China will remeasure the length of the Great
Wall with the help of aeronautic remote sensing technology,
Zhang Ji, deputy secretary-general of the China Great Wall
Institute, said on Wednesday.
Zhang said the program will provide an accurate measurement of
the length of the Great Wall, which was first built by China's
first emperor Qinshihuang, then rebuilt and renovated in the Ming
Dynasty.
In addition, he said the program results will provide pictures
of the Wall's overall layout, which is significant for the
preservation of this cultural relic.
The current measurement is 7300 kilometers, but is probably not
very accurate, he added.
According to the China Great Wall Institute, the previous
measurement they took was based on a sum total of on-site
measurements of all local parts of the Wall. The institute could
not confirm when the last measurement was taken.
(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)
