

00:43:03that runs

00:43:03down here

00:43:03on this

00:43:04ridge

00:43:04two sets

00:43:05of

00:43:06fields

00:43:07terraces

00:43:07on either

00:43:08side

00:43:08it's got

00:43:08these

00:43:08protective

00:43:09fences

00:43:09along it

00:43:10so this

00:43:10is it

00:43:11huge

00:43:11rampart

00:43:12that runs

00:43:12down

00:43:13still

00:43:13remarkably

00:43:14complete

00:43:15much better

00:43:15than I was

00:43:15expecting

00:43:16particularly

00:43:16that section

00:43:17down there

00:43:18really high

00:43:19you can see

00:43:19the shade

00:43:20on one

00:43:20side

00:43:21can't wait to

00:43:21have a look

00:43:21at that

00:43:24it might not

00:43:25be the image

00:43:26that most

00:43:26people have

00:43:27in their

00:43:27minds

00:43:27when they

00:43:28think of

00:43:28the Great

00:43:29Wall

00:43:29but this

00:43:30is just

00:43:30as spectacular

00:43:31as any

00:43:31of those

00:43:32Ming

00:43:32sections

00:43:33back east

00:43:37can't believe

00:43:38I can't believe

00:43:38I'm walking

00:43:38along the

00:43:39wall

00:43:39that's

00:43:40only two

00:43:41and a half

00:43:41thousand

00:43:41years old

00:43:42and there's

00:43:43still

00:43:44enough of it

00:43:45to dominate

00:43:45the landscape

00:43:46here

00:43:46still enough

00:43:47of it

00:43:47frankly

00:43:48you could

00:43:49defend this

00:43:50wall

00:43:50in the

00:43:51present

00:43:51day

00:43:52I mean

00:43:53that is

00:43:54long term

00:43:54planning

00:44:00it looks

00:44:01very different

00:44:02to the

00:44:02Ming

00:44:02Great

00:44:02Wall

00:44:03because

00:44:03instead

00:44:04of

00:44:04brick

00:44:04and stone

00:44:05this wall

00:44:06is made

00:44:07of rammed

00:44:08earth

00:44:09but despite

00:44:10the rather

00:44:10basic

00:44:11building

00:44:11material

00:44:12this is

00:44:13every bit

00:44:13as

00:44:13sophisticated

00:44:16well it's

00:44:17fantastic

00:44:17to be able

00:44:18to get

00:44:18a look

00:44:18up close

00:44:19at this

00:44:19wall

00:44:20because

00:44:20you can

00:44:20see

00:44:20how

00:44:21they

00:44:21built

00:44:21it

00:44:22and

00:44:22the

00:44:22chin

00:44:23like

00:44:23the

00:44:24Ming

00:44:24later

00:44:24were

00:44:24very

00:44:25clever

00:44:25they

00:44:25had

00:44:26to

00:44:26use

00:44:26what

00:44:27was

00:44:27in

00:44:27the

00:44:27area

00:44:27what

00:44:28nature

00:44:28provided

00:44:28some

00:44:29places

00:44:29limestone

00:44:30rocks

00:44:31other

00:44:31places

00:44:32bricks

00:44:32of clay

00:44:33here

00:44:33none

00:44:34of that

00:44:34so

00:44:34they

00:44:34have

00:44:35to

00:44:35make

00:44:35do

00:44:35with

00:44:35this

00:44:36which

00:44:37is

00:44:37a

00:44:37very

00:44:37loose

00:44:38windblown

00:44:39soil

00:44:39called

00:44:40lois

00:44:40and somehow

00:44:41you've

00:44:41got to

00:44:44into

00:44:45something

00:44:45that's

00:44:46going to

00:44:46last

00:44:47over

00:44:47two and

00:44:48a half

00:44:48thousand

00:44:48years

00:44:52lois

00:44:53is made

00:44:53up of

00:44:54clay

00:44:54sand

00:44:55and

00:44:55silt

00:44:56that's

00:44:56only

00:44:56found

00:44:57in a

00:44:57few

00:44:57locations

00:44:58around

00:44:58the

00:44:58world

00:44:59but

00:45:00it's

00:45:00in

00:45:00huge

00:45:01supply

00:45:01in

00:45:02this

00:45:02part

00:45:02of

00:45:02china

00:45:04to

00:45:05build

00:45:05this

00:45:05wall

00:45:05the

00:45:06chin

00:45:06engineers

00:45:07built

00:45:07a

00:45:08wooden

00:45:08frame

00:45:09and

00:45:09into

00:45:10that

00:45:10frame

00:45:11that

00:45:11sort

00:45:11of

00:45:11trough

00:45:12they

00:45:12poured

00:45:13all

00:45:13this

00:45:13lois

00:45:14and

00:45:14any

00:45:14gravel

00:45:15that

00:45:15was

00:45:15around

00:45:16and

00:45:16then

00:45:16the

00:45:17people

00:45:17set

00:45:17to

00:45:17work

00:45:18tamping

00:45:19it

00:45:19down

00:45:20tamping

00:45:21is

00:45:21using

00:45:21a

00:45:22heavy

00:45:22weight

00:45:22basically

00:45:22on the

00:45:22end

00:45:22of

00:45:23a

00:45:23long

00:45:23pole

00:45:23and

00:45:24you're

00:45:24just

00:45:24whacking

00:45:24you're

00:45:24just

00:45:25making

00:45:25that

00:45:25soil

00:45:25more

00:45:26dense

00:45:26you're

00:45:26just

00:45:26forcing

00:45:27more

00:45:27of

00:45:28this

00:45:28lois

00:45:28into

00:45:29that

00:45:29frame

00:45:29until

00:45:30you've

00:45:30got

00:45:30a

00:45:31solid

00:45:31wall

00:45:32now

00:45:32that

00:45:33was

00:45:33labour

00:45:33intensive

00:45:34you can

00:45:34just

00:45:34imagine

00:45:35these

00:45:36ridge

00:45:36lines

00:45:36these

00:45:37valleys

00:45:38just

00:45:39filled

00:45:39with

00:45:39people

00:45:40all

00:45:40just

00:45:41banging

00:45:41soil

00:45:42compressing

00:45:42that

00:45:43soil

00:45:43the

00:45:43sound

00:45:44alone

00:45:44must

00:45:45have

00:45:45been

00:45:45overwhelming

00:45:48when it

00:45:49was first

00:45:49completed

00:45:49the

00:45:50chin

00:45:50great

00:45:51wall

00:45:51would

00:45:51have

00:45:52stood

00:45:52over

00:45:52seven

00:45:53metres

00:45:53high

00:45:53and

00:45:55incredibly

00:45:55it

00:45:56stretched

00:45:56more

00:45:56than

00:45:573,000

00:45:58miles

00:45:58across

00:45:58chin

00:45:59china

00:45:59the

00:46:01much

00:46:01newer

00:46:01ming

00:46:01wall

00:46:02stretches

00:46:035,500

00:46:04miles

00:46:05but

00:46:05it's

00:46:05the

00:46:05result

00:46:06of

00:46:06almost

00:46:07300

00:46:07years

00:46:08of

00:46:08continual

00:46:09building

00:46:10the

00:46:10chin

00:46:11wall

00:46:11might

00:46:11not

00:46:11be

00:46:11quite

00:46:12as

00:46:12long

00:46:12but

00:46:13they

00:46:13only

00:46:13ruled

00:46:14china

00:46:14for

00:46:1415

00:46:15years

00:46:16all

00:46:17of

00:46:17this

00:46:17was

00:46:17completed

00:46:18in

00:46:19just

00:46:19over

00:46:19a

00:46:20decade

00:46:23many

00:46:23sections

00:46:24of

00:46:24this

00:46:24ancient

00:46:25wall

00:46:25were

00:46:25later

00:46:25built

00:46:26over

00:46:26by

00:46:27the

00:46:27ming

00:46:27but

00:46:28not

00:46:28this

00:46:28bit

00:46:28leaving

00:46:29us

00:46:29with

00:46:29a

00:46:30glimpse

00:46:30of

00:46:30one

00:46:30of

00:46:31the

00:46:31oldest

00:46:31sections

00:46:32of

00:46:32the

00:46:32great

00:46:33wall

00:46:33anywhere

00:46:33in

00:46:34china

00:46:36the

00:46:36great

00:46:37wall

00:46:37was

00:46:37a

00:46:37statement

00:46:38by

00:46:38the

00:46:38first

00:46:39emperor

00:46:39he

00:46:40was

00:46:40literally

00:46:41staking

00:46:42out

00:46:43his

00:46:43vast

00:46:43new

00:46:44territory

00:46:45he

00:46:45was

00:46:46in

00:46:46control

00:46:47yes

00:46:47it

00:46:48helped

00:46:48to

00:46:48protect

00:46:49china

00:46:49from

00:46:50those

00:46:50warriors

00:46:51to

00:46:51the

00:46:51north

00:46:51but

00:46:52it

00:46:52also

00:46:52helped

00:46:53him

00:46:53keep

00:46:53order

00:46:53in

00:46:54china

00:46:54itself

00:46:55no

00:46:55one

00:46:56who

00:46:56saw

00:46:56this

00:46:57great

00:46:57wall

00:46:58could

00:46:58doubt

00:46:58that

00:46:59Qing

00:46:59Shiu

00:47:00Wandi

00:47:00was

00:47:01in

00:47:01absolute

00:47:02command

00:47:04and

00:47:05make

00:47:05no

00:47:05mistake

00:47:05the

00:47:06people

00:47:07of

00:47:07Qing

00:47:07China

00:47:08suffered

00:47:08to

00:47:09build

00:47:09his

00:47:10great

00:47:10wall

00:47:14there's

00:47:14a really

00:47:15interesting

00:47:15line in

00:47:15this

00:47:16ancient

00:47:16history

00:47:17book

00:47:17the

00:47:18author

00:47:18the

00:47:18historian

00:47:18actually

00:47:19comes

00:47:19and

00:47:19visits

00:47:20the

00:47:20Qing

00:47:20wall

00:47:20he's

00:47:21really

00:47:21struck

00:47:21by it

00:47:22but

00:47:22also

00:47:22by

00:47:23just

00:47:23how

00:47:23heartless

00:47:24and

00:47:24brutal

00:47:25the

00:47:25first

00:47:26emperor

00:47:26was

00:47:26he

00:47:27says

00:47:27during

00:47:28the

00:47:28building

00:47:29the

00:47:29wall

00:47:29he

00:47:29hollowed

00:47:30out

00:47:30the

00:47:30mountains

00:47:30and

00:47:31filled

00:47:31in

00:47:31the

00:47:32valleys

00:47:32to

00:47:33be

00:47:33sure

00:47:33though

00:47:34he

00:47:34showed

00:47:34little

00:47:35concern

00:47:35for

00:47:36the

00:47:36efforts

00:47:36of

00:47:37the

00:47:37people

00:47:39and

00:47:39many

00:47:40stories

00:47:40about

00:47:40just

00:47:41how

00:47:41cruel

00:47:41life

00:47:42could

00:47:42be

00:47:42for

00:47:42the

00:47:43workers

00:47:43have

00:47:44entered

00:47:44into

00:47:44legend

00:47:45one

00:47:46is

00:47:47the

00:47:47story

00:47:47of

00:47:47Lady

00:47:48Meng

00:47:49traditionally

00:47:49set

00:47:50during

00:47:50the

00:47:50Qing

00:47:51period

00:47:51is

00:47:52now

00:47:52one

00:47:52of

00:47:52the

00:47:52best

00:47:53known

00:47:53stories

00:47:53in

00:47:53all

00:47:54of

00:47:54China

00:47:55the

00:47:56tale

00:47:56goes

00:47:56that

00:47:56her

00:47:56husband

00:47:57was

00:47:57dragged

00:47:57off

00:47:58to

00:47:58work

00:47:58on

00:47:59the

00:47:59Great

00:47:59Wall

00:47:59and

00:48:00when

00:48:00she

00:48:00found

00:48:01out

00:48:01about

00:48:01how

00:48:02tough

00:48:02the

00:48:02conditions

00:48:03were

00:48:03she

00:48:03made

00:48:04the

00:48:04long

00:48:04journey

00:48:05to

00:48:05try

00:48:05and

00:48:05bring

00:48:06him

00:48:06winter

00:48:06clothing

00:48:06and

00:48:07make

00:48:07his

00:48:07life

00:48:08more

00:48:08tolerable

00:48:08when

00:48:08she

00:48:09arrived

00:48:09and

00:48:09found

00:48:10the

00:48:10stretch

00:48:10she

00:48:10had

00:48:10been

00:48:10working

00:48:11on

00:48:11she

00:48:11learned

00:48:12that

00:48:12he

00:48:12was

00:48:13dead

00:48:13and

00:48:14she

00:48:14was

00:48:14distraught

00:48:15and

00:48:15she

00:48:15wept

00:48:16she

00:48:17cried

00:48:17she shed

00:48:17so

00:48:18many

00:48:18tears

00:48:18that

00:48:19they

00:48:19washed

00:48:20the

00:48:20wall

00:48:20away

00:48:20and

00:48:21revealed

00:48:21her

00:48:22husband's

00:48:23bones

00:48:23in

00:48:24the

00:48:24foundations

00:48:28this

00:48:28may just

00:48:29be a

00:48:29story

00:48:29but

00:48:30I

00:48:30think

00:48:30it

00:48:30probably

00:48:30does

00:48:31reveal

00:48:31a

00:48:31grain

00:48:32of

00:48:32truth

00:48:32about

00:48:33the

00:48:33building

00:48:33of

00:48:33the

00:48:33Chin

00:48:34Great

00:48:34Wall

00:48:34some

00:48:35experts

00:48:36believe

00:48:36that

00:48:36a

00:48:37staggering

00:48:371

00:48:38million

00:48:38people

00:48:39were

00:48:39sent

00:48:39to

00:48:39work

00:48:40here

00:48:40and

00:48:41for

00:48:41many

00:48:41of

00:48:41them

00:48:41this

00:48:42place

00:48:42would

00:48:43become

00:48:43their

00:48:44grave

00:48:47coming

00:48:48up

00:48:48I'm

00:48:48heading

00:48:48into

00:48:49one

00:48:49of

00:48:49the

00:48:49biggest

00:48:49and

00:48:50coldest

00:48:50deserts

00:48:51in

00:48:51the

00:48:52world

00:48:52the

00:48:53Gobi

00:48:53it's

00:48:54a

00:48:54very

00:48:55difficult

00:48:55place

00:48:56to

00:48:56survive

00:48:56trying

00:48:57to

00:48:57find

00:48:57some

00:48:58of

00:48:58the

00:48:58most

00:48:58extreme

00:48:59sections

00:49:00of

00:49:00the

00:49:00Great

00:49:00Wall

00:49:00anywhere

00:49:01in

00:49:01China

00:49:09it's

00:49:10been

00:49:10amazing

00:49:10to

00:49:11discover

00:49:11that

00:49:12there

00:49:12is

00:49:12so

00:49:12much

00:49:12more

00:49:13to

00:49:13the

00:49:13Great

00:49:13Wall

00:49:14than

00:49:14the

00:49:14picture

00:49:15postcard

00:49:15that

00:49:15most

00:49:16of

00:49:16us

00:49:16have

00:49:16in

00:49:16our

00:49:16minds

00:49:17I've

00:49:18already

00:49:18seen

00:49:18the

00:49:18incredible

00:49:19Ming

00:49:19Wall

00:49:19that

00:49:20protected

00:49:20Beijing

00:49:21from

00:49:21northern

00:49:22raiders

00:49:22like

00:49:22the

00:49:22Mongols

00:49:23and

00:49:24the

00:49:24ancient

00:49:24Qin

00:49:25Wall

00:49:25over

00:49:26two

00:49:26and

00:49:26a

00:49:26half

00:49:27thousand

00:49:27years

00:49:27old

00:49:29now

00:49:29I'm

00:49:30heading

00:49:30deeper

00:49:30into

00:49:31Gansu

00:49:31province

00:49:32on

00:49:32the

00:49:32hunt

00:49:33for

00:49:33some

00:49:33even

00:49:34more

00:49:34far

00:49:35flung

00:49:35sections

00:49:36of

00:49:36the

00:49:36Great

00:49:36Wall

00:49:37I'm

00:49:38over

00:49:38a

00:49:38thousand

00:49:38miles

00:49:39to

00:49:39the

00:49:39west

00:49:39of

00:49:57it

00:49:58really

00:49:58is

00:50:00astonishingly

00:50:00remote

00:50:01here

00:50:01in fact

00:50:01we're

00:50:01getting

00:50:02towards

00:50:02that

00:50:03point

00:50:03on

00:50:03earth

00:50:04which

00:50:04is

00:50:04furthest

00:50:05from

00:50:05any

00:50:06ocean

00:50:13it

00:50:14was

00:50:14through

00:50:14this

00:50:15same

00:50:15tough

00:50:16landscape

00:50:16that

00:50:17in

00:50:17the

00:50:17early

00:50:171900s

00:50:18an

00:50:19archaeologist

00:50:19named

00:50:19Oral Stein

00:50:20made an

00:50:21expedition

00:50:22keen

00:50:23to learn

00:50:23more

00:50:23about

00:50:24this

00:50:24remote

00:50:24part

00:50:24of

00:50:25China

00:50:29it's

00:50:29hard

00:50:29enough

00:50:29travelling

00:50:30around

00:50:30here

00:50:30in

00:50:30the

00:50:3021st

00:50:31century

00:50:31goodness

00:50:32knows

00:50:33how

00:50:33he

00:50:33managed

00:50:34at

00:50:34the

00:50:34start

00:50:34of

00:50:35the

00:50:3520th

00:50:35but

00:50:36managed

00:50:37he

00:50:37did

00:50:37he

00:50:38found

00:50:38something

00:50:38quite

00:50:39remarkable

00:50:39he

00:50:40found

00:50:41great

00:50:42wall

00:50:48the

00:50:49Gobi

00:50:49is

00:50:49unlike

00:50:49anywhere

00:50:50I've

00:50:50visited

00:50:50before

00:50:51it's

00:50:52a

00:50:52strange

00:50:53lunar

00:50:53landscape

00:50:55forget

00:50:56the

00:50:56hot

00:50:57sands

00:50:57of

00:50:57the

00:50:57Sahara

00:50:58this

00:50:58is

00:50:59flat

00:50:59rocky

00:51:00and

00:51:01today

00:51:01bitterly

00:51:02cold

00:51:03it's

00:51:03currently

00:51:04minus

00:51:0415

00:51:05but

00:51:06stein

00:51:06crossed

00:51:07the

00:51:07landscape

00:51:07man-made

00:51:09structures

00:51:09started

00:51:10to

00:51:10appear

00:51:11tamped

00:51:12earth

00:51:12with

00:51:13layers

00:51:13of

00:51:14reeds

00:51:14sandwiched

00:51:15between

00:51:15them

00:51:16this

00:51:17was a

00:51:17wall

00:51:17but

00:51:19when

00:51:19was

00:51:19it

00:51:19built

00:51:22stein

00:51:23found

00:51:23lots

00:51:23of

00:51:23interesting

00:51:24things

00:51:24in

00:51:25the

00:51:25dust

00:51:25around

00:51:25these

00:51:26walls

00:51:26he

00:51:26found

00:51:27pottery

00:51:27he

00:51:28even

00:51:28found

00:51:28wood

00:51:28and

00:51:29leather

00:51:29preserved

00:51:29in

00:51:30these

00:51:30dry

00:51:30conditions

00:51:30and

00:51:31he

00:51:31found

00:51:31plenty

00:51:32of

00:51:34these

00:51:36arrowheads

00:51:40the

00:51:41arrowheads

00:51:42were

00:51:42triangular

00:51:42with

00:51:43bronze

00:51:44tips

00:51:44and

00:51:44iron

00:51:45tails

00:51:47stein

00:51:48thought

00:51:48he

00:51:48knew

00:51:48how

00:51:48old

00:51:49they

00:51:49were

00:51:49and

00:51:50then

00:51:50he

00:51:50discovered

00:51:51something

00:51:51else

00:51:51which

00:51:52confirmed

00:51:53his

00:51:53suspicions

00:51:54got a

00:51:55replica

00:51:56here

00:51:56strips

00:51:57of

00:51:57bamboo

00:51:58with

00:51:58chinese

00:51:59characters

00:51:59on

00:52:00them

00:52:00this

00:52:01was

00:52:01gold

00:52:02dust

00:52:03for

00:52:03an

00:52:03archaeologist

00:52:03this

00:52:04is

00:52:04the

00:52:04equivalent

00:52:05in

00:52:06britain

00:52:06to

00:52:07a

00:52:07big

00:52:07medieval

00:52:08manuscript

00:52:08full

00:52:09of

00:52:09official

00:52:09information

00:52:10that's

00:52:10exactly

00:52:11what

00:52:11these

00:52:11characters

00:52:12are

00:52:12here

00:52:12so

00:52:12this

00:52:13allows

00:52:13him

00:52:14to

00:52:14date

00:52:14this

00:52:15wall

00:52:15with

00:52:16confidence

00:52:16he'd

00:52:17taken

00:52:17a

00:52:17guess

00:52:17after

00:52:18looking

00:52:18at

00:52:18the

00:52:18arrowheads

00:52:18and

00:52:19this

00:52:19proved

00:52:20it

00:52:20this

00:52:21wall

00:52:21was

00:52:21built

00:52:21by

00:52:22Chinese

00:52:22dynasty

00:52:23called

00:52:24the

00:52:24Han

00:52:26the

00:52:27Han

00:52:27were

00:52:27China's

00:52:28second

00:52:28dynasty

00:52:29and

00:52:29the

00:52:29wall

00:52:30they

00:52:30built

00:52:30when

00:52:31it

00:52:31was

00:52:31first

00:52:31completed

00:52:32was

00:52:32twice

00:52:32as

00:52:33high

00:52:33and

00:52:33ran

00:52:34for

00:52:346,000

00:52:36miles

00:52:36and

00:52:37this

00:52:37is

00:52:38the

00:52:38best

00:52:38surviving

00:52:39section

00:52:39anywhere

00:52:40in

00:52:41China

00:52:41I'm

00:52:42just

00:52:42trying to

00:52:42get

00:52:42my

00:52:43head

00:52:43around

00:52:43the

00:52:43fact

00:52:43that

00:52:43this

00:52:44was

00:52:44built

00:52:44approximately

00:52:452,000

00:52:45years

00:52:45ago

00:52:46which

00:52:46was

00:52:46around

00:52:47about

00:52:47the

00:52:47same

00:52:47time

00:52:48that

00:52:48the

00:52:48Romans

00:52:49were

00:52:49invading

00:52:50Britain

00:52:52with

00:52:53the

00:52:53Ming

00:52:53Great

00:52:54wall

00:52:54the

00:52:55ancient

00:52:55Chin

00:52:55wall

00:52:56this

00:52:57enormous

00:52:58Han

00:52:58wall

00:52:58and

00:52:59various

00:52:59other

00:52:59sections

00:53:00built

00:53:00throughout

00:53:00history

00:53:01it's

00:53:01clear

00:53:02that

00:53:02we

00:53:02shouldn't

00:53:03be

00:53:03talking

00:53:03about

00:53:04the

00:53:04Great

00:53:04Wall

00:53:05but

00:53:05the

00:53:06Great

00:53:06Walls

00:53:07of

00:53:08China

00:53:08it's

00:53:09believed

00:53:10that there

00:53:10are at

00:53:11least

00:53:1116

00:53:12of

00:53:12them

00:53:12stretching

00:53:13all

00:53:13across

00:53:13China

00:53:14into

00:53:14modern

00:53:14day

00:53:15North

00:53:15Korea

00:53:15Mongolia

00:53:16and

00:53:17even

00:53:17Russia

00:53:18If

00:53:19you

00:53:19put

00:53:19them

00:53:20all

00:53:20together

00:53:20this

00:53:21incredible

00:53:22structure

00:53:23which

00:53:23has

00:53:23evolved

00:53:24and

00:53:24grown

00:53:25over

00:53:25thousands

00:53:26of

00:53:26years

00:53:26actually

00:53:27measures

00:53:28something

00:53:28like

00:53:2813,000

00:53:31miles

00:53:31that's

00:53:32pretty much

00:53:32the distance

00:53:33between

00:53:34Britain

00:53:34and New

00:53:35Zealand

00:53:35halfway

00:53:36around

00:53:36the

00:53:37world

00:53:39But

00:53:39why

00:53:39did

00:53:40the

00:53:40Han

00:53:40build

00:53:40a

00:53:41wall

00:53:41out

00:53:41in

00:53:42one

00:53:42of

00:53:42the

00:53:42most

00:53:42inhospitable

00:53:43places

00:53:43on the

00:53:43planet

00:53:46I'm

00:53:46heading

00:53:46to

00:53:47the

00:53:47westernmost

00:53:48point

00:53:48of my

00:53:48journey

00:53:49to

00:53:50one

00:53:50of

00:53:50the

00:53:50most

00:53:51special

00:53:51places

00:53:52on

00:53:52the

00:53:53whole

00:53:53Great

00:53:53Wall

00:53:54and

00:53:54one

00:53:54of

00:53:54the

00:53:54most

00:53:55important

00:53:55places

00:53:56in

00:53:56all

00:53:56of

00:53:56China

00:53:572,000

00:53:58years

00:53:58ago

00:53:58This

00:53:59is

00:53:59Yunmengguan

00:54:00the

00:54:01Jade

00:54:01Gate

00:54:04For

00:54:05centuries

00:54:06this

00:54:07was

00:54:07China's

00:54:08gateway

00:54:08to

00:54:09the

00:54:09rest

00:54:10of

00:54:10the

00:54:10world

00:54:13All

00:54:13that

00:54:14remains

00:54:14of

00:54:14what

00:54:14once

00:54:15would

00:54:15have

00:54:15been

00:54:15a

00:54:15much

00:54:15larger

00:54:16complex

00:54:16is

00:54:17this

00:54:17square

00:54:18building

00:54:18But

00:54:19in

00:54:19its

00:54:19heyday

00:54:20there

00:54:20would

00:54:21have

00:54:21been

00:54:21other

00:54:21buildings

00:54:22and

00:54:22of

00:54:22course

00:54:22the

00:54:23ever

00:54:23present

00:54:24Great

00:54:24Wall

00:54:24too

00:54:25But

00:54:26it

00:54:26wasn't

00:54:26just

00:54:26a

00:54:27wall

00:54:27to

00:54:27defend

00:54:28China

00:54:28It

00:54:29was

00:54:29one

00:54:30to

00:54:30defend

00:54:30probably

00:54:31history's

00:54:32most

00:54:32famous

00:54:33trade

00:54:33route

00:54:34You

00:54:34might

00:54:35have

00:54:35heard

00:54:35of

00:54:35it

00:54:35The

00:54:36Silk Road

00:54:39The

00:54:39Silk Road

00:54:40was a

00:54:40network

00:54:41of

00:54:41trade

00:54:41routes

00:54:42that

00:54:42ran

00:54:42from

00:54:42China

00:54:43through

00:54:43Asia

00:54:44and

00:54:45all

00:54:45the

00:54:45way

00:54:45to

00:54:45Rome

00:54:47The

00:54:48Great

00:54:48Wall

00:54:48is

00:54:48here

00:54:49to

00:54:49protect

00:54:49it

00:54:49and

00:54:50control

00:54:50that

00:54:51all

00:54:51important

00:54:52flow

00:54:52of

00:54:53goods

00:54:53people

00:54:54and

00:54:55money

00:54:57Well

00:54:57that's

00:54:57very

00:54:57interesting

00:54:58The

00:54:58first

00:54:58thing

00:54:59you

00:54:59notice

00:54:59about

00:54:59coming

00:54:59in

00:54:59here

00:55:00passing

00:55:00through

00:55:01these

00:55:01walls

00:55:023-4

00:55:02meters

00:55:02thick

00:55:03is

00:55:03that

00:55:03those

00:55:03walls

00:55:04despite

00:55:05crumbling

00:55:06with age

00:55:06after

00:55:07centuries

00:55:07are still

00:55:08strong

00:55:09enough

00:55:09to keep

00:55:09that

00:55:10desert

00:55:10wind

00:55:10out

00:55:10much

00:55:10warmer

00:55:11in

00:55:11here

00:55:11We

00:55:12don't

00:55:12really

00:55:13know

00:55:13what

00:55:13happened

00:55:13here

00:55:13we

00:55:13can

00:55:14use

00:55:14our

00:55:14imaginations

00:55:14We

00:55:15know

00:55:15there

00:55:15was

00:55:15an

00:55:16early

00:55:16form

00:55:16of

00:55:17passports

00:55:18in

00:55:18operation

00:55:18here

00:55:18so

00:55:19passports

00:55:19being

00:55:19checked

00:55:20There

00:55:20would

00:55:20have

00:55:20been

00:55:21goods

00:55:21flowing

00:55:22out

00:55:22there

00:55:22would

00:55:22been

00:55:22silk

00:55:23of

00:55:23course

00:55:23heading

00:55:24out

00:55:24to

00:55:24the

00:55:24west

00:55:24in

00:55:25return

00:55:25you

00:55:26got

00:55:26jade

00:55:27coming

00:55:27in

00:55:27and

00:55:27then

00:55:27you

00:55:28got

00:55:28those

00:55:28all

00:55:29important

00:55:29spices

00:55:30of

00:55:30the

00:55:30Middle

00:55:30East

00:55:30that

00:55:31would

00:55:31transform

00:55:31Chinese

00:55:32food

00:55:35It's

00:55:35amazing

00:55:36to come

00:55:36all the way

00:55:37out here

00:55:37and get

00:55:38a totally

00:55:38new

00:55:38perspective

00:55:39on

00:55:40the

00:55:40wall

00:55:42Even

00:55:43today

00:55:43this

00:55:44is a

00:55:44remote

00:55:44part

00:55:45of

00:55:45China

00:55:46sandwiched

00:55:46between

00:55:47desert

00:55:47and

00:55:48mountains

00:55:48It's

00:55:49almost

00:55:49impossible

00:55:50to

00:55:50imagine

00:55:50what

00:55:51life

00:55:51would

00:55:51have

00:55:51been

00:55:52like

00:55:52out

00:55:52here

00:55:52on

00:55:53the

00:55:53edge

00:55:53of

00:55:53the

00:55:54world

00:55:542,000

00:55:55years

00:55:55ago

00:55:56But

00:55:57amazingly

00:55:57we

00:55:58don't

00:55:58have

00:55:58to

00:55:58because

00:55:59an

00:55:59astonishing

00:56:00discovery

00:56:00was

00:56:01made

00:56:01of

00:56:01ancient

00:56:02Chinese

00:56:02letters

00:56:03from

00:56:04the

00:56:05people

00:56:05of

00:56:05the

00:56:05wall

00:56:06Those

00:56:07letters

00:56:07are

00:56:07in

00:56:08this

00:56:08book

00:56:08and

00:56:08it

00:56:08makes

00:56:08astonishing

00:56:09reading

00:56:09because

00:56:10the

00:56:10letters

00:56:10aren't

00:56:11from

00:56:11the

00:56:11emperor

00:56:12to

00:56:12his

00:56:12officials

00:56:12or

00:56:12generals

00:56:13no

00:56:13they're

00:56:13just

00:56:13from

00:56:14everyday

00:56:14people

00:56:15living

00:56:16out

00:56:16here

00:56:16a

00:56:17slice

00:56:18of

00:56:18life

00:56:19on

00:56:19the

00:56:19frontier

00:56:202,000

00:56:21years

00:56:21ago

00:56:24The

00:56:24letters

00:56:24are

00:56:25written

00:56:25on

00:56:25scraps

00:56:25of

00:56:26silk

00:56:26or

00:56:27on

00:56:27bamboo

00:56:27sticks

00:56:28and

00:56:29they're

00:56:29just

00:56:29brilliant

00:56:29to

00:56:30read

00:56:32This

00:56:32book

00:56:32has

00:56:33images

00:56:33of

00:56:33these

00:56:33letters

00:56:34but

00:56:34luckily

00:56:34for me

00:56:35it also

00:56:35has

00:56:35translations

00:56:35and I

00:56:36really like

00:56:36this

00:56:36one

00:56:37here

00:56:37it's

00:56:37called

00:56:37Xuen

00:56:37and

00:56:38he's

00:56:39writing

00:56:39to his

00:56:39brother

00:56:40and his

00:56:40sister

00:56:40in

00:56:41law

00:56:42and

00:56:42he

00:56:42is

00:56:43saying

00:56:43I

00:56:43hope

00:56:43that

00:56:44during

00:56:44this

00:56:44hot

00:56:44season

00:56:47A lot

00:56:47of

00:56:47these

00:56:48letters

00:56:48are

00:56:49about

00:56:49food

00:56:50and

00:56:50clothes

00:56:51and

00:56:51the

00:56:51weather

00:56:51and

00:56:52it

00:56:52makes

00:56:52me

00:56:52feel

00:56:52better

00:56:53because

00:56:53that's

00:56:54what

00:56:54us

00:56:54Brits

00:56:54still

00:56:55talk

00:56:55about

00:56:55all

00:56:55these

00:56:56years

00:56:56later

00:56:56on

00:56:56so

00:56:56the

00:56:57fact

00:56:57that

00:56:57we're

00:56:57obsessed

00:56:58with

00:56:58the

00:56:58weather

00:56:58and

00:56:58what

00:56:58we're

00:56:58eating

00:56:59nothing

00:56:59changes

00:57:00I

00:57:16it's

00:57:16from

00:57:17a

00:57:17guy

00:57:17called

00:57:17Yuan

00:57:17and

00:57:18he's

00:57:18writing

00:57:18to

00:57:18Zifang

00:57:19his

00:57:19friend

00:57:20and

00:57:20he

00:57:20at

00:57:21the

00:57:21top

00:57:21he's

00:57:22putting

00:57:22lots

00:57:23of

00:57:23polite

00:57:23questions

00:57:24about

00:57:24how

00:57:24his

00:57:24parents

00:57:25his

00:57:25wife

00:57:25his

00:57:25family

00:57:26all

00:57:26that

00:57:26sort

00:57:26of

00:57:26stuff

00:57:26very

00:57:27nice

00:57:27then

00:57:28we

00:57:28learn

00:57:28that

00:57:28Yuan

00:57:29is

00:57:29about

00:57:29to

00:57:29be

00:57:29stationed

00:57:30in

00:57:30Dunhuang

00:57:30so

00:57:31he's

00:57:31coming

00:57:31out

00:57:31here

00:57:31and

00:57:32he

00:57:32has

00:57:32got

00:57:33a

00:57:33request

00:57:33yes

00:57:33he

00:57:33certainly

00:57:34does

00:57:34most

00:57:34of

00:57:34the

00:57:34letter

00:57:46and

00:57:47then

00:57:47he

00:57:47goes

00:57:47and

00:57:47says

00:57:48he

00:57:48comes

00:57:48back

00:57:48to

00:57:49it

00:57:49several

00:57:49times

00:57:49can

00:57:50you

00:57:50please

00:57:50pay

00:57:50attention

00:57:50to

00:57:51the

00:57:51shoes

00:57:51I

00:57:52want

00:57:52thick

00:57:52ones

00:57:52good

00:57:52for

00:57:53travelling

00:57:53on

00:57:53foot

00:57:53he

00:57:54will

00:57:54pay

00:57:55him

00:57:55back

00:57:55when

00:57:56it's

00:57:56convenient

00:57:56he

00:57:57says

00:57:57what I

00:57:58really like

00:57:58about it

00:57:58it shows

00:57:59that humans

00:57:59haven't really

00:57:59changed

00:58:00that much

00:58:00and

00:58:01there's

00:58:01always

00:58:01that

00:58:01one

00:58:01cheeky

00:58:02friend

00:58:02trying

00:58:03to pull

00:58:03a

00:58:03fast

00:58:03one

00:58:04on

00:58:04the

00:58:04mate

00:58:06but

00:58:06even

00:58:07in

00:58:07the

00:58:07humanity

00:58:08of

00:58:08these

00:58:16sense

00:58:16of

00:58:17how

00:58:17tough

00:58:17life

00:58:18could

00:58:18be

00:58:18out

00:58:18here

00:58:18on

00:58:19the

00:58:19frontier

00:58:19we've

00:58:20got

00:58:20a

00:58:20man

00:58:20called

00:58:20Zheng

00:58:21and

00:58:22he's

00:58:22saying

00:58:22I've

00:58:23lived

00:58:23here

00:58:23for

00:58:23five

00:58:24years

00:58:24and

00:58:24I've

00:58:24not

00:58:24been

00:58:24transferred

00:58:25the roads

00:58:26leading

00:58:26here

00:58:26are

00:58:27long

00:58:27and

00:58:27far

00:58:27off

00:58:28traffic

00:58:28is

00:58:29rare

00:58:29my

00:58:30official

00:58:30position

00:58:30is

00:58:31inconsequential

00:58:32my

00:58:32status

00:58:32low

00:58:33letters

00:58:34do not

00:58:34get

00:58:35through

00:58:35Zheng

00:58:36is

00:58:36having

00:58:36a

00:58:36good

00:58:37old

00:58:37whine

00:58:37about

00:58:38his

00:58:38job

00:58:38and

00:58:39who

00:58:39among

00:58:39us

00:58:39has

00:58:40not

00:58:40done

00:58:40that

00:58:41and

00:58:41another

00:58:42person

00:58:42writes

00:58:43simply

00:58:44life

00:58:45on the

00:58:45frontier

00:58:46is

00:58:47very

00:58:47hard

00:58:50coming

00:58:51up

00:58:51I

00:58:51head

00:58:52to

00:58:52the

00:58:52end

00:58:52of

00:58:52my

00:58:53amazing

00:58:53journey

00:58:54along

00:58:54the

00:58:54Great

00:58:55Wall

00:58:55of

00:58:55China

00:58:55and

00:58:56to

00:58:56one

00:58:56final

00:58:57jewel

00:58:57in

00:58:58the

00:58:58crown

00:58:58of

00:58:59this

00:58:59incredible

00:59:00structure

00:59:02I've

00:59:03traveled

00:59:03the

00:59:03length

00:59:04of the

00:59:04Ming

00:59:04Dynasty

00:59:05Great

00:59:05Wall

00:59:06from

00:59:06its

00:59:07eastern

00:59:07end

00:59:07where

00:59:08it

00:59:08meets

00:59:08the

00:59:08sea

00:59:08through

00:59:09the

00:59:10mountains

00:59:10to

00:59:10the

00:59:11north

00:59:11of

00:59:11Beijing

00:59:12and

00:59:13made

00:59:13some

00:59:14exciting

00:59:14diversions

00:59:15to

00:59:15one

00:59:15of

00:59:16the

00:59:16oldest

00:59:16sections

00:59:17of

00:59:17the

00:59:17wall

00:59:17built

00:59:17by

00:59:18the

00:59:18Qin

00:59:18Dynasty

00:59:19and

00:59:20the

00:59:20most

00:59:20isolated

00:59:21stretch

00:59:21built

00:59:22by

00:59:22the

00:59:23Han

00:59:24and

00:59:25my

00:59:25journey

00:59:26is

00:59:26going

00:59:26to

00:59:26end

00:59:27here

00:59:27at

00:59:28this

00:59:28mighty

00:59:29fortress

00:59:30at

00:59:30the

00:59:30end

00:59:30of

00:59:30the

00:59:31Ming

00:59:31Wall

00:59:32Jiayuguan

00:59:36I'm

00:59:37now

00:59:371,000

00:59:38miles

00:59:38west

00:59:39of

00:59:39Beijing

00:59:39and

00:59:401,200

00:59:41miles

00:59:41from

00:59:41where

00:59:41I

00:59:42started

00:59:45in fact

00:59:45I'm

00:59:45so far

00:59:46west

00:59:46the sun

00:59:47rises

00:59:48that

00:59:48an hour

00:59:48and a

00:59:49half

00:59:49later

00:59:49that

00:59:49does

00:59:50over

00:59:50the

00:59:50old

00:59:50dragon's

00:59:51head

00:59:51at

00:59:51the

00:59:51other

00:59:52end

00:59:52of

00:59:52the

00:59:52Great

00:59:52Wall

01:00:23they

01:00:23were

01:00:24back

01:00:24they

01:00:24were

01:00:24about

01:00:24to

01:00:25enter

01:00:25these

01:00:25gates

01:00:25this

01:00:26meant

01:00:26China

01:00:27it

01:00:27meant

01:00:28home

01:00:28it

01:00:29meant

01:00:29civilisation

01:00:37this

01:00:38huge

01:00:39central

01:00:39courtyard

01:00:40would have

01:00:41been

01:00:41high

01:00:42of

01:00:42activity

01:00:42wooden

01:00:43accommodation

01:00:43blocks

01:00:44animals

01:00:45horses

01:00:46camels

01:00:47blacksmiths

01:00:48and craftsmen

01:00:49tradespeople

01:00:50mingling

01:00:50everybody

01:00:51relieved

01:00:52to be

01:00:52in

01:00:52here

01:00:53after

01:00:53that

01:00:53long

01:00:53trip

01:00:54across

01:00:54the

01:00:54desert

01:00:55or

01:00:55preparing

01:00:55to

01:00:56head

01:00:56out

01:00:57this

01:00:57would

01:00:57have

01:00:58been

01:00:58a

01:00:58little

01:00:58slice

01:00:59of

01:00:59Chinese

01:01:00life

01:01:00right

01:01:01here

01:01:01at

01:01:01the

01:01:01end

01:01:01of

01:01:02the

01:01:02Great

01:01:02Wall

01:01:04Jiayuguan

01:01:05was also

01:01:06known as

01:01:06the

01:01:07first

01:01:07and

01:01:07greatest

01:01:08pass

01:01:08under

01:01:09heaven

01:01:09and you

01:01:10can see

01:01:10why

01:01:11the

01:01:12details

01:01:12make

01:01:13this

01:01:13place

01:01:13really

01:01:14stand

01:01:14out

01:01:15as

01:01:15a

01:01:15jewel

01:01:15in

01:01:16the

01:01:16crown

01:01:16of

01:01:17the

01:01:17Great

01:01:17Wall

01:01:20but

01:01:21this

01:01:21wouldn't

01:01:21be

01:01:22the

01:01:22Great

01:01:22Wall

01:01:22if

01:01:23there

01:01:23weren't

01:01:23some

01:01:24tall

01:01:24tales

01:01:25about

01:01:25the

01:01:25place

01:01:25it

01:01:27said

01:01:27that

01:01:27the

01:01:27architect

01:01:27who

01:01:28designed

01:01:28Jiayuguan

01:01:29boldly

01:01:30claimed

01:01:30that

01:01:31exactly

01:01:3199,999

01:01:33bricks

01:01:34would be

01:01:34used

01:01:35in the

01:01:35building

01:01:36his

01:01:37superior

01:01:38not

01:01:38believing

01:01:38him

01:01:38said

01:01:39that

01:01:39if

01:01:39he

01:01:39miscalculated

01:01:40by

01:01:40even

01:01:40one

01:01:41brick

01:01:41the

01:01:42entire

01:01:42workforce

01:01:43would be

01:01:43subjected

01:01:44to

01:01:44hard

01:01:44labour

01:01:44for

01:01:45three

01:01:45years

01:01:46and

01:01:47naturally

01:01:47as

01:01:48the

01:01:48building

01:01:48was

01:01:48completed

01:01:49only

01:01:5099,998

01:01:53bricks

01:01:54were

01:01:54used

01:01:56the

01:01:57supervisor

01:01:57was furious

01:01:58he ordered

01:01:58the punishment

01:01:58to be

01:01:59carried

01:01:59out

01:01:59so

01:02:00the

01:02:01designer

01:02:01placed

01:02:02one

01:02:02final

01:02:03brick

01:02:03right

01:02:04there

01:02:04he

01:02:04said

01:02:05it

01:02:05was

01:02:05essential

01:02:05for

01:02:06the

01:02:06structural

01:02:07integrity

01:02:07of the

01:02:07entire

01:02:08fort

01:02:08the

01:02:09supervisor

01:02:09was happy

01:02:10though

01:02:11no one

01:02:11got

01:02:12punished

01:02:12and

01:02:12that

01:02:13brick

01:02:13is

01:02:13still

01:02:13there

01:02:14today

01:02:16whether

01:02:17or not

01:02:17this

01:02:17actually

01:02:18happened

01:02:18it does

01:02:19serve

01:02:19to remind

01:02:20us

01:02:20of the

01:02:20attention

01:02:21to

01:02:21detail

01:02:22on show

01:02:22and the

01:02:24precision

01:02:24needed

01:02:24to build

01:02:25not just

01:02:26this huge

01:02:26fort

01:02:27but the

01:02:27whole

01:02:28great

01:02:28wall

01:02:30Jiayuguan

01:02:31really

01:02:32was

01:02:32the

01:02:32edge

01:02:33of the

01:02:33world

01:02:33and

01:02:35because

01:02:35of its

01:02:36location

01:02:36the

01:02:37fortress

01:02:37gained

01:02:37a

01:02:38fierce

01:02:38reputation

01:02:41it

01:02:42wasn't

01:02:42just

01:02:42soldiers

01:02:43and

01:02:43traders

01:02:44out

01:02:44here

01:02:44at

01:02:44Jiayuguan

01:02:45there

01:02:46was

01:02:46another

01:02:46group

01:02:46of

01:02:47people

01:02:47here

01:02:47as

01:02:48well

01:02:48and

01:02:49those

01:02:49were

01:02:50enemies

01:02:50of

01:02:51the

01:02:51emperor

01:02:51the

01:02:52criminals

01:02:53the

01:02:53traitors

01:02:54the

01:02:55undesirables

01:02:55they've

01:02:56been

01:02:57sent

01:02:57here

01:02:57before

01:02:58facing

01:02:59a

01:02:59fate

01:03:00worse

01:03:00than

01:03:01death

01:03:01exile

01:03:09there

01:03:09are

01:03:10even

01:03:10romantic

01:03:11tales

01:03:11of

01:03:12exiles

01:03:13carving

01:03:13poetic

01:03:14graffiti

01:03:14into

01:03:15these

01:03:15walls

01:03:15a little

01:03:16bit

01:03:16like

01:03:16the

01:03:17prisoners

01:03:17in the

01:03:17tower

01:03:17of

01:03:17london

01:03:18graffiti

01:03:18in

01:03:19their

01:03:19cells

01:03:19we're

01:03:20told

01:03:20that

01:03:21people

01:03:21wrote

01:03:21I

01:03:22have

01:03:22been

01:03:22exiled

01:03:23beyond

01:03:23the

01:03:23wall

01:03:23or

01:03:24I

01:03:24have

01:03:24been

01:03:24expelled

01:03:25through

01:03:25the

01:03:25pass

01:03:26heaven

01:03:27help

01:03:27me

01:03:27if

01:03:28those

01:03:28ever

01:03:28existed

01:03:29sadly

01:03:29the

01:03:30passage

01:03:30of

01:03:30time

01:03:31has

01:03:32washed

01:03:32them

01:03:32away

01:03:36the

01:03:36fact

01:03:37is

01:03:37whether

01:03:37they

01:03:37were

01:03:38poets

01:03:38or

01:03:38not

01:03:39people

01:03:40were

01:03:40exiled

01:03:41in

01:03:42China

01:03:42and

01:03:42they

01:03:43would

01:03:43have

01:03:43been

01:03:43sent

01:03:43out

01:03:44through

01:03:44the

01:03:44wall

01:03:44here

01:03:44this

01:03:45was

01:03:45the

01:03:46last

01:03:46pass

01:03:46the

01:03:46last

01:03:47gate

01:03:47this

01:03:47was

01:03:47the

01:03:47end

01:03:48of

01:03:48the

01:03:48Great

01:03:48Wall

01:03:48off

01:03:49they

01:03:49would

01:03:50have

01:03:50gone

01:03:50into

01:03:51the

01:03:51wild

01:03:51west

01:03:52we

01:03:53can

01:03:53imagine

01:03:53people

01:03:54leaving

01:03:54through

01:03:55here

01:03:55never

01:03:56to

01:03:56see

01:03:56their

01:03:57homes

01:03:57in

01:03:57China

01:03:58again

01:04:03as

01:04:03for

01:04:04my

01:04:04journey

01:04:04I

01:04:05have

01:04:05one

01:04:05more

01:04:06climb

01:04:06to

01:04:06go

01:04:07into

01:04:07the

01:04:07mountains

01:04:08around

01:04:08Jiayuguan

01:04:09where

01:04:10the

01:04:10Ming

01:04:10Great

01:04:11Wall

01:04:11comes

01:04:12to

01:04:12an

01:04:12end

01:04:15my

01:04:15last

01:04:15time

01:04:16on

01:04:16the

01:04:16Great

01:04:16Wall

01:04:17my

01:04:18final

01:04:18staircase

01:04:20getting

01:04:20quite

01:04:20used

01:04:21to

01:04:21it

01:04:21to

01:04:21be

01:04:21honest

01:04:21I'll

01:04:22miss

01:04:22it

01:04:22it's

01:04:23good

01:04:23for

01:04:23the

01:04:23step

01:04:23count

01:04:26for

01:04:26many

01:04:26of

01:04:27us

01:04:27the

01:04:27Great

01:04:28Wall

01:04:28is

01:04:28the

01:04:28ultimate

01:04:29bucket

01:04:29list

01:04:29destination

01:04:30but

01:04:31for

01:04:31others

01:04:31it

01:04:32means

01:04:33so

01:04:33much

01:04:33more

01:04:34this

01:04:35is

01:04:36the

01:04:36symbol

01:04:37of

01:04:38China

01:04:38a

01:04:39symbol

01:04:39of

01:04:40unity

01:04:40and

01:04:41defense

01:04:41two

01:04:42and a

01:04:42half

01:04:43thousand

01:04:43years

01:04:44in

01:04:44the

01:04:45making

01:04:45it's

01:04:46amazing

01:04:50the

01:04:50Great

01:04:51Wall

01:04:51is

01:04:51the

01:04:51most

01:04:51important

01:04:52building

01:04:52in

01:04:53Chinese

01:04:53history

01:04:54defending

01:04:55the

01:04:55empire

01:04:56from

01:04:56its

01:04:56chin

01:04:56beginnings

01:04:57protecting

01:04:59the

01:04:59mighty

01:04:59Silk Road

01:05:00and

01:05:00securing

01:05:01the

01:05:01newly

01:05:02established

01:05:02Ming

01:05:03dynasty

01:05:04it

01:05:04was

01:05:04even

01:05:05used

01:05:05into

01:05:05the

01:05:0520th

01:05:06century

01:05:06with

01:05:07Chinese

01:05:07defenders

01:05:08using

01:05:09the

01:05:09Great Wall

01:05:09against

01:05:10the

01:05:10Japanese

01:05:10invasion

01:05:11of the

01:05:111930s

01:05:14Chairman

01:05:15Mao

01:05:15famously

01:05:15said

01:05:15you

01:05:15can't

01:05:16call

01:05:16yourself

01:05:16a

01:05:16real

01:05:16man

01:05:17until

01:05:17you've

01:05:17been

01:05:17up

01:05:17to

01:05:17the

01:05:18Great

01:05:18Wall

01:05:19of

01:05:19China

01:05:19I

01:05:19think

01:05:20I

01:05:20can

01:05:20finally

01:05:20say

01:05:21I've

01:05:22earned

01:05:22that

01:05:22accolade

01:05:24I made

01:05:24it

01:05:28this

01:05:28has been

01:05:29such

01:05:29an

01:05:29incredible

01:05:30journey

01:05:31but

01:05:31what

01:05:32I've

01:05:32realized

01:05:32is

01:05:32that

01:05:32no

01:05:33matter

01:05:33how

01:05:33much

01:05:33you

01:05:34know

01:05:34about

01:05:34the

01:05:34Wall

01:05:35there

01:05:35is

01:05:36always

01:05:36something

01:05:37new

01:05:37to

01:05:37uncover

01:05:44this

01:05:44is

01:05:44so

01:05:45much

01:05:45more

01:05:45than

01:05:45the

01:05:46story

01:05:46of

01:05:46the

01:05:46bricks

01:05:47and

01:05:47the

01:05:47stones

01:05:48of

01:05:48the

01:05:48Great

01:05:48Wall

01:05:48it's

01:05:49the

01:05:50story

01:05:50of

01:05:50the

01:05:50people

01:05:51who

01:05:51built

01:05:52it

01:05:52and

01:05:53who

01:05:53lived

01:05:53by

01:05:53it

01:05:54and

01:05:54on

01:05:55it

01:05:55that's

01:05:56the

01:05:56real

01:05:57story

01:05:57of

01:05:58the

01:05:58Great

01:05:58Wall

01:05:59of

01:05:59China

01:06:02the

01:06:02ultimate

01:06:03game

01:06:03of

01:06:03cat

01:06:03and

01:06:04mouse

01:06:04is

01:06:04back

01:06:04on

01:06:05Jason

01:06:05Watkins

01:06:06and

01:06:06Robson

01:06:06Green

01:06:06return

01:06:07in a

01:06:07new

01:06:07series

01:06:07of

01:06:08the

01:06:08game

01:06:08Tuesday

01:06:08at

01:06:09nine

01:06:09her

01:06:10record

01:06:10breaking

01:06:10career

01:06:11took

01:06:11her

01:06:11from

01:06:11Tennessee

01:06:12to

01:06:12Dollywood

01:06:12we

01:06:13honour

01:06:13the

01:06:13Queen

01:06:13of

01:06:14Country

01:06:14Dolly

01:06:14Parton

01:06:15in her

01:06:15own

01:06:15words

01:06:16after

01:06:16the

01:06:16break

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