Where is it located?
Well, duh! It’s the Great wall of China, so it isn’t going to be in South America is it? The giant wall starts from the Shanghai Pass (it is the national culture site at the eastern end of the wall) in the East to Lop Nor (a group of seasonal salt lakes and marshes between two deserts) in the west and in between it passes through a variety of mountains, plateaus and deserts.
How long is it?
Over the centuries the wall eroded, was built, rebuilt and extended many times. So, if all the fortified walls built in the different dynasties around northern China are included, the total length of it would exceed 50,000 kilometres. However, when the last construction of the wall took place in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the length was then approximately 6,000 kilometres, and this is the wall often referred to when we talk about the Great Wall. Hence, the Great Wall is approximately 6,000-kilometres-long, 25-feet-tall and 15 to 30-feet-wide.
How was it built?
Initially, the rulers of different states within the region developed individual walls but it was Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China, who successfully united all parts of China by connecting all the walls into one great wall.
The wall was built using different materials over the centuries. The earliest wall was largely made of compacted earth, surrounded by local stone. During the Ming Dynasty however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime and stone.
Over the centuries that followed, each dynasty did more work to maintain and develop the wall. Most of the current Great Wall was built during the Ming dynasty. The Great Wall included a series of watch towers and forts which could house soldiers, grain and weapons. Beacons could enable the passing of messages quickly along the wall. Special weapons were developed to enable the wall to be defended against attack, replicas of which are on display on the modern day wall.
Wall of death!
The wall, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and was granted the World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1987, was originally constructed by labourers comprising of soldiers, common people and criminals. Labourers were not paid for their work. It was slave labour. It is believed that approximately 300, 000 soldiers and 500, 000 commoners worked on the wall during the Qin Dynasty. It was one of the worst jobs in the world: rocks fell on people, walls caved in and workers died of exhaustion and disease. Labourers were fed only enough food to keep them alive. It is estimated that up to one million people died while constructing the Great Wall! For centuries, the Wall was known as “the longest cemetery in the world.” Archaeologists have even discovered numerous human remains buried under sections of the wall.
Is the Great Wall visible from space or moon?
According to NASA the Great Wall of China, isn’t visible from space, at least to the unaided eye in low Earth orbit, and it certainly isn’t visible from the Moon either. Kamlesh P. Lulla, NASA’s chief scientist for Earth observation at Johnson Space Centre in Houston, says “Generally the Great Wall is hard to see and photograph, because the material from which it is made is about the same colour and texture as the area surrounding it.”
Stories & legends
One of the most interesting and popular story linked to this great wall is of Meng Jiagnu. Meng and her husband lived in a nearby village and on their wedding day, the soldiers forcibly took away her husband for the construction of the great wall. When a year passed without any news from her husband, Meng decided to go look for him. Upon reaching the Great Wall, Meng was told by the conscripted labourers that her husband had been worked to death, and that the dead workers were buried under the Great Wall. Upon hearing this news, Meng began to cry loudly and hit the wall. A huge chunk of the Great Wall collapsed, revealing countless mounds of human bones.
The angry Emperor of the Qin Dynasty came to survey the damage done to his project. But when he saw Meng Jiang, he was enchanted by her beauty and wanted to marry her. Meng put forward three conditions for the marriage — firstly, she wanted her former husband to be given a grand burial; second, the emperor and his court must go into mourning for him; and lastly she wanted to visit the ocean. Though, the emperor wasn’t very happy with the second condition, he agreed so that he could gain this rare beauty. After Meng got her third wish fulfilled, she scolded the Emperor bitterly and cast herself into the ocean.
Another old legend relates that when the Jiayuguan Pass of the Great Wall of China in Gansu was being planned, the officer in charge asked the designer to estimate the exact number of bricks required and the designer gave him a number. The general doubted the designer’s judgment, asking him if that would be enough, so the designer added one brick. When Jiayuguan was finished, there was only one brick left free, which was placed loose on one of the gates where it remains today.
Discover the charm of the great wall by visiting this place during your upcoming vacations as Mao Zedong, the leader of the Chinese Revolution rightly said, “You are not a real man if you haven’t climbed the Great Wall.”
The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty (221 B.C – 206 B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called “Wan-Li Qang-Qeng” which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km).After subjugating and uniting China from seven Warring States, the emperor connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over 2500 years ago). Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes north of China (the Huns). Signal fires from the Wall provided early warning of an attack.
The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over 5,000 km (=10,000 Li) long. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall.During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.
The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Jim Irwin.Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared.
he Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987.However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.
In the Qin dynasty, it was a tradition to add to the height, breadth, length of the wall which lasted for centuries. The wall was called “Wan-Li Chang Cheng” meaning 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km) stretching from LOP NUR in the west to Shanhaiguan in the east. The Wall was mainly built from rammed earth, stones, and wood.
The peak of wall building in the Chinese history reached in MING dynasty. At the time of Ming’s dynasty there were many ups and downs and revolts from the minority tribes as the Dadan, Tufan and Nuzhen. The Ming court in order to protect its territory made the construction of wall priority specially in the northern border. The masterpiece in the form of Great Wall of China seen today was built in the same Ming dynasty. In the Ming dynasty enlargement was made to double line or multilinear walls. Moreover, lime tiles and stone were used for the first time to build the wall. Stones were cut in the rectangular shape. The countless walls, fortresses, watch towers and canons were mounted making the country strongly fortified against intruders. The engineering and designing work lasted until QING Dynasty. As Mongolia was annexed into the empire so construction and repairing was stopped.
It is considered the longest wall in the world, and the most successful human project ever completed. The wall is included in the list of the “Seven Medieval Wonders of the World”. It has taken the centuries of hard work, dedication and sacrifices to build this masterpiece. The wall is, nonetheless, a masterpiece of both architecture and engineering. Towers have unique stairways to distract attackers. Cannons watch towers and specialized wall defense weapons, and defence fighting stations are purely the sign of great strategy.Chinese’s people have preserved their heritage since centuries. Although some tourist spots are well looked after and preserved yet overall the wall is on the decline. Construction projects have greatly influenced wall. Being the seventh wonder and centuries of heritage the wall indeed has made itself worthy of protection and care. If immediate action is not taken the wall will have only remained left of it.!!!
The Great barrier of China is a chain of mineral and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to guard the northern borders of the Chinese territory against intrusions by various nomadic groups. Several walls have been built since the 5th century BC that are referred to collectively as the Great Wall, which has been rebuilt and maintained from the 5th century BC through the 16th century. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains; the majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.The Great Wall make bigger from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that generally delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). This is made up of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 mi) sections of actual wall, 359.7 km (223.5 mi) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.
The Chinese were previously recognizable with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn Period, which began in the region of the 8th century BC. During the Warring States Period from the 5th century BC to 221 BC, the states of Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames.
Qin Shi Huang under enemy control all contrasting states and unified China in 221 BC, establishing the Qin Dynasty. Intending to inflict national rule and avoid the recovery of feudal lords, he structured the destruction of the wall sections that alienated his empire along the former state limitations. To protect the empire against intrusions by the Xiongnu people from the north, he ordered the building of a new wall to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's new northern frontier. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. There are no surviving historical records indicating the exact length and course of the Qin Dynasty walls. Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. Later, the Han, Sui, Northern and Jin dynasties all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of the Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders. It is estimated that over 1 million workers died building the wall.
