The Great Wall of China

 

the map

       

         The Great Wall of China is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west. It passes 156 counties in ten cities or provinces including Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai.

the stretch

       As early as the Warring States Periods (476 BC - 221 BC), the ruling powers began to build walls as a defense against the northern nomadic tribes and other potential enemies. The state of Chu (11th Century BC-223BC) was the first to build a wall, followed by the Qi, Yan, Wei, Zhao and Qin. After Emperor Qin Shihuang unified the six states, he ordered General Meng Tian to connect the existing walls and to extend them further as a front line defense against possible invasion. Thus the "Wan Li Chang Cheng" (The Long Wall of 10,000 Li) was formed.

inside an outpost



    During the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall was composed of 723 beacon towers, 7,062 lookout towers, 3,357 wall platforms and 1,026 other ruins.

         Before the use of bricks in the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall was mainly built from earth, stones, and wood. It was built, rebuilt, and maintained for these 20 centuries. Some portions of the Wall north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and reconstructed, but in many locations the Wall is in disrepair.

one of the ruins

the entrance

Did you know that...?

Although the Wall is 'great', it is not visible with the naked eye from space - moreover the moon!

        The visible wall theory was shaken after China's own astronaut, Yang Liwei, said he couldn’t see the historic structure. But according to NASA, the Wall can be seen in RADAR images taken from space.

radar image