Group trek up Heavenly Ladder on Great Wall of China

The series of fortifications were constructed along the northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe. Several walls were built from as early as the seventh century BC, with parts later joined together by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Later on, successive dynasties built and maintained multiple stretches of the wall and it now covers more than 13,000 miles of the country.