Great Wall

The Great Wall, one of landmarks of the earth if viewed from the moon, runs 6,700 kilometers from east to west across five provinces. Like a gigantic dragon, it winds up and down across deserts, grasslands and mountains through a history of over 2000 years. It is one of the greatest wonders in the world. Although some of the sections of the wall are now in ruins or have disappeared completely, it is still one of the most sought-after attractions in the world thanks to its magnificence and significance. In 1987, the Great Wall was enlisted as the World Heritage by UNESCO. 

HISTORY 
The Great Wall, which extends for over 5,000 kilometres, is the monument of the Chinese history. The construction of the Great Wall started in the 9th century B.C. in the Zhou dynasty and ended in the middle of the 17th century in the Ming dynasty with a lot of reconstructions and restorations as well as further extensions in the later dynasties such as Qin, Han, Sui and Tang. For over 2000 years, it served as a "great" fortification for the safety of the nation. However, the Great Wall was not "great" when it was first built. In the Zhou dynasty, it was only a series of walls as a defense project against incursions from northern tribes. In the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC), more walls were built on the boarders to protect the ducal states against each other and some parts were connected to form a big one. It was not until the Qin dynasty that the separate walls, constructed by independent kingdoms of Qin, Yan and Zhao to keep out marauding nomads in the previous dynasty, were joined together to form the "Great Wall" when China was unified under Emperor Qin Shihuang. With the effort of hundreds of thousands of workers and 10 years of hard labour under General Meng Tian, the Qin Great Wall turned out to stretch from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east. 

With the strengthening of the unification of China and the development of exchange program with the western regions during Emperor Wudi's reign of the Han dynasty, the Great Wall was further extended to a total length of over 5,000 km to guard Hetao, Western Gansu and other regions and protect the routes of east-west transportation. Today, the remains of the Han Great Wall with beacon towers from Xinjiang to Hebei are still discernable. 

Later, long walls were constructed in the Northern Wei and Sui periods, as recorded in ancient texts. From the 5th to the 7th century, the walls built successively by the Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou dynasties were 650 km and l,500 km long respectively. In the 12th century, the Jin dynasty built a wall more than 4,000 km long from the eastern part of the present-day Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region to Zabaikalye. 

The present Great Wall we see today was mostly the remains from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) , during which the brick and granite work was enlarged and sophisticated designs were added. The watch towers in strategic areas were also restored and strengthened. All of the efforts were made by the Ming Emperors for fear of the return of the Hun dominance and their Mongol rulers of the North. 

Over a span of two millennia, all the walls built by numerous dynasties were linked together. The Great Wall, which reaches a total of well over 5,000 km in length, has become a construction wonder in human history! 

CONSTRUCTION
The Great Wall is reputed as one of the seven construction wonders in the world not only for its long history, but its massive construction size, and its unique architectural style as well. 

The construction of the Great Wall began between the 7th and 8th centuries B.C. when the warring states built defensive walls to ward off enemies from the north. It was only a regional project then. Until the Qin Dunasty, the separate walls were joint together and consequently it stretched from east to west for about 5000 thousand kilometers and served to keep nomadic tribes out. The Wall was further extended and strengthened in the succeeding dynasties. Especially during the Ming dynasty when the northern nomadic ethnic groups became very powerful, the Ming rulers had the Wall renovated 18 times. As a result, not the remains from the Qin dynasty were restored, but some 1000 kilometers were constructed to a full length of 6,700 kilometers. 

The architectural style of the Great wall is a marvel in the history of construction in the world. Since the weaponry only consisted of swords and spears, lances and halberds, and bows and arrows in the ancient times, walls with passes, watchtowers, signal towers, together with moats became an important strategy.

To ensure the safety of the dynasties, the feudal rulers strove to improve the construction of the Great Wall after it took shape in the Qin dynasty. In particular, the Ming dynasty saw the creation of a sophisticated defense system along the wall embracing garrison towns, garrison posts, passes, blockhouses, additional wall structures, watchtowers and beacon towers, each given a different status and designed mission. The system enabled the imperial court to stay in touch with military and administrative agencies at various levels, including those at the grassroots, and provided the frontier troops with facilities to carry out effective defense. 

The Great wall we see today is mostly from the Ming dynasty. With an average height of 10 meters and a width of 5 meters, the wall runs up and down along the mountain ridges and valleys from east to west. It stands as a witness of the Chinese history, culture and development. 

SECTIONS 
The Great Wall, extensive bulwark erected in ancient China, is one of the largest building-construction projects ever carried out, running (with all its branches) about 4,500 miles (7,300 km) east to west from Shanhaiguan Pass near Bo Hai (Gulf of Bohai) to Jisayuguan Pass (in modern Gansu province) traversing Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu. Without its branches and other secondary sections, the wall extends for some 4,160 miles (6,700 km), often tracing the crestlines of hills and mountains as it snakes across the Chinese countryside.