Great Wall of China

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Great Wall of China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Great Wall (disambiguation).

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall|

Map of all the wall constructions|
General information|
Type| Fortification|
Country|  China|
Coordinates| 40.67693°N 117.23193°ECoordinates: 40.67693°N 117.23193°E| Construction started| 7th century BC|
Technical details|
Size| 21,196 km (13,171 mi)[1]|
UNESCO World Heritage Site|
Official name: The Great Wall|
Type:| Cultural|
Criteria:| i, ii, iii, iv, vi|
Designated:| 1987 (11th session)|
Reference #:| 438|
State Party:| China|
Region:| Asia-Pacific|

Great Wall of China|
Traditional Chinese| 長城|
Simplified Chinese| 长城|
Literal meaning| long fortress|
Alternative Chinese name|
Traditional Chinese| 萬里長城|
Simplified Chinese| 万里长城|
Literal meaning| The long wall of 10,000Li (里)[2]|
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC;[3] these, later joined together and made bigger, stronger, and unified are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall.[4] Especially famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the majority of the existing wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty. Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor. The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. A comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the Ming walls measure 8,850 km (5,500 mi).[5] This is made up of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) sections of actual wall, 359 km (223 mi) of trenches and 2,232 km (1,387 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.[5] Another archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km (13,171 mi).[6] Contents  [hide]  * 1 History * 1.1 Early walls * 1.2 Ming era * 1.3 Early Western reports of the wall * 2 Notable areas * 3 Characteristics * 4 Condition * 5 Watchtowers and barracks * 6 Visibility from space * 6.1 Visibility from the moon * 6.2 Visibility from low earth orbit * 7 Gallery * 8 See also * 9 References * 10 Further reading * 11 External links| -------------------------------------------------

Early walls

Great Wall of the Qin Dynasty

Great Wall of the Han Dynasty

Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty
The Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn Period between the 8th and 5th centuries BCE[7] During this time and the subsequent Warring States Period, the states of Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan[8][9] all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms...
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