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The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from attack. The Great Wall stretches over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. The most famous is the wall built between 220-200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang but little of it remains. It was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall. While some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even reconstructed, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair due to sandstorms, graffiti, deconstruction, and vandalism.
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