For many outside observers, the Great Wall of China is a symbol of ancient China's strength, military might and power. The Xi Jinping Administration is currently undertaking land reclamation in the South China Sea, which has been dubbed by some as the 'great wall of sand'. Could the Great Wall of the past shed light on the current wall of sand?

对于中国之外的观察员来说，长城是古代中国国家力量和军事力量的象征。而习大大正在南海所谓“万里长沙”版的开疆拓土，是过去的万里长城在当下的照进现实么？

Just here to comment
A nice comparison. The Great Wall of China had a good purpose for its construction and was defensive in nature given that they wanted to repel the nomads from the north. China today doesn't need another Great Wall given that their size and power (economically and militarily) is bigger than that of the entire South China Sea claimants combined. The Great Wall of Sand is more of a weapon than a shield and given the tensions in the SCS (coast guards, oil rigs, land reclamation, etc) we should know who's on the defensive. If anything China is the northern invader (just look at a map).

一个鲜明的对照，为了抵御北方游牧民族的侵扰，在古代建造万里长城是再自然不过的事情了。但是今天的中国经济和军事实力远大于整个南海申索国的全部，所以根本就不需要另外一个长城了。与其说万里长沙是防御设施倒不如说是件武器了，即通过海警、石油钻井平台，造陆等活动来制造紧张氛围。我们应当知道谁才是防守者，谁才是北方的侵略者者（看看地图就知道了）

Taishanese
Well, China wasn't defined by the Great Wall and it certainly isn't going to be defined by the Wall of Sand.
China's rise will come about by continuing to open up to the world and integrating with the global economy. Which she is doing. And she will joined the developed world and continue to add value to the developing world. Chinese ports already ship more containers to the rest of the world than any other nation. Soon, Chinese air passengers will fly to more places in the world than any other nation and Chinese cumulative investments will exceed that of any other nation. China isn't keeping anyone in or out.
This Wall of Sand is but a tiny wafer thin sliver of all that is China, not a definition of it.

嗯，中国可不是被长城所定义的，也不会被万里长沙所定义。
中国由向世界开放并融入全球经济走向崛起。这正是她当下在做的事情。她将加入发达国家，并继续向发展中国家输出价值。中国的港口向全球输送的集装箱比世界上任何一个国家都多。不久之后，中国的航空乘客就会比世上任何国家的乘客都去更多的地方，中国的累计投资会超过任何国家。中国无意把别人踢出去或者拉进来。
万里长沙只不过是中国这个庞然巨物身上的小小一块，绝不是它的全部。

Beehoody
The Great Wall of China wasn't a single wall, it was multiple walls that directed and taxed trade goods and movement of peoples. It was never designed as a system to repel an invading army, it's purpose was to divide the armies and populations that were already in China and direct bulk goods using canals. It's failing was mainly due to the canal system reducing the power of the generals, who rebelled.

中国的万里长城可不仅仅是一堵墙，它是导向人口流动方向与征收交易税的很多很多堵墙。它并非是用来驱逐入侵者的系统，它的目的在于将中国已存的人口与军队分开，并且用运河引导那些笨重的货物。它的失败之处主要在于运河系统削弱了那些将军手中的权力，导致他们起兵反叛。

ting_m_1999
The territory of China had extended beyond the Great Wall as a result of other trying to break through the Great Wall. Will similar case happen when others try to break the Great Sand Wall.

中国的疆域早就超过万里长城了，得益于那些试图翻越万里长城的侵略者。同样的事情也会发生在那些想要翻越万里长沙的人头上。

Thomas Fung
Given the focus on small islands and the dominance of the Army in China's security politics, one has to wonder if the PLAN realizes that naval warfare concerns water, not land.

考虑到中国对这些小岛的关注以及陆军在中国安全政治中的主导权，你就该想想中国海军是否意识到了海战在水上，而不是陆上。

A Chinese
Your ignorance is glaring, without far away land bases to provide supports, all ships are rusty buckets only good for coastal duties. If you are correct American naval bases in Japan, the Philippines, India, etc. are fool's game?

你的无知真感人，没有遥远的陆地的供给，所有的船只都不过是一些只能对沿岸海域起作用的废铜烂铁。如果你是对的，那么美国在日本、菲律宾、印度等等国家的海军基地，全都是愚人的游戏？

pro veritate
Correction, authors, the Mongols established the Yuan dynasty, the first foreign dynasty in China. The Jurchens of Manchuria were the second group to breach the Great Wall and established the second foreign dynasty in China, the Qing dynasty.
I have often wondered why the those in charge in Beijing chose not to bid their time, as advised by the wise Deng Xiaoping, and use a much more powerful mean such as trade to achieve China's ambitions. They started the Maritime Silk Road initiative after they've already begun to flex their muscles in the SCS, thereby, ensuring that the initiative won't have a chance to succeed. Had they wait and establish a complete economic hegemony over Asia, they would have gotten what they want without much protests from their neighbors and any reactions from the US would seem to be unjustified. The way that things are turning out, the US, now has a very good excuse to confront China at the behest of its neighbors. Clumsy.

请改正，作者，蒙古人建立的是元朝，中国历史上首个外族朝代。满洲的女真人则是第二个越过长城建立第二个外族朝代清朝的人。
我经常在想，为什么北京领导人不像聪明的邓小平所建议的那样等待时机并使用更加强大的方式比如贸易来实现中国的雄心壮志。他们在南海耀武扬威之后才提出了海上丝绸之路计划，所以导致他们的这个计划将无法获得成功。而如果他们能耐住性子并在亚洲建立一个完全的经济霸权，那么他们就可以轻易得到他们想要的，而且不会有邻居抗议，并且所有美国的回应都会显得不恰当。而在目前的事态下，美国在中国邻国的要求下有了绝佳的借口来对抗中国。真是迟钝。