New 644-Mile Section of Great Wall Found in Northeast China
Archeologists have found a new section of China’s famous Great Wall, extending its eastern end more than 600 miles to the border with North Korea, official reports said Wednesday.
The reports in the English-language China Daily and in the Beijing Daily said the finding coincided with historical records.
Chinese archeologists conducted a field survey from February to July in northeast China’s Liaoning province, where they found remnants of the wall, including 12 beacon towers, important tablets dating back to the 14th to 17th centuries, ceramics and weapons, the reports said.
The new section adds 644 miles to the wall, which previously was said to be about 1,500 miles long.
Previously, the eastern end of the Great Wall was thought to be the seacoast town of Shanhaiguan, in Hebei province at the border with Liaoning.
The new section of the wall continues from Shanhaiguan, zigzagging northeast through Liaoning province, passing through Shenyang and then south to the border city of Dandong.
The report did not say what condition the new section of wall is in. Most of the rest of the Great Wall, except for sections that have been renovated as tourist sites, is little more than heaps of dirt and rubble.
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