China is an ancient country with a history of over 5000 years. For centuries, China has experienced countless wars political struggle and finally become a powerful country with profound history and culture. In this page, we list the 7 wonders of China, to help you find your way to explore this ancient country.
The Great Wall
The Great wall is one of the symbols of China with a history of more than 2000 years. It is a magnificent man-made scene that ranks as one of the seven wonders of China and had been listed in the World Heritage list in 1987.
The Great Wall is located in north China, starting from Shanghaiguan Pass, extending west to Jiayuguan Pass, with a total length of 6,700 km. It was built to prevent the invasion of the southern enemies as a functional military structure. The construction of the Great can be dated back to 2000 years ago during the Spring and Autumn Period. In Qing Dynasty, Qing Shi Huang connected the walls to be the Great Wall “Wan Li Chang Cheng”. In Han and Ming Dynasties, the Great Wall had been renovated and built in large scale. The construction last for thousands of year, it is such a huge construction with imposing manner that is called the wonder of the world.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City, also called Imperial Palace Museum, is located in the very heart of Beijing. It had been the imperial place during Ming and Qing Dynasties with a history of more than 500 years, and once home to 24 emperors.
This magnificent, palatial architectural complex covers an area of over 2,350,000 square feet and contains 9,999 rooms. The largest complex of its kind in the world, it is surrounded by ten-foot-high walls that are crowned by four observation towers and flanked by a deep moat. The walls are pierced by four large gates, each with three openings and a broad crowning pavilion.
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Terracotta Warriors
Terracotta Warriors in Xian, known as the eighth wonder of the world, now is a museum to display the terra-cotta warriors and horses which were made in Tang Dynasty. From its history, Qin Terracotta Army is covered by a mysterious face.
In 221 B.C., Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty established the first centralized feudal dynasty in China. After his death, he was buried at the northern foot of Lishan Hill in the east of Lintong County. The tomb has been reduced to half its size after 2,000 years of water and soil erosion, but still impressive - 76 meters high and a fundamental space of 120,000 square meters.
The tomb took 39 years and 700,000 workers to reach completion. It had pearls embedded in the ceiling to represent the stars, and rivers and lakes were modeled with liquid mercury. The tomb itself has not been opened yet.
There are four main categories of figures in this museum: chariot warriors, infantrymen, cavalrymen, and horses. There are generals, middle ranking officers, lower ranking officers, ordinary soldiers, and armored warriors. The latter can be further divided according to their headgear into warriors with a square scarf, a cylindrical bun, or a flat bun. There are kneeling warriors as well.
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Mogao Grottoes
Mogao Grottoes are located precipice at on the east foot of the Mingsha Hill in Dunhuang. In December 1987 the Mogao Grottoes have been included into the List of the World Cultural Heritages by the UNESCO.
The construction of the Mogao Grottoes began in the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms (about 366 A.D.), and the endeavor continued through the later dynasties, including the North Dynasty, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Western Xia and Yuan. Today, the grand dimension of the site is shown by 735 caves, with murals covering 45,000 square meters and colored clay statues 2,415 square meters. The Mogao Grottoes is the largest, oldest and the best-preserved Buddhist grottoes with the richest contents in the world today.
In modern times, the Cave of Buddhist Scriptures was accidentally discovered and the Mogao Grottoes re-attracts attention from all over the world. Tragically, a large amount of rare scriptures were stolen. A new branch of international studies, the Dunhuang Studies, has come into being for the research on scriptures of this cave and Dunhuang's art.
Leshan Giant Buddha
Leshan Giant Buddha is the tallest stone Buddha statue in the world, which was carved out of a cliff. The site was listed on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1996.
The Giant Buddha lies at the junction of the Minjiang River, Dadu and Qingyi Rivers. The stone sitting sculpture faces the sacred Mt. Emei, with the rivers flowing below his feet. Construction of the Giant Buddha began in 713 A.D.
The statue depicts a seated Maitreya Buddha with his hands resting on his knees. Maitreya is the future Buddha, who will appear to preach the dharma when the teachings of Gautama Buddha have faded away. Maitreya was especially popular during the 4th to 7th centuries, and his images are found throughout the Buddhist world, conveying his characteristic air of expectancy and promise.
Several drainage passages are hidden in the Buddha's hair, collar, chest, and holes in the back of his ears and chest, preventing the Buddha from serious erosion and weathering. He has also been lovingly maintained on a regular basis throughout his 1,200-year history.
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, 45km north of Chengdu, is the great technological achievement of ancient China. For more than 2,300 years of irrigation, Dujiangyan has benefited the local people just as it prevents Min River basin from annual flooding and made the ancient Shu State a famed ‘land of abundance'. This system still plays an indispensable function in agriculture. Beside, Dujiangyan survived from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake because of its firm structure.
This irrigation system was designed and implemented first in the china in the middle of 200 B.C.
It consists of three sections: the Fish Mouth, which splits the Min River into the inner and outer rivers; the Feisha Dike, which helps reduce the amount of silt carried by the inner Min River before it flows into the Baopingkou ("mouth of the treasure bottle"); the aqueduct, it leads the waters into the Chengdu Plain.
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These are the most recognized seven wonders of China. Usually, the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Terracotta Warriors are the most-visited places, as they enjoy convenient transport and are easy to reach.
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