Facts about the Great Wall of China

One of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’, the Great Wall of China is indeed a marvelous structure. Built in sections, over a period of over 2000 years, the Wall is today the pride of China. It stretches over a total length of 21,196 km. A collection of stone and earthen fortifications, the wall was constructed to defend the Northern borders of Chinese empire by various nomads. Various Chinese dynasties constructed different walls and preserved it since 5^th century B.C among which the most famous wall is the one built by the emperor Qin Shi Huang in 220-206 B.C. The result of the construction effort of over one million people, the Great Wall of China has also been bestowed with the ‘World Heritage Site’ status by UNESCO and continues to mesmerize its visitors. It also stands high as a testimony to the patience and perseverance of the human beings. In this article, we have provided some interesting information on the Great Wall of China.

Image: Keith Roper@flickr

Fast Facts

Location: China

Length: 21,196km

Built in: The first Great wall built in 221-207 B.C, the second great wall was built in 205 -127 BC, the third great wall was built in 1200 A. D and Fourth great wall was built in 1367- 1644

Built by: Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, Ming Dynasty

Historical importance: Largest man-made structure on earth, World Heritage Site’ status by UNESCO

Interesting and Amazing Information on the Great Wall of China

The construction of the Great Wall of China was started in circa 220 B.C., under Qin Shi Huang, and continued till rule of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
The Great Wall of China is more than 7 meters high and over 5 meters wide.
The aim behind the construction of the wall was to protect the agricultural lands from invasion and to keep the people from moving out of the Chinese empire.
The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The construction of the wall was the result of the labor of over a million people, who comprised of peasants, prisoners and soldiers.
Thousands of people are believed to have died during the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Earlier, the wall was known as ‘Ten Thousand Li Wall’, referring to the wall’s length.
The sections of the wall, in the eastern part of China, have been made of bricks and stones, while the western sections of wall have been constructed out of earth and grass.
The Great Wall is actually made up of a number of interconnecting walls and is not a single wall in itself.
The wall was not constructed at one go. Several different dynasties, which ruled over the 2,000 years of its construction, claim the credit for it.
There are more than 10,000 watchtowers and beacon towers on the Great Wall of China.
The average height of the Great Wall of China is somewhere around 25 feet.
The Great Wall of China was declared as a “World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO, in the year 1987.
There is a largely held myth, that the Great Wall can be seen from the Moon. This is not true. To see the wall from the Moon would require spatial resolution 17,000 times better than normal (20/20) vision.
The most frequently visited section of Great Wall is in Badaling which is close to Beijing. This was constructed during the Ming dynasty and was the first section to open to tourists in 1957. This WAS also the finishing site of the cycling course in summer Olympics in 2008.
In 2004, over 41.8 million foreign visitors to the Great Wall of China.
Among the one million workers participated in the construction of the Great wall, there were peasants, soldiers, intellectuals and disgraced noblemen.
The bricks which were used during the Ming dynasty are an engineering marvel as it holds around 1000 pounds per square inches.
The visitors can still see the bullet marks on the wall in the province of Gubeikou which are the remnants of sino-japanese war in 1938.

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