Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown stretch of the Great Wall of China in the northwestern of the country , thought to date back more than 2,000 years . Experts say the new 6.2 mile-stretch ( 10 kilometres ) means the full range of the Qin Dynasty Great Wall can be traced for the first time . Nine sections of the Wall have been found over the last two months along the inner coast of the Yellow River in Gansu province and the Ningxia region , reported the People 's Daily online . Still standing : New sections of the Great Wall discovered by a team of experts in northwestern China . Historic : This stretch , measuring more than 6 miles long , is thought to date back more than 2,000 years . Remote : The ruins range along the inner coast of the Yellow River in Gansu province and the Ningxia region . The new stretch , ranging between Jingyuan County and Nanchangtan village , was discovered by a team led by Zhou Xinghua , renowned Great Wall researcher and the former head of Ningxia Museum . Historical documents had suggested that the Emperor Qin ordered for the Great Wall to start in Gansu province and run east into the Ningxia region and Inner Mongolia , but physical evidence in this particular area has never been found until now . Mr Zhou said China 's first emperor ordered for the stretch to be built along the Yellow River to stop invaders crossing it when it was frozen . While parts of the Great Wall date back to about 700 BC , the first complete Wall was built during the reign of China 's first emperor , Qin Shihuang , from about 220 BC after the country had been unified for the first time . The newly discovered section of the wall was constructed using stones and rammed earth , with some parts built on top of the mountain ranges and others running along valleys . Some of the ruins are only three feet high due to natural degradation , but originally the wall could have been as tall as 20 feet . Other sections : Archive photos of the Qin Dynasty Great Wall which is thought to be built around 215 AD . Landmark : A monument is placed near the ruins of the Qin Dynasty Great Wall , which was built by the first emperor to have unified China . There are no surviving records of the exact length of the Qin Wall , and much of the original wall has eroded away leaving few sections behind . The Great Wall is actually made up of many different structures built across northern China and southern Mongolia over a number of dynasties . The best known and most visible section today is the Ming Wall , constructed from 1368 to 1644 . The formidable fortress covers approximately 5,500 miles from the Jiayu Pass in Gansu province and the Shanhai Pass in Hebei province . However , it was revealed in 2012 that the Wall is actually 13,170 miles long – more than double the previous estimate . A Chinese university is spending nearly £450,000 on building their very own Great Wall of China . Wuhan Institute of Bioengineering is currently constructing the replica as a patriotic educational tool that will also get students doing more exercise , according to the People 's Daily Online . The 'Campus Great Wall ' will act as a walkway that connects the university 's two sites , covering a distance of 1.6 kilometres – more than 13,000 times shorter than the original . Replica : Students at the Wuhan Institute of Bioengineering are climbing their own Great Wall on campus . The university said the project , which is yet to be completed , is 'not a cheap replica ' and the wall looks to copy the original as closely as possible . The project aims to provide students with an opportunity to get to grips with the country 's rich cultural history through copies of carvings from the original , as well as famous paintings and poems . A spokesman for the university said in a statement : 'It fulfils a patriotic educational purpose as the Great Wall is a historic achievement by the Chinese people ' .
Discovery means Zhou can finally be fully traced . The 6-mile stretch is thought to date back more than 2,000 years . Historical records suggested the stretch existed but physical evidence has never been found until now . China ’ s first emperor built it to stop invaders crossing the Yellow River .