China’s Great Wall Found to Be Greater Yet

PEKING — A survey of the Great Wall of China has shown the ancient stone barrier is 2,500 miles longer than once believed, a Chinese researcher has reported.

Luo Zhewen, writing in the March edition of China Reconstructs magazine, said recent research revealed the wall meanders across the mountains and deserts of northern China for 6,200 miles, rather than the accepted distance of 3,700 miles.

“Volunteers have traced on foot long sections of the wall in remote areas, measuring and recording their finds,” Luo said. “In 1984, aerial remote sensing techniques--including infrared photography--were used to examine sections of the wall in the Peking area.”

He said archeologists are still studying several sections of the wall along with stone tablets and other records to help date different portions of the huge barrier, which was begun at least 2,400 years ago.