Great Sites

China today is filled with great sites built hundreds of years ago. Many of these astonishing creations seem like the impossible, but don't worry, they're real. Ancient sites such as the Great Wall of China, Terra-Cotta Warriors, and the Longmen Caves are just some of tons! So, if you're ever going to visit China, be sure not to miss them. Coming next is a brief description and history of those three sites, that way you'll be sure to recognize them if you do ever go to China. You'll also be able to tell others about the origins of that specific site, and not to mention some pretty surprising facts!

When the Ch'in Dynasty arose, Emperor Shih Huang-ti ordered a great wall to be built so that China would be protected from Northern invaders. Several small walls, built before the Ch'in Dynasty, were connected, and that's where the great wall began. Building the wall took almost 14 years, and many lives of the 300, 000 or more workers. In the end though, the wall was around 2,000 miles long, and was wide enough in some places to fit nine horses abreast. Not to mention that it's also the only man made thing ever to be seen from space! Wow!

When Buddhism became a popular religion, thousands of statues of Buddha were carved on the walls of caves. A few of those caves can be located near the city of Loyang, and are known as the Longmen caves. The sculptures there ranged in size and in one cave alone would be 10,000 statues of Buddha!

When Emperor Shih Huang-ti became king at age 13, he wanted a vast army and kingdom that he could rule after his death, so he commanded his burial tomb to be started. It's said to have taken 36 years to build, for within the tomb is an enormous army of around 8,000 life-size warriors and chariots all made of clay. Amazingly also everyone of the soldiers have a different face! As the years passed after emperor's death and time went on, the roof of the tomb collapsed, leaving it hidden from humans until 1974..............

A Terra-Cotta warrior and his horse