Runners Take Olympic Torch Up China’s Great Wall
08/08/2008 06:43
Runners carrying the Olympic torch ascended the Great Wall of China on Thursday in a well-controlled relay ceremony just one day before the Beijing Summer Games officially begin.
Rousing music blared through speakers, backed by live drums and the crash of cymbals in a carefully choreographed ceremony. A local Communist party secretary was the first to hold the torch aloft as the crowd was showered in confetti.
Completed in the 14th century, the 6,400-kilometre-long Great Wall dates back to China's first dynasty in 220 BC as a barrier against nomadic raiders from the north.
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SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
One thing I’ve always wondered – how the heck did the Chinese build that fortified, 6,400-kilometre wall in 220 BC? It truly is one of the wonders of the world.