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00:00:00The Great Wall of China, an ancient, epic monument that stretches for thousands of miles.
00:00:10The scale of it is unimaginable.
00:00:13When you think of China, you think of the Great Wall.
00:00:17It is one of the most famous places on Earth.
00:00:21But beyond that headline, how much do we really know about the Great Wall of China?
00:00:26Who built it?
00:00:27How on Earth did they build it?
00:00:30And 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.
00:00:55And meet the people who know it better than anyone.
00:00:58To discover the real Great 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.
00:01:14Yet it still has so many more secrets to be revealed.
00:01:18But this is the story of the Great Wall of China.
00:01:32Hidden in these mountains is one of the wonders of the world.
00:01:35The Great Wall of China.
00:01:38The Great Wall of China.
00:01:39And I'm itching to get my first glimpse.
00:01:42We've just started driving up to the hills now.
00:01:44And in the distance, I'm going to see on some of those ridges what looks like the wall.
00:01:51I'm heading to a section of the wall called Badaling.
00:01:55Located in the mountains just to the north of the Chinese 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.
00:02:11So I'm afraid I'm going to take 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 a thousand 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.
00:02:36Right 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.
00:03:20The way that it stretches as far as the eye can see.
00:03:22Not in that direction, but 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
00:03:33laid out by a dragon as 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.
00:03:59I 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.
00:05:38Steep old sections of Wall.
00:05:40Wow.
00:05:43It 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.
00:06:39Well, that'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,
00:06:54where 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 one.
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.
00:10:16They 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%.
00:10:36And 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?
00:11:44No, 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.
00:11:51This 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.
00:12:11So this means, this is very exciting, that this brick was fired in the fifth year of Wang Li'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 and the date of the war?
00:12:38Now, 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 Jesus Christ,
00:12:58but 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 until the 1960s
00:13:17in Britain.
00:13:18But 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 across the north
00:13:50of China.
00:13:53The Ming never called this the Great Wall of China.
00:13:57They simply referred to it as Biangcheng, the border wall.
00:14:01Well, it was a border wall that experts now think stretched around 5,500 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 the long stretches of
00:14:34the Great Wall of China.
00:14:35But it's great.
00:14:38It is short, though.
00:14:4072 miles from coast to coast.
00:14:42The Great Wall of China, 5,500 miles.
00:14:47Which means that the Great Wall is 75 times as long as Hadrian's Wall.
00:14:55It'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, everyone would celebrate it and take pictures of it.
00:15:34This is just a minute fraction of a wall that stretches more than 5,000 miles.
00:15:41It 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, but 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 to run the length of the Great Wall.
00:16:54It took him 78 days.
00:16:57Oh, it's nice to get in for sun. It's freezing down that way.
00:17:00Yeah.
00:17:01His journey sparked a fascination with the wall,
00:17:04and he has since dedicated his life in China to researching his story.
00:17:09And a wonderful view awaits.
00:17:15Oh, my goodness. I've never seen anything like that.
00:17:18Look at that view.
00:17:21It's like 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, it boggles the mind.
00:18:12The engineering, the materials involved, the 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 elements of Chinese life around every compound,
00:18:27every hamlet, town, village.
00:18:30But 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.
00:18:54How many men along the whole wall?
00:18:57Well, 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, towards 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?
00:19:23Well, the 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, the 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, is going to go so much further and faster.
00:20:14The enemy has no chance.
00:20:16What the Chinese have done here, they've invested so much manpower,
00:20:20so much money to build a death trap.
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.
00:20:39It'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.
00:20:52So, 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
00:22:10was inside your watchtower.
00:22:13These watchtowers were the centre of day-to-day life on the wall.
00:22:18If 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 with 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 some 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.
00:23:28It could 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'd 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
00:23:59even 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 wool
00:24:07fit 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
00:24:21high 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
00:24:32of the epic history
00:24:33of the Great Wall of China.
00:24:35Coming up,
00:24:36I find out more
00:24:37about the back-breaking work
00:24:39that went into building
00:24:40the Ming Great Wall.
00:24:41It is a mind-boggling,
00:24:43massive 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
00:24:54stands today
00:24:56as one of the most
00:24:57recognizable 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
00:25:08astonishing construction projects
00:25:10ever undertaken
00:25:12in all of history.
00:25:14But this vast structure
00:25:16is unlike any building site
00:25:18I've ever seen.
00:25:19in steep mountains
00:25:21and deep valleys.
00:25:22These are not the easiest
00:25:24conditions to work in.
00:25:25So how on earth
00:25:26did they build it?
00:25:27And who did it?
00:25:30As I walked along the wall,
00:25:31I've realized
00:25:31it's when you get to sections
00:25:32like this,
00:25:33which are undergoing renovations,
00:25:35that you really get to see
00:25:37inside the wall.
00:25:38You realize the volume
00:25:39of material,
00:25:41the sophistication
00:25:42of the labor
00:25:43that went into building
00:25:44this wall.
00:25:45You've got all these bits
00:25:46of limestone.
00:25:46You've got the smaller
00:25:48fired bricks.
00:25:49This is a monumental enterprise.
00:25:53Seeing this,
00:25:54you really start
00:25:55to 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
00:26:03that were actually
00:26:03doing all the hard work
00:26:04and suffering.
00:26:05The sources
00:26:06are astonishing.
00:26:07One says here,
00:26:08the soldiers
00:26:09and civilians
00:26:09along the frontier
00:26:10toil day and night
00:26:12building the defenses,
00:26:14suffering beyond endurance.
00:26:17In the works
00:26:18of wall building,
00:26:19those who collapse
00:26:20and die
00:26:21are beyond counting.
00:26:24And then we've got
00:26:25another source
00:26:25from the reign
00:26:26of Wanli,
00:26:27and it says,
00:26:28In the labor
00:26:29of building
00:26:29the frontier walls,
00:26:31many of the civilians
00:26:32died along the way.
00:26:35I mean,
00:26:36it's easy to compare it,
00:26:38I suppose,
00:26:39to the pyramids
00:26:40or building
00:26:42the Colosseum.
00:26:42Well,
00:26:43they are as nothing
00:26:45next to the building
00:26:46of the Great Wall.
00:26:47This is just
00:26:48in a different league.
00:26:49The suffering,
00:26:50the graft,
00:26:52is like nothing else
00:26:53in history.
00:27:00The men who built
00:27:01the Great Wall
00:27:02knew that the best approach
00:27:03would be to use
00:27:04the materials
00:27:05local to them.
00:27:06So that might be
00:27:07stone in some places
00:27:08or even rammed earth
00:27:10in others.
00:27:11But there's one thing
00:27:12common to almost
00:27:13every stretch
00:27:14of the Ming Great Wall.
00:27:16Brick.
00:27:19Where they used
00:27:20to build the pathway
00:27:21on 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,
00:27:38Yi.
00:27:39Their family
00:27:39moved to this part
00:27:40of 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
00:27:50Ming ancestors did.
00:27:51Can I try making a brick?
00:27:54Why are we laughing?
00:27:56All right,
00:27:56OK,
00:27:56I'll give it a go.
00:27:58The bricks
00:27:59make use
00:28:00of the local
00:28:00clay-rich soil.
00:28:03It's like something
00:28:04you might have made
00:28:04in the back garden
00:28:05as a kid.
00:28:07Here we go.
00:28:08Oh, yeah,
00:28:09that's nice and damp.
00:28:13OK, yeah.
00:28:17Is that good?
00:28:18Enough?
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 mold.
00:28:28Happy?
00:28:29Should I go?
00:28:29OK.
00:28:33It is pressed
00:28:33into the corners
00:28:34and then smoothed out.
00:28:37There we go.
00:28:38Don't want to take
00:28:39his fingers off.
00:28:40Turn this way.
00:28:41Turn 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.
00:28:49I'm pleased with that.
00:28:50Are you happy?
00:28:51OK, good.
00:28:53Finally,
00:28:54there's the delicate task
00:28:55of removing
00:28:56of removing
00:28:56the wooden frame.
00:28:58OK, this is it, guys.
00:28:59It's the big moment.
00:28:59It's like unwrapping
00:29:00a present.
00:29:02There we go.
00:29:03How about that?
00:29:04That's a good brick.
00:29:05Hey?
00:29:05Perfect.
00:29:06Yeah, perfect.
00:29:06I wouldn't go that far.
00:29:08That's good.
00:29:10The bricks that Mr.
00:29:11Shu and Yi make 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,
00:29:23you 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 a house brick,
00:29:46but then you're building
00:29:47the Great Wall of China.
00:29:50An 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,
00:30:43they 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.
00:31:02It'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.
00:31:08But what would
00:31:09day-to-day life
00:31:10have looked like
00:31:10for the ordinary
00:31:12people of
00:31:12Ming, China?
00:31:13To find out,
00:31:15I've come to
00:31:15Nguanquan,
00:31:17a town that sprung
00:31:18up when the wall
00:31:19was being built
00:31:20nearby.
00:31:22Today, China is
00:31:24known for having
00:31:25a huge population,
00:31:26over 1.4 billion.
00:31:29Now, Ming, China
00:31:30wasn't quite that big
00:31:31but it boasted
00:31:32a population of
00:31:33well over 100 million,
00:31:35nearly twice that
00:31:36of the UK today.
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 this
00:31:48a 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
00:32:08today is that it
00:32:09still 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
00:32:21an 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 town
00:32:37like it's been lifted
00:32:38from 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.
00:33:02So, Thomas,
00:33:02lots of hustle and bust
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.
00:33:36You know,
00:33:36where are you going to go
00:33:37to eat and drink?
00:33:37You would come to a town
00:33:38like this.
00:33:39So, these two live
00:33:40off 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, Thomas,
00:33:47it's getting a bit chilly out 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.
00:34:10Thank you very much.
00:34:11So, is this just tea?
00:34:11This is just water.
00:34:12It is water.
00:34:14Nature's tea.
00:34:14Yeah.
00:34:15Actually, it's nice.
00:34:16It's hot.
00:34:16It's so cold, Heather.
00:34:18Let's see.
00:34:19That is for you.
00:34:21Let's get some chopsticks here.
00:34:24Oh, thank you.
00:34:26Oh, two more minutes.
00:34:26Oh, two more minutes.
00:34:29In Ming, Chinese food's famous there.
00:34:31You can get anything.
00:34:32It looks and tastes so different.
00:34:34Is it very much dependent
00:34:35on 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 a week,
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
00:34:52hulless 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 it goes
00:35:12with 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 along.
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,
00:35:37I'm going to get a bowl
00:35:37of this, am I?
00:35:38Oh, yes.
00:35:39Nice.
00:35:40You might even get something
00:35:41a little bit more fancy.
00:35:42You might get a little bit
00:35:43of alcohol.
00:35:44You might get some
00:35:45pickled vegetables
00:35:46or you might even get
00:35:47some meat,
00:35:48especially sheep.
00:35:49Yeah.
00:35:50Would have been a really
00:35:50important part of the diet.
00:35:52So, you can eat well here.
00:35:53Oh, yeah.
00:35:54A town like this
00:35:55is going to be
00:35:55a gourmet paradise,
00:35:57especially compared to
00:35:58what a soldier is going to eat
00:35:58every day up on the wall.
00:35:59Yeah.
00:36:04The Great Wall
00:36:05transformed regions like this.
00:36:08They had been
00:36:09a bit overlooked
00:36:10out on the edge of 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.
00:36:28Nguan Tuan's
00:36:29metal workers
00:36:30came up with something
00:36:31you can't see
00:36:32anywhere else
00:36:33in China.
00:36:40It's crazy,
00:36:41just spilling the molten metal
00:36:43out and throwing it at the wall.
00:36:49What?
00:36:54They always say
00:36:56the Chinese invented
00:36:57fireworks
00:36:58are you dipping
00:36:59in 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 can watch that all night.
00:37:18You can watch that all night.
00:37:19Coming up,
00:37:20I continue my Great Wall
00:37:22journey,
00:37:23making a huge
00:37:24800-mile leap
00:37:25to the west,
00:37:26deep into some of the
00:37:27least visited parts
00:37:28of 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 building project
00:37:44ever undertaken.
00:37:47Stretching from the sea
00:37:48in the east
00:37:49to the desert
00:37:50in the west.
00:37:52It is an engineering achievement
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
00:38:12iconic
00:38:12500-year-old
00:38:13Ming stretch.
00:38:15Much,
00:38:16much older.
00:38:18So far,
00:38:19the story has been
00:38:20literally written
00:38:21into the brick and 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 elsewhere.
00:38:30A very important book here.
00:38:32It's called
00:38:33Records of the Grand Historian.
00:38:35It's by
00:38:36Smaqian,
00:38:37who is
00:38:38the first
00:38:39really Chinese historian
00:38:40whose records
00:38:41survive to this day.
00:38:42And he talks
00:38:43about a man here
00:38:44called Meng Tian.
00:38:45He says here,
00:38:46he built
00:38:47the Great Wall.
00:38:50But this book
00:38:51was finished
00:38:51in 91 BC.
00:38:531500 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 dynasty,
00:39:03the Qin.
00:39:05Best remembered today
00:39:06for the famous
00:39:07Terracotta Army.
00:39:10Thousands
00:39:10of lifelike statues
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 either.
00:39:26So when he came
00:39:27to power
00:39:27in 221 BC,
00:39:29he ordered
00:39:30a gigantic wall
00:39:31to 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 old.
00:39:40And if you know
00:39:41where to look,
00:39:42you can still see
00:39:43pieces of that
00:39:44original wall.
00:39:51I'm travelling
00:39:51800 miles west
00:39:53to find it.
00:39:55Away from the mountains
00:39:57around Beijing
00:39:57to Gansu province.
00:40:04I'm flying now
00:40:05over northern China
00:40:06for a couple of hours.
00:40:07I've seen
00:40:07just vast spaces.
00:40:09I've seen huge cities.
00:40:10I've seen mountain ranges,
00:40:12snow-capped peaks.
00:40:13It goes on
00:40:14and on
00:40:15and on.
00:40:16It's taking a long time
00:40:17in an aircraft.
00:40:18And all the while,
00:40:20somewhere below me,
00:40:22snaking along,
00:40:23is that Ming
00:40:23Great Wall
00:40:24of China.
00:40:27I've arrived
00:40:27in one of the
00:40:28least visited parts
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,
00:40:37tree-lined
00:40:37mountain slopes.
00:40:40It's sandy
00:40:40by the looks of it
00:40:41and it's red.
00:40:44And according
00:40:45to my history book,
00:40:46this is an important
00:40:47place
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 all 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 Korea.
00:41:04It's way to 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 end
00:41:14of that
00:41:15Chin Great 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 going up
00:41:27some very tight
00:41:28switchbacks.
00:41:29We're getting
00:41:29some altitude here.
00:41:39We're getting
00:41:40towards the
00:41:40ridgeline here
00:41:41surely.
00:41:43I suppose
00:41:43the wall
00:41:44must be
00:41:44on the highest
00:41:45point of this
00:41:45ridge.
00:41:47We're looking
00:41:48out here.
00:41:50Might have to
00:41:51get out
00:41:51and walk.
00:42:02Is this it
00:42:03chauffeur?
00:42:05Right
00:42:06it's close by
00:42:07now.
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 2,000
00:42:13metres above
00:42:14sea level.
00:42:15That's more
00:42:15than 500
00:42:16metres higher
00:42:17than Ben
00:42:17Nevis,
00:42:18the highest
00:42:19point in
00:42:20Britain.
00:42:24What an
00:42:25amazing landscape.
00:42:26I feel like
00:42:26I'm the top
00:42:27of the world
00:42:27up here.
00:42:28And look at
00:42:29those terraces
00:42:30all 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 to
00:42:35see what
00:42:36the Great
00:42:36Wall of
00:42:37China looks
00:42:38like out
00:42:39here.
00:42:40This place
00:42:41makes Badaling
00:42:42with all
00:42:43those tourists
00:42:44seem like a
00:42:45world away.
00:42:46It's hard to
00:42:47believe that
00:42:48there's Great
00:42:48Wall all the
00:42:49way up here.
00:42:58Yeah, this
00:42:59is definitely
00:42:59it.
00:43:00This is
00:43:00just turned
00:43:00off the
00:43:01road onto
00:43:01this embankment
00:43:03that runs
00:43:03down here
00:43:03on this
00:43:04ridge.
00:43:05Two sets
00:43:05of fields,
00:43:07terraces on
00:43:07either side.
00:43:08It's got
00:43:08these protective
00:43:09fences along
00:43:09it, so this
00:43:10is it.
00:43:11Huge rampart
00:43:12that runs
00:43:12down, still
00:43:14remarkably
00:43:14complete, much
00:43:15better than I
00:43:15was expecting,
00:43:16particularly
00:43:16look at that
00:43:17section down
00:43:17there, really
00:43:19high, you can
00:43:19see the shade
00:43:20on one side,
00:43:21I can't wait
00:43:21to have a
00:43:21look at that.
00:43:24It might not
00:43:25be the image
00:43:26that most
00:43:26people have
00:43:27in their minds
00:43:27when they
00:43:28think of the
00:43:28Great Wall,
00:43:29but this is
00:43:30just as
00:43:30spectacular as
00:43:31any of those
00:43:32Ming sections
00:43:33back east.
00:43:37I can't
00:43:38believe I'm
00:43:38walking along
00:43:39the wall
00:43:40that's only
00:43:40two and a
00:43:41half thousand
00:43:41years old,
00:43:43and there's
00:43:43still enough
00:43:45of it to
00:43:45dominate the
00:43:45landscape here,
00:43:46still enough
00:43:47of it, frankly
00:43:48you could
00:43:49defend this
00:43:50wall in the
00:43:51present day.
00:43:52I mean that
00:43:53is long
00:43:54term planning.
00:44:00It looks
00:44:01very different
00:44:02to the Ming
00:44:02Great Wall
00:44:03because instead
00:44:04of brick and
00:44:04stone, this
00:44:06wall is made
00:44:07of rammed
00:44:08earth.
00:44:09But despite
00:44:10the rather basic
00:44:11building material,
00:44:12this is every
00:44:13bit as
00:44:13sophisticated.
00:44:16well it's
00:44:17fantastic to
00:44:18be able to
00:44:18get a look
00:44:18up close at
00:44:19this wall
00:44:20because you
00:44:20can see how
00:44:21they built
00:44:21it.
00:44:22And the
00:44:22chin, like
00:44:23the Ming
00:44:24later, were
00:44:24very clever.
00:44:25They had to
00:44:26use what was
00:44:27in the area,
00:44:28what nature
00:44:28provided.
00:44:29Some places,
00:44:30limestone rocks,
00:44:31other places,
00:44:32bricks of clay.
00:44:33Here, none of
00:44:34that.
00:44:34So they have to
00:44:35make do with
00:44:35this, which
00:44:37is a very
00:44:37loose, windblown
00:44:39soil called
00:44:40lois.
00:44:41Somehow you've
00:44:41got to find a
00:44:42way of
00:44:43transforming
00:44:44this into
00:44:45something that's
00:44:46going to last
00:44:47over two and
00:44:48a half thousand
00:44:48years.
00:44:52Lois is made
00:44:53up of clay,
00:44:54sand and
00:44:55silt that's
00:44:56only found in
00:44:57a few locations
00:44:58around the
00:44:58world.
00:44:59But it's in
00:45:00huge supply in
00:45:02this part of
00:45:02China.
00:45:04To build
00:45:05this wall,
00:45:06the Qin
00:45:06engineers built
00:45:07a wooden frame
00:45:09and into
00:45:10that frame,
00:45:11that sort
00:45:11of trough,
00:45:12they poured
00:45:13all this
00:45:13lois and
00:45:14any gravel
00:45:15that was
00:45:15around and
00:45:16then the
00:45:17people set
00:45:17to work,
00:45:18tamping it
00:45:19down.
00:45:20Tamping is
00:45:21using a
00:45:22heavyweight
00:45:22basically on
00:45:22the end of
00:45:23a long pole
00:45:23and you're
00:45:24just whacking,
00:45:24you're just
00:45:25making that
00:45:25soil more
00:45:26dense,
00:45:26you're just
00:45:26forcing more
00:45:28of this
00:45:28lois into
00:45:29that frame
00:45:29until you've
00:45:30got a
00:45:31solid wall.
00:45:32Now that
00:45:33was labour
00:45:33intensive.
00:45:34You can just
00:45:34imagine these
00:45:36ridgelines,
00:45:37these valleys
00:45:38just filled
00:45:39with people
00:45:40all just
00:45:41banging soil,
00:45:42compressing
00:45:42that soil.
00:45:43The sound
00:45:44alone must
00:45:45have been
00:45:45overwhelming.
00:45:48When it
00:45:49was first
00:45:49completed,
00:45:50the Qin
00:45:50Great Wall
00:45:51would have
00:45:52stood over
00:45:52seven metres
00:45:53high and
00:45:55incredibly,
00:45:56it stretched
00:45:56more than
00:45:573,000 miles
00:45:58across Qin,
00:45:59China.
00:46:00The much
00:46:01newer Ming Wall
00:46:02stretches
00:46:035,500 miles
00:46:05but it's the
00:46:05result of
00:46:06almost 300
00:46:07years of
00:46:08continual
00:46:09building.
00:46:10The Qin
00:46:11Wall might
00:46:11not be
00:46:11quite as
00:46:12long,
00:46:12but they
00:46:13only ruled
00:46:14China for
00:46:1415 years.
00:46:16All of
00:46:17this was
00:46:17completed
00:46:18in just
00:46:19over a
00:46:20decade.
00:46:23Many
00:46:23sections of
00:46:24this ancient
00:46:25wall were
00:46:25later built
00:46:26over by the
00:46:27Ming,
00:46:27but not
00:46:28this bit,
00:46:28leaving us
00:46:29with a glimpse
00:46:30of one of
00:46:31the oldest
00:46:31sections of
00:46:32the Great
00:46:32Wall
00:46:33anywhere in
00:46:34China.
00:46:36The Great
00:46:37Wall was a
00:46:37statement by
00:46:38the first
00:46:39emperor.
00:46:40He was
00:46:40literally
00:46:41staking out
00:46:43his vast
00:46:43new territory.
00:46:45He was
00:46:46in control.
00:46:47Yes, it
00:46:48helped to
00:46:48protect China
00:46:49from those
00:46:50warriors to
00:46:51the north,
00:46:51but it also
00:46:52helped him
00:46:53keep order
00:46:53in China
00:46:54itself.
00:46:55No one
00:46:56who saw
00:46:56this Great
00:46:57Wall could
00:46:58doubt that
00:46:59Qingxiuong
00:47:00D was
00:47:01in absolute
00:47:02command.
00:47:04And make
00:47:05no mistake,
00:47:06the people
00:47:07of Qing,
00:47:07China,
00:47:08suffered to
00:47:09build his
00:47:10Great
00:47:10Wall.
00:47:14There's a
00:47:15really
00:47:15interesting
00:47:15line in
00:47:15this ancient
00:47:16history book.
00:47:17The author,
00:47:18the historian,
00:47:18actually comes
00:47:19and visits
00:47:20the Qing
00:47:20Wall, and
00:47:20he's really
00:47:21struck by
00:47:22it, but
00:47:22also by
00:47:23just how
00:47:23heartless
00:47:24and brutal
00:47:25the first
00:47:26emperor was.
00:47:27He says,
00:47:28during the
00:47:28building of
00:47:29the wall,
00:47:29he hollowed
00:47:30out the
00:47:30mountains
00:47:30and filled
00:47:31in the
00:47:32valleys.
00:47:32To be
00:47:33sure,
00:47:33though, he
00:47:34showed little
00:47:35concern for
00:47:36the efforts
00:47:36of the
00:47:37people.
00:47:39And many
00:47:40stories about
00:47:40just how cruel
00:47:41life could be
00:47:42for the
00:47:43workers have
00:47:44entered into
00:47:44legend.
00:47:46One is the
00:47:47story of
00:47:47Lady Meng.
00:47:49Traditionally set
00:47:50during the
00:47:50Qing period,
00:47:51it's now one
00:47:52of the best
00:47:53known stories
00:47:53in all of
00:47:54China.
00:47:55The tale
00:47:56goes that her
00:47:56husband was
00:47:57dragged off to
00:47:58work on
00:47:59the Great
00:47:59Wall.
00:48:00And when
00:48:00she found
00:48:01out about
00:48:01how tough
00:48:02the conditions
00:48:03were, she
00:48:03made the
00:48:04long journey
00:48:05to try and
00:48:05bring him
00:48:06winter clothing
00:48:06and make
00:48:07his life
00:48:08more tolerable.
00:48:08When she
00:48:09arrived and
00:48:09found the
00:48:10stretch she'd
00:48:10been working
00:48:11on, she
00:48:11learned that
00:48:12he was dead
00:48:13and she was
00:48:14distraught and
00:48:15she wept.
00:48:16She cried,
00:48:17she shed so
00:48:18many tears
00:48:18that they
00:48:19washed the
00:48:20wall away
00:48:20and revealed
00:48:21her husband's
00:48:23bones in
00:48:24the foundations.
00:48:28This may
00:48:28just be a
00:48:29story, but
00:48:30I think it
00:48:30probably does
00:48:31reveal a
00:48:31grain of
00:48:32truth about
00:48:33the building
00:48:33of the
00:48:33Chin
00:48:34Great Wall.
00:48:35Some experts
00:48:36believe that a
00:48:37staggering one
00:48:37million people
00:48:39were sent to
00:48:39work here.
00:48:40And for many
00:48:41of them, this
00:48:42place would
00:48:43become their
00:48:44grave.
00:48:47Coming up, I'm
00:48:48heading into one
00:48:49of the biggest
00:48:49and coldest
00:48:50deserts in the
00:48:52world, the
00:48:53Gobi.
00:48:53It's a very
00:48:55difficult place to
00:48:56survive.
00:48:57Trying to find
00:48:57some of the most
00:48:58extreme sections of
00:49:00the Great Wall
00:49:00anywhere in China.
00:49:09It's been amazing
00:49:10to discover that
00:49:12there is so much
00:49:12more to the Great
00:49:13Wall than the
00:49:14picture postcard
00:49:15that most of us
00:49:16have in our minds.
00:49:17I've already seen
00:49:18the incredible
00:49:19Ming Wall that
00:49:20protected Beijing
00:49:21from northern
00:49:21raiders like the
00:49:22Mongols, and the
00:49:24ancient Chin Wall,
00:49:25over two and a
00:49:26half thousand years
00:49:27old.
00:49:29Now I'm heading
00:49:30deeper into
00:49:31Gansu province,
00:49:32on the hunt for
00:49:33some even more
00:49:34far-flung sections
00:49:36of the Great Wall.
00:49:37I'm over a thousand
00:49:38miles to the west
00:49:39of Beijing, on the
00:49:41very fringes of the
00:49:42world-famous Gobi
00:49:43Desert.
00:49:57It really is
00:50:00astonishingly remote
00:50:01here.
00:50:01In fact, we're
00:50:01getting towards that
00:50:03point on Earth,
00:50:04which is furthest
00:50:05from any ocean.
00:50:13It was through this
00:50:15same tough landscape
00:50:16that in the early
00:50:171900s, an archaeologist
00:50:19named Oral Stein
00:50:20made an expedition,
00:50:22keen to learn more
00:50:23about this remote part
00:50:24of China.
00:50:28It's hard enough
00:50:29travelling around
00:50:30here in the 21st
00:50:31century.
00:50:32Goodness knows how
00:50:33he managed at the
00:50:34start of the 20th.
00:50:36But, manage he did,
00:50:37he found something
00:50:38quite remarkable.
00:50:40He found
00:50:41Great Wall.
00:50:48The Gobi is unlike
00:50:49anywhere I've visited
00:50:50before.
00:50:51It's a strange
00:50:53lunar landscape.
00:50:55Forget the hot
00:50:57sands of the Sahara.
00:50:58This is flat, rocky,
00:51:00and today, bitterly
00:51:02cold.
00:51:03It's currently
00:51:04minus 15.
00:51:06But as Stein
00:51:06crossed the landscape,
00:51:08man-made structures
00:51:09started to appear.
00:51:11Tamped Earth
00:51:12with layers of reeds
00:51:14sandwiched between
00:51:15them.
00:51:16This was a wall.
00:51:18But when was it
00:51:19built?
00:51:22Stein found lots
00:51:23of interesting things
00:51:24in the dust around
00:51:25these walls.
00:51:26He found pottery.
00:51:27He even found wood
00:51:28and leather preserved
00:51:29in these dry conditions.
00:51:31And he found plenty
00:51:33of these arrowheads.
00:51:41The arrowheads were
00:51:42triangular, with bronze
00:51:44tips and iron tails.
00:51:47Stein thought he knew
00:51:48how old they were,
00:51:50and then he discovered
00:51:51something else, which
00:51:52confirmed his suspicions.
00:51:54Got a replica here.
00:51:56Strips of bamboo
00:51:58with Chinese characters
00:51:59on them.
00:52:00Now, this was gold dust
00:52:03for an archaeologist.
00:52:04This is the equivalent
00:52:05in Britain to a big
00:52:07medieval manuscript
00:52:08full of official
00:52:09information.
00:52:10That's exactly what
00:52:11these characters are here.
00:52:12So this allows him
00:52:14to date this wall
00:52:15with confidence.
00:52:16He'd taken a guess
00:52:17after looking at the
00:52:18arrowheads,
00:52:19and this proved it.
00:52:20This wall was built
00:52:21by a Chinese dynasty
00:52:23called the Han.
00:52:26The Han were China's
00:52:28second dynasty,
00:52:29and the wall they built
00:52:30when it was first completed
00:52:32was twice as high
00:52:33and ran for 6,000 miles.
00:52:37And this is the best
00:52:38surviving section
00:52:39anywhere in China.
00:52:41I'm just trying to get
00:52:42my head around the fact
00:52:43that this was built
00:52:44approximately 2,000 years
00:52:45ago, which was around
00:52:47about the same time
00:52:48that the Romans
00:52:49were invading Britain.
00:52:52With the Ming Great Wall,
00:52:54the ancient Chin Wall,
00:52:57this enormous Han Wall,
00:52:58and various other sections
00:53:00built throughout history,
00:53:01it's clear that we shouldn't
00:53:03be talking about
00:53:04the Great Wall,
00:53:05but the Great Walls
00:53:07of China.
00:53:09It's believed
00:53:10that there are at least
00:53:1116 of them
00:53:12stretching all across China
00:53:14into modern-day
00:53:15North Korea,
00:53:16Mongolia,
00:53:16and even Russia.
00:53:18If you put them
00:53:20all together,
00:53:20this incredible structure,
00:53:23which has evolved
00:53:24and grown
00:53:25over thousands of years,
00:53:27actually measures
00:53:28something like
00:53:2813,000 miles.
00:53:31That's pretty much
00:53:32the distance
00:53:33between Britain
00:53:34and New Zealand,
00:53:35halfway around the world.
00:53:39But why did the Han
00:53:40build a wall
00:53:41out in one of the most
00:53:42inhospitable places
00:53:43on the planet?
00:53:46I'm heading
00:53:46to the westernmost
00:53:48point of my journey,
00:53:50to one of the most
00:53:51special places
00:53:52on the whole Great Wall,
00:53:54and one of the most
00:53:55important places
00:53:56in all of China
00:53:572,000 years ago.
00:53:59This is Yunmengguan,
00:54:00the Jade Gate.
00:54:04For centuries,
00:54:06this was China's gateway
00:54:08to the rest of the world.
00:54:13All that remains
00:54:14of what once
00:54:15would have been
00:54:15a much larger complex
00:54:16is this square building.
00:54:18But in its heyday,
00:54:20there would have been
00:54:21other buildings,
00:54:22and of course,
00:54:23the ever-present
00:54:24Great Wall too.
00:54:25But it wasn't just
00:54:26a wall to defend China,
00:54:28it was one to defend
00:54:30probably history's
00:54:32most famous trade route.
00:54:34You might have heard of it,
00:54:36the Silk Road.
00:54:39The Silk Road
00:54:40was a network
00:54:41of trade routes
00:54:42that ran from China
00:54:43through Asia
00:54:44and all the way
00:54:45to Rome.
00:54:47The Great Wall
00:54:48is here to protect it
00:54:49and control
00:54:50that all-important
00:54:52flow of goods,
00:54:53people,
00:54:54and money.
00:54:57Well, that's very interesting.
00:54:58The first thing you notice
00:54:59about coming in here,
00:55:00passing through
00:55:01these walls
00:55:02three, four metres thick
00:55:03is that those walls,
00:55:04despite crumbling
00:55:06with age
00:55:06after centuries,
00:55:08are still strong enough
00:55:09to keep that desert wind
00:55:10out.
00:55:10It's much warmer in here.
00:55:12We don't really know
00:55:13what happened here.
00:55:13We can use our imaginations.
00:55:15We know there was
00:55:15an early form
00:55:16of passports
00:55:18in operation,
00:55:18so passports
00:55:19being checked.
00:55:20There would have been
00:55:21goods flowing out.
00:55:22There would have been
00:55:22silk, of course,
00:55:24heading out to the west
00:55:24in return.
00:55:25You've got jade
00:55:27coming in
00:55:27and then you've got
00:55:28those all-important
00:55:29spices of the Middle East
00:55:30that would transform
00:55:32Chinese food.
00:55:35It's amazing
00:55:36to come all the way out here
00:55:37and get a totally new
00:55:38perspective on the wall.
00:55:42Even today,
00:55:43this is a remote part
00:55:45of China,
00:55:46sandwiched between
00:55:47deserts and mountains.
00:55:48It's almost impossible
00:55:50to imagine what life
00:55:51would have been like
00:55:52out here,
00:55:53on the edge of the world,
00:55:542,000 years ago.
00:55:56But amazingly,
00:55:57we don't have to,
00:55:59because an astonishing
00:56:00discovery was made
00:56:01of ancient Chinese letters.
00:56:03Letters from
00:56:05the people of the wall.
00:56:06Those letters
00:56:07are in this book
00:56:08and it makes
00:56:08astonishing reading
00:56:09because the letters
00:56:10aren't from the emperor
00:56:12to his officials
00:56:12or generals.
00:56:13No,
00:56:13they're just from
00:56:14everyday people
00:56:15living out here.
00:56:17A slice
00:56:18of life
00:56:19on the frontier
00:56:202,000 years ago.
00:56:23The letters
00:56:24are written
00:56:25on scraps of silk
00:56:26or on bamboo sticks
00:56:28and they're just
00:56:29brilliant to read.
00:56:32This book has images
00:56:33of these letters
00:56:34but luckily for me
00:56:35it also has translations.
00:56:36I really like this one here,
00:56:37it's called Xuân.
00:56:38And he's writing,
00:56:39we think,
00:56:39to his brother
00:56:40and his sister-in-law
00:56:42and he is saying,
00:56:43I hope that during
00:56:44this hot season
00:56:45you both have sufficient
00:56:46clothing and good food.
00:56:47A lot of these letters
00:56:48are about food
00:56:50and clothes
00:56:51and the weather
00:56:51and it makes me feel better
00:56:53because that's what
00:56:54us Brits
00:56:54still talk about
00:56:55all these years
00:56:56later on.
00:56:56So the fact that
00:56:57we're obsessed
00:56:58with the weather
00:56:58and what we're eating,
00:56:59nothing changes.
00:57:00I like the fact
00:57:01that at the end
00:57:02of this letter
00:57:02he writes,
00:57:03I hope you're happily
00:57:04ordering your own affairs
00:57:05so, you know,
00:57:05keeping on top
00:57:06of all the work.
00:57:07Don't be the last
00:57:08among all the sections
00:57:10which we think means,
00:57:10you know,
00:57:11don't be a slacker,
00:57:12don't bring up the rear.
00:57:13Love that.
00:57:15I think this is
00:57:15my favourite letter here,
00:57:16it's from a guy
00:57:17called Yuan
00:57:17and he's writing
00:57:18to Zifang,
00:57:19his friend
00:57:20and he,
00:57:21right at the top,
00:57:21he's, you know,
00:57:22putting lots of
00:57:23polite questions
00:57:24about how his parents,
00:57:25his wife,
00:57:25his family,
00:57:26all that sort of stuff.
00:57:27Very nice.
00:57:28Then we learn
00:57:28that Yuan's about
00:57:29to be stationed
00:57:30in Don Juan
00:57:30so he's coming out here
00:57:31and he has got a request.
00:57:33Yes, he certainly does.
00:57:34Most of the letter
00:57:35is about this request.
00:57:36He wants his friend
00:57:37to buy a pair
00:57:39of shoes for me
00:57:40and he goes and says,
00:57:41what kind of shoes?
00:57:42They've got to be
00:57:42strong silk,
00:57:43soft leather,
00:57:44a feet two inches long
00:57:46and then he goes and says,
00:57:48you know,
00:57:48he comes back to it
00:57:49several times.
00:57:49Can you please
00:57:50pay attention to the shoes?
00:57:51I want thick ones
00:57:52good for travelling on foot.
00:57:54He will pay them back
00:57:55when it's convenient,
00:57:56he says.
00:57:57What I really like about it
00:57:58is it shows me
00:57:59that humans
00:57:59haven't really changed
00:58:00that much
00:58:00and there's always
00:58:01that one cheeky friend
00:58:02trying to pull
00:58:03a fast one on the mate.
00:58:06But even in the humanity
00:58:07of these letters,
00:58:09there's one thing
00:58:10that really shines through
00:58:11even brighter.
00:58:14There's another letter
00:58:14which I think is quite interesting.
00:58:15gives quite a realistic sense
00:58:17of how tough life
00:58:18could be out here
00:58:18on the front.
00:58:19We've got a man called Zheng
00:58:21and he's saying,
00:58:23I've lived here for five years
00:58:24and I've not been transferred.
00:58:25The roads leading here
00:58:26are long and far off.
00:58:28Traffic is rare.
00:58:29My official position
00:58:30is inconsequential.
00:58:32My status low.
00:58:34Letters do not get through.
00:58:35Zheng is having a good old whine
00:58:37about his job
00:58:38and who among us
00:58:39has not done that?
00:58:41And another person writes,
00:58:43simply,
00:58:44life on the frontier
00:58:46is very hard.
00:58:50Coming up,
00:58:51I head to the end
00:58:52of my amazing journey
00:58:54along the Great Wall of China
00:58:55and to one final jewel
00:58:57in the crown
00:58:58of this incredible structure.
00:59:02I've travelled the length
00:59:04of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall
00:59:06from its eastern end
00:59:07where it meets the sea
00:59:09through the mountains
00:59:10to the north of Beijing
00:59:12and made some exciting diversions
00:59:15to one of the oldest sections
00:59:17of the wall
00:59:17built by the Qin Dynasty
00:59:18and the most isolated stretch
00:59:21built by the Han.
00:59:24And my journey
00:59:26is going to end here
00:59:27at this mighty fortress
00:59:30at the end of the Ming Wall,
00:59:32Jiayuguan.
00:59:36I'm now 1,000 miles
00:59:38west of Beijing
00:59:40and 1,200 miles
00:59:41from where I started.
00:59:45In fact,
00:59:45I'm so far west
00:59:46the sun rises
00:59:47about an hour and a half later
00:59:49that does over the old dragon's head
00:59:51at the other end
00:59:52of the Great Wall.
00:59:56The way it looms
00:59:57over the landscape,
00:59:58it's obvious
00:59:59just how formidable
01:00:00a fortress this once was.
01:00:04Well,
01:00:05first thing that strikes you
01:00:06about that
01:00:06is just how
01:00:08dominant it is.
01:00:10It's on a vast scale.
01:00:11It's bigger than anything else
01:00:12I've really seen
01:00:13on the wall
01:00:13and that makes me think
01:00:15about those
01:00:15Chinese traders,
01:00:17those ambassadors.
01:00:18They've been out there
01:00:19to the west.
01:00:19They've been out there
01:00:20in the wilds
01:00:21of the deserts
01:00:21and mountains
01:00:22and now
01:00:23they were back.
01:00:24They were about to
01:00:25enter these gates.
01:00:26This meant China.
01:00:27It meant home.
01:00:29It meant civilization.
01:00:37This huge central courtyard
01:00:40would have been
01:00:41high of activity,
01:00:43wooden accommodation blocks,
01:00:44animals,
01:00:45horses,
01:00:46camels,
01:00:47blacksmiths
01:00:48and craftsmen,
01:00:49tradespeople mingling,
01:00:51everybody relieved
01:00:52to be in here
01:00:53after that long trip
01:00:54across the desert
01:00:55or preparing
01:00:56to head out.
01:00:57This would have been
01:00:58a little slice
01:00:59of Chinese life
01:01:00right here
01:01:01at the end
01:01:01of the Great Wall.
01:01:04Jiayuguan
01:01:05was also known
01:01:06as the first
01:01:07and greatest
01:01:08pass under heaven.
01:01:09You can see why.
01:01:11The details
01:01:12make this place
01:01:13really stand out
01:01:15as a jewel
01:01:15in the crown
01:01:16of the Great Wall.
01:01:20But this wouldn't be
01:01:22the Great Wall
01:01:22if there weren't
01:01:23some tall tales
01:01:25about the place.
01:01:26It's said that
01:01:27the architect
01:01:27who designed
01:01:28Jiayuguan
01:01:29boldly claimed
01:01:30that exactly
01:01:3199,999 bricks
01:01:34would be used
01:01:35in the building.
01:01:36His superior,
01:01:38not believing him,
01:01:39said that if he
01:01:39miscalculated
01:01:40by even one brick,
01:01:41the entire workforce
01:01:43would be subjected
01:01:44to hard labor
01:01:44for three years.
01:01:46And naturally,
01:01:47as the building
01:01:48was completed,
01:01:50only 99,998
01:01:53bricks were used.
01:01:56The supervisor
01:01:57was furious.
01:01:58He ordered the punishment
01:01:58to be carried out.
01:01:59So the designer
01:02:01placed one final brick
01:02:03right there.
01:02:04He said it was
01:02:05essential for the
01:02:06structural integrity
01:02:07of the entire fort.
01:02:09The supervisor
01:02:10was happy, though.
01:02:11No one got punished.
01:02:12And that brick
01:02:13is still there today.
01:02:16Whether or not
01:02:17this actually happened,
01:02:18it does serve
01:02:19to remind us
01:02:20of the attention
01:02:21to detail
01:02:22on show.
01:02:23And the precision
01:02:24needed to build
01:02:25not just this huge fort,
01:02:27but the whole
01:02:28Great Wall.
01:02:30Jiayuguan
01:02:31really was
01:02:32the edge
01:02:33of the world.
01:02:34And because of its location,
01:02:36the fortress
01:02:37gained a fierce
01:02:38reputation.
01:02:41It wasn't just
01:02:42soldiers and
01:02:43traders out here
01:02:44at Jiayuguan.
01:02:45There was another
01:02:46group of people
01:02:47here as well.
01:02:48And those
01:02:49were enemies
01:02:50of the emperor.
01:02:52The criminals,
01:02:53the traitors,
01:02:54the undesirables.
01:02:56They'd been sent here
01:02:57before facing
01:02:59a fate worse
01:03:00than death.
01:03:02Exile.
01:03:09There are even
01:03:10romantic tales
01:03:11of exiles
01:03:13carving poetic
01:03:14graffiti
01:03:14into these walls.
01:03:16A little bit like
01:03:16the prisoners
01:03:17in the Tower of London
01:03:18graffitiing their cells.
01:03:19We're told
01:03:20that people wrote,
01:03:22I have been exiled
01:03:23beyond the wall
01:03:23or I have been
01:03:24expelled through the pass.
01:03:26Heaven help me.
01:03:27If those ever existed,
01:03:29sadly,
01:03:29the passage of time
01:03:31has washed them away.
01:03:36The fact is,
01:03:37whether they were
01:03:38poets or not,
01:03:39people were
01:03:40exiled in China
01:03:42and they would have
01:03:43been sent out
01:03:44through the wall here.
01:03:45This was the last
01:03:46pass, the last gate.
01:03:47This was the end
01:03:48of the Great Wall.
01:03:49Off they would have
01:03:50gone into the
01:03:51Wild West.
01:03:52We can imagine
01:03:53people leaving
01:03:54through here
01:03:56never to see
01:03:56their homes
01:03:57in China again.
01:04:03As for my journey,
01:04:04I have one more
01:04:06climb to go.
01:04:07Into the mountains
01:04:08around Jiayuguan
01:04:09where the Ming
01:04:10Great Wall
01:04:11comes to an end.
01:04:15My last time
01:04:16on the Great Wall.
01:04:17My final staircase.
01:04:20I'm getting quite
01:04:20used to it,
01:04:21to be honest.
01:04:21I'll miss it.
01:04:22It's good for the
01:04:23step count.
01:04:26For many of us,
01:04:27the Great Wall
01:04:28is the ultimate
01:04:29bucket list destination.
01:04:30But for others,
01:04:32it means so much more.
01:04:35This is the symbol
01:04:37of China.
01:04:39A symbol of unity
01:04:40and defense
01:04:41two and a half
01:04:43thousand years
01:04:44in the making.
01:04:45It's amazing.
01:04:50The Great Wall
01:04:51is the most important
01:04:52building in Chinese history.
01:04:54Defending the empire
01:04:56from its Qin beginnings.
01:04:58Protecting the mighty
01:04:59Silk Road
01:05:00and securing
01:05:01the newly established
01:05:02Ming Dynasty.
01:05:04It was even used
01:05:05into the 20th century
01:05:06with Chinese defenders
01:05:08using the Great Wall
01:05:09against the Japanese
01:05:10invasion of the 1930s.
01:05:14Chairman Mao famously said
01:05:15you can't call yourself
01:05:16a real man
01:05:17until you've been up
01:05:17to the Great Wall
01:05:19of China.
01:05:19Well, I think I can
01:05:20finally say
01:05:21I've earned that accolade.
01:05:23I made it.
01:05:28This has been
01:05:29such an incredible journey.
01:05:31But what I've realized
01:05:32is that no matter
01:05:33how much you know
01:05:34about the wall,
01:05:35there is always
01:05:36something new
01:05:37to uncover.
01:05:44This is so much more
01:05:45than the story
01:05:46of the bricks
01:05:47and the stones
01:05:48of the Great Wall.
01:05:49It's the story
01:05:50of the people
01:05:51who built it
01:05:52and who lived by it
01:05:54and on it.
01:05:55That's the real story
01:05:57of the Great Wall
01:05:59of China.
01:06:02The ultimate game
01:06:03of Cat and Mouse
01:06:04is back on.
01:06:05Jason Watkins
01:06:06and Robson Green
01:06:06return in a new series
01:06:07of the game
01:06:08Tuesday at 9.
01:06:09Her record-breaking career
01:06:11took her from Tennessee
01:06:12to Dollywood.
01:06:13We honour the Queen
01:06:13of Country,
01:06:14Dolly Parton,
01:06:15in her own words
01:06:16after the break.
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