Great Wall of China. Chinese wall brief information When did the construction of the Chinese wall happen

Great Chinese Wall- a grandiose building in the entire history of mankind, which performs a defensive function. The reasons for the creation of such a large-scale building were formed long before the start of a long construction. Many principalities of the north and the kingdoms of China in general built protective walls from the raids of enmity and simple nomads. When all the kingdoms and principalities united (3rd century BC), an emperor named Qin Shi Huang began the centuries-old and difficult construction of the Chinese Wall with all the forces of China.

shanhai guan is the city where the Great Wall of China begins. It is from there that it stretches in wavy bends, skirting more than half of the borders of Central China. The width of the wall is on average 6 meters, and the height is about 10. At some point in time, the wall was even used as a good level road. On some sections of the wall there are fortresses and fortifications as additions.

2450 meters - this is the length of the Chinese wall, although the total length, taking into account all the branches, bends and meanders, is almost 5000 km. From such a large and infinite size, many legends, myths and fairy tales have long been formed, for example, one of the most common is that the wall can be seen from the Moon and Mars. In fact, the Wall of China is only visible from orbit and satellite imagery.

According to a popular legend, a huge imperial army was spent on the construction of the wall, and this is about 300,000 people. In addition, tens of thousands of peasants were taken in and involved in construction, as the number of builders dwindled different reasons, and it was necessary to compensate for this with new people. Fortunately, there are no problems with the "human resource" in China to this day.

The geographical location of the wall is very interesting in itself: it is a symbol that divides the country into two parts - the north belongs to the nomads, and the south belongs to the landowners.

Another interesting and tragic fact is the longest and largest cemetery in the world in terms of the number of burials. About how many people were buried during the construction, and for all the time in general, history is silent. But the number is certainly incredibly large. The remains of the dead are found even today.

During the entire existence of the wall, it was restored more than once: it was reconstructed from the 14th to the 16th century, and then from the 16th to the 17th. one tower to another).

As a means of defense, the wall proved to be very bad, because such a height is not a hindrance for a large enemy. Therefore, for the most part, the guards did not look at the north side, but at the south. The reason is that it was necessary to keep an eye on the peasants who wanted to leave the country, avoiding taxes.

Today, in the 21st century, the Great Wall of China is an officially recognized symbol of its country, known throughout the world. Many of its sections have been reconstructed for tourism purposes. One part of the wall passes directly next to Beijing, which is a winning option, because it is in the capital that the most a large number of tourists.

The Great Wall of China - to this day, this architectural structure impresses with its mighty grandeur and deservedly takes the place of the largest and most ancient architectural monument on the entire planet. The structure stretches across China for 8851.8 km. One of the gaps of the structure runs very close to Beijing. Most likely, each of us has heard about this miracle of architectural thought, but not everyone knows what history the wall went through during its construction. The construction of the Great Wall of China can shock any historian with its scale. Today our travel site invites you to immerse yourself in the history of the construction of the Wall, as well as learn new Interesting Facts, which largely influenced the course of work and the current appearance of the structure.

Most likely, you cannot even imagine correctly how much time and resources were spent on creating such a huge architectural object. And how many people suffered and died during the construction of the Wall - these are just huge numbers. Nowhere else in the world is there a structure that can compete with the Great Wall of China in its length.

Construction history

The study of the Great Wall of China will not be complete if we do not delve into the history of the creation of this powerful structure. They began to build the Wall in the distant years of the 3rd century BC. In those turbulent times, the country was ruled by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, who was a descendant of the Qin dynasty. The period of his reign was the years of the Warring States (475 - 221 BC).

For the state, this period of history was very dangerous, since the nomadic people of the Xiongnu regularly carried out their raids. Of course, their members were not the only ones who did not mind taking easy money. Then it was decided to build a huge fence that would enclose the state and protect it reliably. More than a fifth of the population of all of China was called to build the wall. In those years it was about one million people.

Great Wall had one of its main tasks to protect the subjects of the "Celestial Empire" from the fact that they would be involved in a nomadic lifestyle. It could also guarantee the absence of assimilation with the barbarians. At that time, China had only just begun its formation into one state out of many small ones conquered by it. It was critically important to designate and protect their territories and possessions. The wall was supposed to be that help that would help unite and keep the empire as one. The boundaries of the wall on the map can be indicated by the following scheme:

Year 206 BC. The Han dynasty comes to power, and it was during this period that the Wall conquered new numbers in length. To the west, it is increased to Dunhuang. In a building for protection trade caravans from the attacks of nomads erect a large number of guard armed towers. Of course, not all sections of the great wall have survived to this day, but most of those sections that nevertheless appear to us today belonged to the Ming dynasty, which ruled from 1368 to 1644. It is during this period that the structure becomes the most durable, as it is already being built from bricks and concrete blocks. During this period, the wall runs from east to west from the territory of Shanhaiguan on the coast of the Yellow Sea up to the lands of Yumenguan, which are located on the border with Gansu province.

In 1644, the Qing Dynasty from Manchuria came to power. Representatives of this dynasty had conflicting opinions about the need for the existence of this structure. During the Qing period, the Great Wall was more destroyed than during the reign of other dynasties. This factor was affected by its influence and time as well. A small section from Beijing to Badaling was used as a gate that opened the entrance to the capital. This area is the best preserved. Today, this particular segment of the structure is the most popular among tourists from all over the world. It has been open to the public since 1957. Interestingly, this section also served as the finish line for cyclists who took part in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In 1899, the United States wrote that the remaining section of the wall would be completely dismantled, and a freeway would be built in its place. The wall was visited by President of the United States of America Richard Nixon.

Great Wall today

Yes, in a certain period of the last century, it was really decided to dismantle the Wall, but after rethinking the situation a little, the government decided, on the contrary, to reconstruct the wall and leave it as a legacy Chinese history.

In 1984, the architect Deng Xiaoping organized a fundraiser that was needed to carry out work to return the wall to its former glory. Funds were attracted from both Chinese and foreign investors. Funds for restoration were collected even from ordinary private individuals, so everyone could contribute to the history of the restoration of a unique architectural heritage.

Let's stop for a second now and think about the next sentence for a moment. The length of the Great Wall of China is 8,851 kilometers and 800 meters! Think about this number! It is simply unbelievable how such a giant could be built by human hands.

In China, very active, and sometimes even aggressive methods are Agriculture. For this reason, since the 1950s, the waters that provided the bowels of the earth began to dry up in the country. As a result, the entire region has become a place where very gusty and strong sandstorms originate. It is because of these factors that today more than 60-kilometer section of the Wall in northwest China is subject to severe erosion and active destruction. 40 kilometers of the section have already been destroyed, and only 10 kilometers still remain in place. However, the impact of the elements and natural factors also changed the height of the wall in some sections. Where previously the wall reached 5 meters, now it does not exceed 2 meters.

In 1987, the Wall was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It has rightfully taken its place in the category of the greatest historical sights of China. By the way, today this area is one of the most visited in the world. More than 40 million tourists choose this point on the map as the main object of their travels.

Of course, such a significant architectural structure could not but leave its traces throughout the history of the state and the planet as a whole. There are many legends and superstitions around the Wall to this day. For example, there is a version that the wall was built in one piece in just one approach. However, if we turn to the facts, then it immediately turns out that this is just a myth. In fact, the wall is not something that in one go - it was built even by different dynasties. In addition, separate sections of a certain length were erected in the works. The length of the section was determined by various factors, taking into account the relief, weather conditions and other factors. They built it as reliably as possible in order to secure and protect China from the north.

All the dynasties that built the wall created their own specific area, which eventually united with the previous already the next dynasty. All this happened in different times sometimes separated by decades. For the period of turbulent times in which the wall was built, such defensive structures were an objective necessity, they were built everywhere. If we reduce all the defensive structures of China over the past 2000 years into one statistic, then we get a figure in the region of 50 thousand kilometers.

The wall, as I have already described above, had discontinuous segments in many places. As a result, in 1211 and 1223, this was used by Genghis Khan and his Mongol invaders, who eventually took possession of the entire northern part of the country. Until 1368, the Mongols were the rulers of China, but the representatives of the Ming dynasty expelled them by fasting.

In the framework of this paragraph, let us dispel another common myth. No matter what anyone says, the Great Wall of China is not visible from space. This assumption or just fiction came to light in 1893. Then the magazine The Centuries (Centuries) was published in America, and such a fact was mentioned there. Later in 1932, noumenon Robert Ripley stated that the Wall was visible from space, namely from the Moon. This fact was amusing, considering that there were still many decades before the first landing of a man on Ken. Today, space has already been explored to some extent, and our cosmonauts and satellites can provide high quality photos from orbit. see for yourself, it is quite difficult to notice the wall from space.

You can also hear about the wall that the mortar used to fasten the bricks was based on a powder based on the bones of the dead workers of this construction site. And the remains of the bodies were buried right inside the wall. Thus, the structure allegedly became stronger. But in fact, none of this happened, the wall was built using standard methods for those times, and ordinary rice flour was used to make the bonding solution.

For obvious reasons, this miracle was not included in the 7 ancient wonders of the world, but the Great Wall of China is rightfully included in the list of 7 new wonders of the world. Another legend says that Fire Dragon paved the way for the workers, indicating where to build the wall. Builders subsequently followed in his footsteps

There is also a legend that will tell us about a big dragon that showed the way for the builders with his flames. As a result, the workers followed in his footsteps, and the fire of their dragon's mouth cleared the way for them. What's most interesting about this story is that it's actually true. We managed to find a photo of this dragon and even find out which zoo it ended up in:

Okay, let's admit, nevertheless, that this is simply one of the mythical legends that have neither common sense nor logical justifications. And the photo shows just a drawing of a mythical creature - a dragon.

But there is no doubt that today the Great Wall of China deservedly takes its place of honor in the list of "7 new wonders of the world."

The most famous legend associated with the Wall of China is the tale of the girl Meng Jing Niu, who was simply a farmer's wife. She was involved in the construction of the Wall. The wife, who was stricken with grief, came at night to the wall and wept over it until the reading cracked and showed the girl the bones of her lover. In the end, the girl was able to bury them.

Here, on the ground, there was a certain custom of burying people who died during the construction. The family members of the one who died here carried a coffin crowned with a white rooster. The crowing of the rooster was supposed to keep the spirit of the deceased awake. This must have continued until the procession with the coffin crossed the Wall. There were legends that if the ceremony was not completed, or completed with violations, then the spirit would remain here forever and wander along the wall.

For the period when the wall was being built for all prisoners in the state and all the unemployed, there was only one measure of punishment. Send everyone to build the Great Wall! This period especially needed the protection of external borders, so drastic measures had to be taken.

This construction gave the heritage of the Chinese people a lot useful inventions. So, it was here and for the purposes of construction that the same wheelbarrow was invented, which is used today everywhere at construction sites. Vulnerable areas during the construction of the Wall were surrounded by a moat, which was filled with water, or simply remained in the form of an abyss. Among other things, the people of China also used advanced weaponry for defense. These were hammers, and spears, and crossbows, axes. But the main advantage of the Chinese was their main invention - gunpowder.

Observation platforms were erected everywhere along the wall at equal intervals, which served to monitor the area and protect trade caravans. if danger approached, the sentinel at the top lit a torch or dropped a flag, after which the troops were put on alert. Lookout towers also served as storage for provisions and ammunition. The famous trade route, the Silk Road, ran along the wall. He was also guarded from the top of the wall.

The wall has seen many bloody battles, he saw his own last Stand. It happened in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese war. The wall still bears many scars from the bullets of those battles.

The Great Wall of China, though not the highest building, but its height at its maximum point reaches 1534 meters. This place is located near Beijing. But the lowest point dropped to sea level near the coast of Laolongtu. If we start from average values, then the height of the wall is 7 meters, and the width in the most spacious areas is 8 meters. But on average more often from 5 to 7 meters.

Today, the Chinese government is spending billions of dollars to strengthen and maintain the Great Wall. Today, for the country, the mighty Wall is not just a structure. It is a symbol of cultural pride, a symbol of a struggle that lasted several centuries, and an indicator of the greatness of an entire nation.

The Chinese wall is an amazing structure built for almost 2000 years and its length is 4 thousand kilometers! Such a long-term construction is not bad ... It is traditionally believed that the Great Wall of China began to be built in the 3rd century BC. For protection from northern nomads. On this occasion, N.A. Morozov wrote:

“One thought that the famous Chinese Wall, from 6 to 7 meters high and up to three meters thick, stretching for THREE THOUSAND KILOMETERS, was started by the construction back in 246 BC by Emperor Shi-Hoangti and WAS FINISHED ONLY THROUGH 1866 YEARS, TO 1620 AD, is so absurd that it can only annoy a serious historian-thinker.

After all, every large building has a predetermined practical purpose ... Who would have thought of starting a huge building, which can only be completed in 2000 years, and until then it will be only a useless burden for the population ...

We will be told, - The Wall has been repaired for two thousand years. Doubtful. It makes sense to repair only a not very old building, otherwise it will become hopelessly outdated and simply fall apart. What we observe, by the way, in Europe.

The old defensive walls were dismantled and new, more powerful ones were built in their place. For example, many military fortifications in Rus' were rebuilt in the 16th century.

But we are told that the Chinese Wall, as it was built, stood for TWO THOUSAND YEARS. They don't say that " modern wall built recently on the site of an ancient one.

No, they say that we see exactly the wall that was erected two thousand years ago. In our opinion, this is extremely strange, to say the least.

When and against whom was the wall built? We cannot give an exact answer. This requires additional research. However, let us express the following thought.

The Great Wall of China was built primarily as a structure marking the BORDER between two countries: China and Russia.

It is doubtful that it was built as a military defense facility. And hardly ever used in this capacity. Defending a 4,000-kilometer wall from an enemy attack is POSSIBLE.

LN Gumilyov quite rightly wrote: “The wall stretched for 4 thousand km. Its height reached 10 meters, and watch towers rose every 60-100 meters.

But when the work was completed, it turned out that all the armed forces of China were not enough to organize an effective defense on the wall.

In fact, if a small detachment is placed on each tower, then the enemy will destroy it before the neighbors have time to gather and give help.

If, however, large detachments are spaced less often, then gaps are formed through which the enemy will easily and imperceptibly penetrate deep into the country. A FORTRESS WITHOUT DEFENDERS IS NOT A FORTRESS

What is the difference between our point of view and the traditional one? We are told that the Wall separated China from the nomads in order to secure the country from their raids. But, as Gumilyov rightly noted, such an explanation does not stand up to scrutiny.

If the nomads wanted to cross the Wall, they would have easily done so. And not just once. And anywhere. We offer a completely different explanation.

We believe that the Wall was built primarily to DESIGNATE THE BORDER BETWEEN THE TWO STATES. And it was built when they reached an agreement on this border. Apparently in order to exclude border disputes in the future.

And such disputes, probably, were. Today, the agreed parties draw the border ON THE MAP (that is, on paper). And they think that this is enough.

And in the case of Russia and China, the Chinese, apparently, attached such importance to the treaty that they decided to perpetuate it not only on paper, but also “on the ground”, by drawing the Wall along the agreed border.

This was more reliable and, as the Chinese thought, would eliminate border disputes for a long time. The length of the Wall itself speaks in favor of our assumption. Four or one or two thousand kilometers is normal for a border between two states. But for a purely military structure - it makes no sense. But the political border

China for its supposedly more than two thousand years of history has changed many times. This is what historians tell us. China united, then fell apart into separate regions, lost and acquired some land, and so on.

On the one hand, this seems to make it difficult to verify our reconstruction. But on the other hand, on the contrary, we are given the opportunity not only to check it, but also to DATE the construction of the Wall.

If we manage to find a political-geographical map on which the BORDER OF CHINA WILL PASS EXACTLY ALONG THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, this will mean that EXACTLY AT THIS TIME THE WALL WAS BUILT.

Today the Wall of China is INSIDE China. Was there a time when it marked the BORDER OF THE COUNTRY? And when did it happen? It is clear that if it was built as a BORDER WALL, then at that time IT HAD TO GO EXACTLY ON THE POLITICAL BORDER OF CHINA.

This will allow us to date the construction of the Wall. Let's try to find a GEOGRAPHICAL MAP on which the Wall of China runs EXACTLY ON THE POLITICAL BORDER OF CHINA. It is important that SUCH CARDS EXIST. And there are many. These are maps of the 17th-18th centuries.

We take a map of Asia of the XVIII century, made by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam:. This map was taken by us from a rare atlas of the 18th century.

On this map we find two states: Tartaria - Tartarie and China - Chine. China's northern border runs roughly along the 40th parallel. EXACTLY THIS BORDER GOES THE WALL OF CHINA.

Moreover, on the map this Wall is DESIGNATED as a thick line with the inscription Muraille de la Chine, that is, “the high wall of China” in French.

The same Chinese Wall, and with the same inscription on it, we see on another map of 1754 - Carte de l'Asie, taken by us from a rare atlas of the 18th century. Here the Chinese Wall also runs roughly along the border between China and Great Tataria, that is, Mongol-Tataria = Russia.

We see the same thing on another map of Asia in the 17th century, in the famous Blaeu atlas. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China, and only a small western section of the Wall is inside China.

Our idea is also supported by the fact that the cartographers of the 18th century GENERALLY PUT THE CHINA WALL ON THE POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD.

Therefore, this Wall MAKES THE SENSE OF A POLITICAL BORDER. After all, cartographers did not depict other “wonders of the world” on this map, for example, the Egyptian pyramids.

And the Chinese Wall was painted. The same Wall is depicted on a color map of the Qing Empire in the second half of the 17th-18th centuries in the academic 10-volume World History

This map shows the Great Wall in detail, with all of its little twists and turns in the terrain. For almost its entire length, it goes EXACTLY ON THE BORDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE, with the exception of a small westernmost section of the Wall no more than 200 kilometers long. Apparently

THE CHINESE GREAT WALL WAS BUILT IN THE XVI-XVII CENTURIES AS A POLITICAL BORDER BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA = “MONGOLO-TATARIA”.

It is impossible to admit that the “ancient” Chinese had such an amazing gift of foresight that they accurately predicted exactly how the border between China and Russia would pass in the 17th-18th centuries of the NEW ERA, that is, in two thousand years.

We may be objected: on the contrary, the border between Russia and China in the 17th century was drawn along ancient wall. However, in this case, the Wall would have to be mentioned in a written Russian-Chinese treaty. We did not find such references.

When was the Wall = Border between Russia = “Mongol-Tataria” and China built? Apparently, it was in the XVII century. No wonder it is believed that its construction was “completed” only in 1620. And maybe even later. See more about it below.

In this regard, it is immediately remembered that EXACTLY at this time there were BORDER WARS between Russia and China. Probably, only at the end of the 17th century they agreed on the border. And then they built a wall to fix the CONTRACT.

Was this Wall earlier than the 17th century? Apparently not. Scaligerian history tells us that China was conquered by the “MONGOLS” in the 13th century AD. e. More precisely, in 1279. And he became part of the huge “Mongolian” = Great Empire.

According to the new chronology, the correct dating of this conquest is the end of the 14th century, that is, a hundred years later. In the Scaligerian history of China, this event is noted in the XIV century as the coming to power of the MING dynasty in 1368, that is, THE SAME MONGOLS.

As we now understand, in the XIV-XVI centuries, Rus' AND CHINA STILL MADE ONE EMPIRE. Therefore, there was no need to build the Wall = Border.

Most likely, such a need arose after the unrest in Rus', the defeat of the Russian Horde dynasty and the seizure of power by the Romanovs. As you know, the Romanovs abruptly changed the political course of Russia, trying to subordinate the country to Western influence.

Such a pro-Western orientation of the new dynasty led to the collapse of the Empire. Türkiye separated, and heavy wars began with it. China also separated. And, in fact, control over a significant part of America was lost. China's relations with the Romanovs became tense, and border conflicts began. It was necessary to build the Wall, which was done.

Apparently, it is even possible to more accurately indicate the time of the construction of the Great Wall of China. As we have said, the Wall was apparently erected as a border between China and Russia during the border disputes of the 17th century. ARMED COLLISIONs flared up from the middle of the 17th century. The wars went on with varying success. Descriptions of these wars were preserved in the notes of Khabarov.

The agreement that fixed the NORTHERN BORDER OF CHINA WITH RUSSIA was concluded in 1689 in Nerchinsk. Perhaps there were earlier attempts to conclude a Russo-Chinese treaty.

It is to be expected that the China Wall was built between 1650 and 1689. This expectation is justified. It is known that the emperor = Bogdykhan Kangxi “began to implement his plan of FORCING THE RUSSIANS FROM THE AMUR.

BUILDING A CHAIN OF FORTIFICATIONS IN MANZHURIA Bogdykhan sent the Manzhur army to the Amur in 1684” What kind of CHAIN OF FORTIFICATIONS did Bogdykhan build by 1684? Most likely, he built the Great Wall of China. That is, a CHAIN OF FORTIFIED TOWERS CONNECTED BY A WALL

- an architectural monument in China with a length of over 8800 kilometers.

The history of the construction of the Great Wall of China

The construction of the Great Wall of China began in the 3rd century BC. e. during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi-huangdi (Qin Dynasty), during the "Warring States" period (475-221 BC). The wall was supposed to protect the subjects of the "Middle Empire" from the transition to a semi-nomadic way of life, from merging with the barbarians and was supposed to clearly fix the boundaries of Chinese civilization, contribute to the consolidation of a single empire, just made up of a number of conquered kingdoms.

In the entire history of the country, there were 3 Great Walls of China, the construction of which took more than 2000 years.

Previously, the Great Wall of China was an obstacle in the way of everyone who wanted to get to China. Several special checkpoints were made in Sten, which were closed at night and under no circumstances were to be opened. Exceptions were not made even for the emperor. In order to get inside, the traveler had to obtain permission from higher authorities.

In 1644, after the conquest of China by the Manchus and the accession of a new dynasty, the Great Wall of China became unnecessary and was abandoned.

The current state of the Great Wall of China

During the three centuries of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the wall almost collapsed under the influence of erosion. A site near Beijing was maintained in relative safety - Badaling, as it served as the "gateway to the capital". Based on everything at the beginning of the century, there were rumors that the wall would be demolished, and a highway would be built in its place.

Throughout its length, fortresses, forts, signal towers were torn down, and the wall and watchtowers suffered only a little from time to time. Nowadays, several sites are open for tourists, the unrestored site is of the greatest interest. Symatai.

In 1962, the Great Wall of China was included in the list of Chinese national monuments, and in 1987 - in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

In 1984, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, a program began to restore the Great Wall of China.

The wall is a symbol of China both for the Chinese themselves and for foreigners. At the entrance to the restored part of the Wall, you can see the inscription made by Mao Tse Tung

If you have not visited the Great Wall of China, you are not a real Chinese.

The total length of the Great Wall of China is 8,851 kilometers and 800 meters.
The average height of the wall is about 7 meters, and the width in some places reaches 9 meters.
This is one of the most visited attractions in the world - about 40 million tourists visit here every year.
The wall is not continuous - it was built at different times from several separate segments and later joined into one.
The attraction is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest structure ever built by man.
The Great Wall of China is the longest cemetery on the planet, as more than a million people died during the construction.
The fact that the Great Wall of China is visible from space is a myth, it is barely visible even from the earth's orbit, since its maximum width does not exceed 10 meters, and the color of the stone merges with the color of the rocky surroundings.
The highest point of the wall is at 1534 meters (near Beijing), and the lowest point is at sea level near Laolongtu.
The last battle at the wall was in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese War.

How to get to the Great Wall of China from Beijing?

The easiest and most popular way to see the Great Wall is to get to it from Beijing, here are the sites:

Badaling(60 km from Beijing)
Mutianyu(95 km north of Beijing)
Symatai(120 km northeast of Beijing)
Jinshanling(125 km northeast of Beijing)

It is easier and closer to get to the Badaling site:

by tourist bus from Tiananmen Square;
by taxi (~500 yuan);
by regular bus 919 from Deshengmen stop (Jishuitan Subway Station);
commuter train to Badaling goes from Beijing North Station;

Today we will learn everything we need to know about the Great Wall of China. First of all, we will analyze facts from history that will help us understand why such an immense structure was required. Further we will talk about approximate sizes, because the exact ones are still not known. Finally find out if the Great Wall of China is visible from space. This review is part of a comprehensive guide to China.

What was the Great Wall of China for?

To get to know Chinese great wall It is worth going back to the past to understand how it all began. It is foolish to deny that the Great Wall of China is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Today, most attractions are built for profit and are not always of practical importance. At the time of the beginning of the construction of the wall, everything was different. The Great Wall of China was conceived primarily as a defensive structure in order to protect the borders of the empire from invaders.

The beginning of the construction of the wall dates back to the third century BC, when the Chinese empire was subjected to constant attacks from the nomadic tribes of the Huns (later the Huns). It is worth mentioning separately about the Xiongnu people, because it was really strong opponent, the confrontation with which took several centuries. Take a look at the territory that the Xiongnu occupied, it was huge and stretched from the Pamir mountain range to Manchuria. The army numbered more than 300 thousand soldiers, among whom were excellent shooters, riders and war chariots.

Just in order to protect yourself from cavalry, on different areas border began the construction of defensive walls and barriers. By that time, China was already a united kingdom, headed by the emperor of the Qin dynasty. The emperor plans to build an unprecedented structure that will serve as the border of the empire in the north and will be able to at least partially protect the then China from the Xiongnu raids.

In the times preceding the reign of the emperor of the Qin Dynasty, the scattered Chinese kingdoms, each separately, built barrier walls in order to escape the raids of nomads. Having taken up the construction of the Chinese great wall, the emperor takes the already created structures as a basis, remodeling, completing and combining the walls into a single whole. Of course, this was not enough and it was necessary to do an unprecedented amount of work, and it was planned to do it in the shortest possible time. The construction of the Great Wall of China was entrusted to the emperor's closest commander, Meng Tian.

Chinese Great Wall. Start of construction

During the Qin Dynasty, the construction of the wall lasted about 10 years. During this time, only part of the Great Wall of China, which we know now, was built. The fact is that for the construction of such an incredible scale and idea of \u200b\u200bthe structure, it was necessary to involve a huge number of people. Of course, the most expensive way for the empire's budget to find a workforce was to force people. Hundreds of thousands of peasants, convicts and prisoners were thrown into the northern sections of the borders of the Chinese Qin Empire.

There is no reliable data left on how many people died, but it is likely that the number is approaching 1 million people. The supply of provisions was poorly organized, and the construction of the wall consisted of ramming earthworks several meters high, which was very laborious. Many could not stand this way of life and died. Therefore, it is customary to say that the Great Wall of China was built on the bones and blood of the peasants.

As the wall was built, more and more people were required and the dissatisfaction of the population with the policies of the emperor of the Qin dynasty grew. It reached its climax when the emperor unexpectedly died after 20 years of reign. The second emperor of the Qin dynasty ascended the throne, but he was not destined to rule. Numerous uprisings arose throughout the empire, which eventually led to the overthrow of the emperor and the fall of the Qin dynasty. Thus, the construction of the Great Wall of China was suspended for a while. It is generally accepted that the commander Meng Tian, who led the construction of the wall, committed suicide after the death of the emperor, saying that the Great Wall of China was a crime against nature.

Chinese Great Wall. Second wind

The boundaries of the wall expanded significantly during the reign of the Han Dynasty. The emperor of the Han Dynasty decided to put an end to the power of the nomads in the west of the empire and at the turn of the second and third millennia was ready to oppose the eternal enemy. In addition to training warriors, it was necessary to strengthen the defensive structures. For this, an additional 10,000 km of the wall was built, with watchtowers, ditches and early warning systems.

The main difficulty in building the Chinese Great Wall in the Gobi Desert was the lack of building materials. Build really a solid wall in the desert area was not possible until the Chinese engineers came up with the idea of tamping sand and clay between layers of brushwood. Such a multi-layer construction gave the necessary rigidity, which helped to withstand not only the hordes of nomads, but also to survive more than 2000 years of exposure to nature. Over time, the nomads were driven out of the Chinese empire, which made it much safer for traders to move along the Great Silk Road. More than a thousand years later, the Great Wall of China has been put to the test again and again. Hordes of Mongols were moving against the Chinese empire.

Chinese Great Wall. Ming dynasty

The Mongols invaded China and ruled there for over 100 years. After this time, around the 14th century, the Ming dynasty pushes the Mongols out of their empire and a new question arises before them. How to build a wall that will once and for all close the issue with the nomads, attacking from the western borders century after century?

In addition to modernization existing wall in the west, the empire needed to build a site near the newly formed capital of Beijing. The new capital of the empire was well defended by a chain of mountains, but there were gorges through which the nomads could easily invade the heart of the empire. The best architects and workers were assembled for the construction of the new site. At the head was the brilliant architect Tqi Jiguang. He came up with the idea of using bricks in the construction of new sections of the Great Wall of China.

The building system of the Great Wall of China has also undergone a change. Now the towers were interconnected so that in the event of an attack on one of them, warriors from neighboring towers could come to the aid of each other. Weapon cannons were installed, huge crossbows capable of killing several people with one arrow and catapults for firing gunpowder projectiles. A few decades after the construction of a new section of the Great Wall of China, the first attempt was made to break through by nomads. This attempt failed, the wall showed how well thought out the structure was.

Having closed the issue here, it was necessary to return to the west of the empire, since the threat of invasion from the west was still present. The main problem, like many centuries ago, was Construction Materials. Chinese architects found a way out here too. Using sand and gravel, which was in abundance here, they laid them between rows of bricks, baked by the desert sun. Thus, the walls were extremely strong and had a well-thought-out system for repelling attacks. At the same time, a farpost was erected in the west of the empire. It was built according to the "fortress within a fortress" principle. The fortress included many labyrinths and the attacking warriors were an easy target for the defenders. The western outpost was never attacked.

Thus, the construction of the Great Wall of China lasted for many years, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, but played important role in the history of building modern China. Opinions on the need to build the Great Wall of China differ. Not everyone is sure that she was worth such human sacrifices. However, there is hardly anyone who does not recognize that this building is one of the greatest buildings in the history of mankind.

Great Wall of China dimensions

No one will tell you the exact dimensions of the Great Wall of China even today. Despite the fact that scientists have every opportunity to explore the wall meter by meter, the data still differ.

Great Wall of China length

The length of the Great Wall of China raises questions and scientists argue about it every day. But most agree that China's Great Wall is over 21,000 kilometers long. If you measure the wall from edge to edge.

Great Wall of China Height

On different parts of the wall, the height varies. The minimum height of the Chinese Great Wall is 6 meters, while the height of the towers reaches 10 meters. Truly a great building!

Great Wall of China width

If we talk about thickness or width, as a rule, the figure will be approximately 5-8 meters. Summarizing, according to preliminary data, the dimensions of the Great Wall of China are as follows:

length > 21,000 kilometers
height ~ 6-10 meters
width ~ 5-8 meters

Great Wall of China on the map

The map of China clearly shows which borders the rulers of the empire tried to protect. The Great Wall of China stretches along the north and northwest borders ancient China where skirmishes with nomads constantly arose. Just imagine China, the third largest country in the world after Russia and Canada. Even just looking at the map you can see the scale of the structure.

Great Wall of China coordinates

From the map above, you can take all the necessary coordinates of the great wall of China. To save you time, the coordinates of the Great Wall of China are: 40° 40′ 36.95″ N, 117° 13′ 54.95″ E.

Great Wall of China from satellite

Lively discussions are caused by the question of whether the wall is visible from the satellite. The vast majority of people agree that it is not possible to see the Great Wall of China from a satellite with the naked eye. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese sent their astronaut into orbit. Of course, the first thing on his return to Earth was the question, is the wall visible from space? He answered in the negative.

If you want to get a satellite view of the Great Wall of China, you can do so in the image below.