The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications (防御工事) built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China.

In 221 BC, Emperor Qin Shihuang     1     (order) the walls of the Qin, Zhao and Yan kingdoms in the north to be joined after he united China. The new wall stretched (延伸) from Lintao to Liaodong, with a total     2     (long) of over 20, 000 li.

With the rise of the Tang Dynasty, the Great Wall lost     3     (important) as a fortification. During the Song Dynasty, the Chinese     4       (force) to withdraw (撤退) under threat from the Liao and Jin peoples in the north,     5     took over many areas on both sides of the Great Wall. The powerful Yuan Dynasty     6       (establish) by Genghis Khan finally controlled all of China.

The Great Wall became again a military fortification for Mongolians. It was during the Ming Dynasty that the Wall took on     7     (it) present form. At that time, it stretched some 6, 300 kilometers from the Yalujiang River in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west, and is known     8     the Ten Thousand Li Wall.

Today, the Great Wall is     9       (general) recognized as one of the most impressive     10       (wonder) in the world. It is the only man-made structure that is visible from space.

Jiuzhaigou is officially known as Jiuzhai Valley in English,     1    is a nature reserve in the north of Sichuan Province. It is known as the habitat of giant pandas although it is extremely hard to see a panda in the park and mainly for its many multi-level waterfalls    2    colorful lakes. It    3    (become) a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

    4     (lie) 350 km north of Chengdu, Jiuzhai Valley offers    5     (impress) views of lakes, waterfalls, and mountains. The name means “Valley of Nine Villages”, coming from the 9 ancient Tibetan villages that call it home. Its     6    (high) point is 4,700 m above sea level, with the main sightseeing areas between 1,980 m and 3,100 m.

The park is the natural habitat for the giant panda and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey (金丝猴). However, because of the park’s size and    7    number of tourists, the chances    8     (see) them are slim. About 20 pandas reportedly live within the park.

For environmental protection reasons, no personal transport, not even bicycles,     9    (permit) within the park. However, with a bus pass you can take a bus to all of the sites within the park. Every few minutes a bus will come to a site to pick up the    10    (passenger).