A two-year mapping study has now shown the Great Wall of China to be longer than originally thought. The ancient wall is now thought to be 8,850km (5,500 miles) long rather than the 5,000km previously estimated.
Thanks to infra-red and GPS technologies additional areas have been discovered including sections built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and runs from the Hu Mountains in northern Liaoning province to Jiayu Pass in western Gansu province.
The Great Wall of China is the world’s largest man-made structure, which was built to defend the northern border of the Chinese Empire, and has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1987.
