Northern Shanxi Province #
![Northern Shanxi Province Northern Shanxi Province](/attach/Geography/Asia/China/Pictures/Factbook_Pictures/860ch/860ch.jpg)
Image courtesy of NASA., under PD
The Great Wall (actually a series of walls) is over 2,000 years old and was built over a period of 1,000 years. Stretching 8,850 km (5,500 mi) from Korea to the Gobi Desert, it was built to protect China from northern marauders.