tHe gReaT wAll Of cHinA – A giGanTic dRaGon

The Great Wall of China, was named as one of the new seven wonders of the world in 2007, in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

This Great Wall which appears like a gigantic dragon, winds up and down across deserts, and mountains, even grasslands, and then the plateaus stretching around to 6,700 kilometers east to the west of China. However, with over 2000 years of history, it is still one of the most fascinating attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.

Built in Ming dynasty, the wall starts from the Shahaiguan Pass in the east to the Jiayuguan Pass in the west then traveling in the provinces of Liaoning, Hebei, and Beijing, and then Tianjian, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Shaonxi and the Gansu.

The history of the Great Wall of China is very exciting in its origins, originally built during the spring and autumn. It began as an independent wall for many different states when they first built it. It did not become the “Great” wall till the Qin dynasty. The Emperor Qin Shihuang succeeded in joining the walls together to defend from the Huns in the north after the famous unification of China.

According to the Great Wall of China Academy, after the long survey of 101 sections of the wall in different provinces, although it went through a lot of repairs and constant extensions in the later dynasties, it is said that due to nature’s constraint and the havoc at the hand of some mankind are bringing about the gradual reduction of its extent, with less than 30 percent remaining in good condition.

It’s interesting to note that people visiting the place, will come across the various Chinese wildlife along the length of the Great Wall from the Siberian tigers in the northeast to the rare giant panda in the southern Gansu, Sichuan, and Shaanxi. Likewise the wild mammals – the brown and black bears, mandarin vole, Manchurian weasel, different species of deer that includes spotted deer, roe deer and Sitka deer which are used in Chinese medicine are found in the northern region. Also birds of the region include cranes, pheasants, woodpeckers, mandarin duck, black grouse, fairy pitta, pine grosbeak etc., can be seen while hiking the wall.

But at the same time, few disadvantages while hiking the Great Wall is,

1. Poor mapping with very few guides or no guides at all in some places.

2. Lack of drinking water or availability of dirty water. Although we come across some villages on the way, the distance might take us miles away from the wall.

3. To walk in the regions of walls built by mud and stones is risky and unsafe. So it’s necessary to have a physical safety while hiking the Great Wall.

15 wOmeN wHo LOok bEtteR wiTh mUsTacHes

Mustaches on ladies seems to be a bit of a trend lately. From Mariah Carey’s bearded thug-boy look in her “Obsessed” music video to Sarah Silverman sporting a sharp ’stache at the VMAs to Selma Hayek donning a beautiful full beard in the upcoming “Cirque du Freak,” it got us thinking — what other women would look hot sporting a mustache?

15. Janet Reno:

You knew Janet Reno would be on this list. When she was Bill Clinton’s Attorney General, the fact that Mrs. Reno is manly looking was low-hanging fruit for comedy writers. And, her ’stache still is comedy gold. Anyway, just add a thick little mustache and… there we go… it’s TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS!

14. Lady Gaga:

In her relatively short career in the public spotlight, Lady Gaga has already shown to have more crazy outfits in her closet than David Bowie and Madonna combined. With blouses made out of Kermit the Frog heads, dresses made out of plastic bubbles and one-piece numbers that appear to be straight out of science fiction, facial hair is the ONLY accessory she hasn’t tried. And knowing her, she wouldn’t just have a mustache, it would be the best mustache you’ve ever seen. It would surely put Prince’s facial landscaping artistry to shame.

13. Cher:

Cher’s getting pretty old. Can you believe that she’s 63? It’s only a matter of time before age catches up to her. At some point, no amount of Botox and plastic surgery can hold back the tides of time. Cher is eventually going to have to give in to that thing that happens to so many old women — getting your first mustache. And considering that she’s long been a favorite of drag queens everywhere, perhaps it’s time she returned the favor with a big black thick mustache.

12. Queen Elizabeth II:

Why Queen Elizabeth? Why the dear ol’ queen? Dunno, maybe because it’s what Banksy would do. She does look absolutely smashing in that Chester Arthur, doesn’t she? Hellllloooooo!

11. Michelle Obama:

Some people have suggested that Obama should break the trend of clean-shaven presidents and grow himself a big, bushy 19th century beard, but so far, he’s resisted the temptation. If Barack is going to refuse to sport a mustache, perhaps it should be up to his lovely fashionista wife Michelle to set the standard. Who’s the baddest First Lady on the block? Michelle Obama. Damn right.

10. Sigourney Weaver:

Here’s a prize that I just made up just now. Anyone that brutally murders as many nasty acid bleeding aliens as Sigourney Weaver did as Ellen Ripley wins a complimentary trucker mustache. It also earns you the right to chew tobacco anytime and anywhere while saying things like “This stuff will make you a g.d. sexual Tyrannosaurus!”

9. Paula Deen:

There’s only one mustache and beard style that would work for this Southern cooking belle. It’s one that betrays her knowledge of the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.

8. Kelly Osbourne:

At first, the world knew her as “Kelly Osbourne, daughter of Ozzy on that show about Ozzy’s family.” Then she tried to be a pop star. Lately, she’s just sort of been fodder for celebrity websites. I’m pretty sure it’s just because she hasn’t tried the mustache and/or beard look yet. Hasn’t she heard that everyone’s doing it? Mustaches are the new heroin.

7. Sarah Jessica Parker:

What, don’t you agree that a mustache really behooves the “Sex in the City” star? Neigh? I think you’re foal of it.

6. Tila Tequila:

Singer, model, actress and former porn star Tila Tequila somehow seems to just have a face that was made for a great little goatee. And, considering she’s a wild and swinging open bisexual, we’re pretty sure that someone out there knows what she looks like with a mustache… we’ll do our best to approximate.

5. Kate Gosselin:

Jon left her with the eight kids, meaning Kate Gosselin now has two roles to fill as the primary parent of her famous brood. Mustaches give off an air of authority, so she can be both mom and dad, and it’ll be like Jon never left. TLC has said they’ll be renaming the show “Kate Plus Eight,” but I rather like “Kate And Mustache Plus Eight.”

4. Maggie Gyllenhaal:

When she took over the role of Bruce Wayne love interest Rachel Dawes in 2008 film “The Dark Knight,” fans were divided over whether Maggie Gyllenhaal looked absolutely gorgeous or whether she resembled Droopy the Dog. The problem perhaps is just that she needs to accentuate her unique nose with an equally unique ’stache.

3. Susan Boyle:

Susan Boyle took a lot of crap when she was on “Britain’s Got Talent” for her appearance, which was rudely called everything from homely to matronly to downright fugly. It’s not entirely fair. There’s nothing wrong with the way she looks. She’s just missing something is all. Ah, there it is.

2. Megan Fox:

With “Transformers 2″ and “Jennifer’s Body” hitting theaters back-to-back, many people revolted in the face of Megan Fox media overload to the point of boycotting her from blogs. But I think the problem isn’t that she’s overexposed, it’s just that she needs to update her look — maybe with a nice sharp devilish mustache.

1. Lindsay Lohan:

Dave Chappelle, once dressed up as Rick James and said, “Cocaine’s a hell of a drug,” and no modern media starlet has reflected this sentiment like Lindsay Lohan. Once she was the cute star of such Disney remakes as “The Parent Trap” and “The Love Bug,” but now she’s just sort of old and gnarly looking, thanks to a lot of drug abuse. What better to hide all those premature wrinkles than a big full, fluffy beard?