Regarded as one of the greatest wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China was constructed mainly as a defense and protection mechanism against invaders. The wall consists of several sections and extends approximately 4,000 miles. From the bank of the Yalu River, the wall winds westward over China's vast terrain and ends at the Tian Shan and Qilian Shan mountains' snow-covered feet. In 1987, the great wall was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
Dunhuang County in Gansu Province is along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of cultural, intellectual, religious influences and trade. Dunhuang County became known for the Dunhuang Grotto Art, which includes carvings of the Mogao Grottoes. Also known as 1,000-Buddha caves, the carvings started in 366 A.D. and carried on through several dynasties. More than 2,000 color statues and 45,000 square meters of murals are conserved in 492 existing caves. Among the cave findings are descriptions of various ethnic groups and depictions of nobles' lives, farming, hunting, martial-arts practices, merchants along the Silk Road and foreign envoys. A 25km art gallery would be formed if all of the art work were put together.
The museum is divided into three sections, or pits, and extends 190,000 square meters (approximately seven to eight miles). Chariots and ranks of 6,000 soldiers can be found in Pit 1. Pit 2 contains about 1,400 figures of horses, cavalrymen, infantrymen and 90 wooden chariots, and Pit 3 holds about 70 figures, which were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. The Terracotta Museum is known as the eighth wonder of the world. The excavation was considered the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century and was chosen in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site. The tomb of the emperor who led this army (Qin Shi Huang, regarded as the first emperor to unify China) is approximately 1 mile west of the museum.
