The Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall - created over centuries to protect the Chinese Empire from intrusion and invasion - is one of the world's best known sights. Yet again and again we see the same stretch of wall, the same throngs of tourists and a stream of visiting politicians.

Take these elements away and there is a sublime change - a shift in perception. Here is the Great Wall of China from various diverse perspectives, some stretches of the wall you may not be familiar with and hardly a tourist or soldier in sight. The Great Wall of China suddenly becomes a mystery again, inscrutable and elegant, unfathomable and incredible.