This is probably one of the few buildings of humanity that has gathered so many interested scientists, researchers, historians, and ordinary tourists. People from all over the world come to gaze at the Great Wall of China. It is rightfully considered one of the most grandiose structures ever created by humanity. The main symbol of China, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
During the time that has elapsed from the time of construction to the present day, this structure has been rebuilt more than once, something was completely destroyed, considered unnecessary or superfluous, something was completed, adjusting it to today's needs. But, one way or another, this historical monument has survived to this day and is ready to welcome tourists.
By the way, few people know that Mao Zedong once wrote an expression near the entrance. According to him, a Chinese who has not seen this monument cannot be called a real Chinese.
Today the wall is considered a majestic monument, a national symbol, a landmark and a calling card of China. After all, this building witnessed many events in the history of the Chinese Empire.
This grandiose structure begins in the city of Shanhai-guan. From that place the wall stretches, passing half the country and ending in Central China. To some, its location resembles the movements of a snake, while the Chinese themselves associate it with the rise of a dragon. It is probably because of such associations that it has become a national symbol for the people of China.
The length of the Great Wall of China is 8851.8 kilometers. The width of the wall ranges from 5 to 8 meters, and the height in some places reached 10 meters.
The structure is so strong that one section, 750 kilometers long, was once turned into a real road. In some places near the wall, fortresses and fortifications were built, which has a historical and logical explanation.
The most popular sections of the wall among tourists are Simatai and Badaling.. There is nothing surprising in this, because they are located next to, 75 kilometers from the capital.
By the way, there is a widespread myth that Great Wall visible even from space. The astronauts say that this is not so - no one has ever seen a wall from space with the naked eye.
History of construction
Construction of the Great Wall of China began in the 3rd century BC. Historians have not even argued about who built the Chinese wall. This idea belonged to Emperor Qin Shi Huang. In history, he became famous as a cruel ruler thirsty for change. During his reign, he completely changed the life of his people. This was especially felt by the aristocrats and princes, from whom the emperor took away their privileges and subjugated them to himself.
Historians claim that the original purpose of building the Great Wall of China was to protect the emperor’s possessions from raids by nomadic tribes. But the researchers deny themselves, saying that the northern tribes of that time did not pose any particular danger to the emperor and his country. Therefore, it was pointless to defend against raids in this way. And on this basis, historians have come up with a new version: the purpose of such a huge construction was to mark the borders of the Chinese Empire, which was supposed to prevent the merging of the Chinese with the nomads.
221 BC - 300 thousand people arrived on the northern border of the Chinese Empire. The “parade” was led by commander Meng Tian. These people were given the task of building a wall of stones and bricks in the place where the earthworks had been. It is worth noting that most of the wall ran in hard to reach places, which, of course, made the work of its builders more difficult. To keep the construction under control, all people were distributed to 34 bases, around which settlements appeared over time.
The construction of the wall began with towers. There were 25 thousand of them then. It must be said that they were significantly different from each other, had different densities and sizes. But all such structures looked like real fortifications. Their average length was 12 meters.
The distance between the towers was measured by “arrow flights”, which were supposed to be equal to two. The defensive structures (towers) were interconnected by a wall whose height reached seven meters. By the way, the width of the wall was measured by a line of eight people.
There is very interesting story, or rather a legend, about how the border of the Great Wall was determined. The emperor decided to travel around his possessions on horseback. His route became the boundary of the wall. And the places for the towers were designated in areas where the ruler’s horse stumbled.
The protective function of the wall is also cast in doubt by the fact that during its construction the features of the terrain were taken into account. For example, in the north it separates uninhabitable mountain areas from fertile lands. Scientists have expressed their opinion on this matter. According to them, this structure was intended to separate the fertile south of the Chinese Empire from the nomadic north.
Wall of Bones
Until 213 BC, builders managed to bring to mind most walls. Peasants were also brought in to help the soldiers. Most commoners could not work for a long time in such conditions and at such a shocking pace, and died from exhaustion. What was done with their bodies? They were walled up in the wall.
Since historians made this public historical fact, many statements have appeared on this topic. Some called the Great Wall of China "the longest cemetery in the world". Someone reproachfully said that the wall was built on human bones. And such thoughts are not without reason: About 400 thousand Chinese are immured in the wall. At that time, people considered this huge construction project a great disaster. These motifs can be found in ancient Chinese songs, fairy tales and legends.
Whatever it is, no matter what they say, but even the nickname “the longest cemetery in the world” e" will not be able to scare away tourists who want to touch ancient history, look at the greatest construction of the Chinese people.
The further fate of the wall
After waiting for the death of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, in 210 BC the people rebelled and overthrew the Qin dynasty. This made it possible to stop construction of the wall. A period of stagnation began in the fate of the Chinese Wall. Further history says that not all emperors undertook to complete the construction of the defensive structure. Many had high hopes for the troops, but neglected the wall as an opportunity to strengthen the borders of the empire.
When the Mongol Khan came to power, the wall was completely abandoned. Its restoration began only in the 15th century.
How to get to the Great Wall of China
To see this grandiose monument of the Chinese Empire, you can go in several ways:
- go on a tour
- get there by taxi
- take the train express
Please note that in addition to other costs, you will need to buy an entrance ticket to the wall, which costs 45 yuan.
Bus excursion tours
A guided tour is the easiest way. For those who don't speak Chinese or are afraid to travel alone, a group of tourists led by a guide is a great option.
Sightseeing buses await tourists to Yabaolu, Tiananmen and Qianmen. In addition, such information can be found at the reception desk of any hotel.
Prices for such pleasure are reasonable, from 100 to 500 (depending on the number of people in the group). But the price, most often, only includes travel to Badaling. You will have to buy your own entrance ticket and food. But after visiting the wall you will be taken to the tombs of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.
The only disadvantage of this option is the limited nature of the tour. You cannot decide when and where to go, because you need to focus on other tourists. Therefore, if you want to spend the whole day on the Great Wall of China, then Bus tours– not for you. Although in most cases there is nothing to do there all day. 
Taxi ride
You can get to the historical monument by hiring a private car with a driver. There are more than enough people offering such services in Yabaolu. You can also order a car through the hotel, but it will be a little more expensive.
The cost of a taxi can fluctuate around 400-800 yuan. But do not forget that food and entry tickets again remain on your shoulders.
This method is much more convenient than the previous one, the driver will take you anywhere, because here only you are in command of the parade.
By train express to Badaling
Especially for the Chinese Olympics, an express train was built for those wishing to visit the section of the wall located in Badaling. The journey takes one and a half hours. The train departs from Beijing North Station, located at Xizhimen subway station - the intersection of the Circle Line. Directly from the metro station there are signs that say "Beijing Railway Station North".
The Wall Express departs from here - Xizhimen Station The cost of the trip will be minimal, and will cost no more than 20 yuan per person in both directions. Tickets are sold directly at the station. The train schedule is constantly changing, but the express train leaves every hour. The numbers of all trains departing for Badaling begin with S2. Please note that the station is not the final one and you need to get off together with the main crowd of passengers, you definitely can’t go wrong.
Of the minuses, it is worth noting that you will encounter huge queues, and you will have to stand while driving.
Before the trip, be sure to eat well and buy water, as everything on the wall is very expensive. At the same Xizhimen station there is a large shopping mall, there are many cafes and fast foods here, for example, Burger King and McDonald's.
Don't forget to dress warmly, since the wall is located on a hill and there is often a strong, piercing wind blowing here.
The only man-made structure that can be seen by astronauts from orbit is the Great Chinese Wall. The beginning of construction dates back to the 4th-3rd centuries BC, as a defensive structure against raids by Asian tribes in a strategically important place on the border. 400 thousand soldiers took part in the construction of this monumental structure. The wall originates in Shaikhanguang. This huge earthen rampart, lined with stones, runs like a huge python through dangerous gorges, steep cliffs and dry deserts. The length of the Wall is almost six thousand kilometers, its height is 7.8 m, its width is 5.8 m. Signal towers are built along the entire length of the wall at a certain distance from each other. This great structure ends at the Jiayguan outpost. Necessary cargo was transported along the top of the Wall and ammunition was delivered during hostilities. Nowadays, tourists who climb the Wall on foot are given a colorful diploma “I was on the Great Wall of China.”
The oldest Chinese monument
The symbol of China, a symbol of national pride, the “eighth wonder of the world” and one of the world’s oldest architectural monuments is the Great Wall of China. There is not a single person on the globe who has not heard or read about this great, largest, grandiose monument of antiquity. This wall is located on an area covering an area from the Liaodong Gulf (northeast of Beijing), through northern China to the Gobi Desert. There are several opinions about the specific length of this attraction. But we can say about it with complete accuracy that it spreads over a distance of more than two thousand kilometers. Taking into account also the ramparts that extend from it, the result is approximately 6000-6500 km.
Officially, this Great Wall began to be built in 220. BC. by order of the ruler Qin Shi Huang. It defended the northwestern border from attacks by nomadic peoples. Its construction took hundreds of years. After the reign of the Qing Dynasty was established, its construction ceased.
In order to get inside the state, it was necessary to go through all the checkpoints that closed at night and did not open until the morning. Rumors spread among the people that in order to get into his state, even the Chinese emperor himself waited until dawn.
Over the course of 2,700 years, the construction of the wall took place three times. Prisoners, prisoners of war, as well as peasants who were taken from their families by force were sent to the north to build the wall. About two million people died during the construction of this wall. At its base were their remains. Based on this, to this day, people call the Great Wall of China the “Wailing Wall.”
Casemates, signal towers and guard towers were built at various places on the Great Wall, which was 6 to 10 meters high and 5.5 to 6.5 meters wide. Fortresses were built near the main passes of the mountains.
Interesting legend and story about the Chinese Wall
It took a lot of people to build the Chinese wall. There is a Chinese legend according to which, after the wedding, the husband of the girl, whose name was Mung Jiangnu, was exiled to build the Great Wall. After three years of waiting, the young wife still did not see her husband. He did not return home. In order to take warm clothes to her husband, she set out on a very long, dangerous and difficult journey. A young woman reached the Shanhaiguan outpost and learned that her husband had died from hard work and was buried under the wall, sobbed loudly. Then a large section of the wall collapsed, and she saw the corpse of her beloved husband. Chinese legends immortalize the memory of the hard work of those involved in the construction of the wall. The construction of the wall included several conditions. Thus, each of the wall towers had to be located in the visible zone of two neighboring towers. Messages between them were transmitted using smoke, drumming or fire at night. The width of the wall was also calculated. It was 5.5 meters. This was done on purpose, because then five infantrymen could march in a row or five cavalrymen could ride side by side. Now its average height is nine meters. The watchtowers are twelve meters high.
Badaling Wall
Tourists in China consider it a must to visit the Wall of China. Every year, millions of people come to see this magnificent historical landmark. In the area of Mount Badaling, located 60 km from the city of Beijing, there is the most visited section of the Chinese Wall by tourists. There are always a lot of people here. This area was restored in 1957.
The length of this ancient monument is approximately 50 kilometers. Entrance: Y45. In summer it is open from 6.00 to 22.00, and in winter from 7.00 to 18.00. The ticket includes a 15-minute film about the history of the construction of the wall, which is shown in the circular amphitheater from 9.00 to 17.45, as well as an introduction to the Chinese Wall Museum from 9.00 to 16.00. You can also get to Badaling by bus number 919 (depending on the number of stops Y5-10), which runs every 10 minutes from ancient gate Deshengmen, located 500 m east of Jishuitan metro station. Warning: at 18.30 the last bus departure from Badaling.
For 8 hours, that is, for the whole day, you can rent a taxi with 4 passengers (maximum), costing Y400, or maybe more.
Among other things, there are hiking routes. One of them is Line C with a cost of Y80 round trip, which includes the cost of visiting the wall. Opening hours: from 6.30 to 22.00. Another route is Line C, stopping at the Tomb of Minh for Y140, which includes entrance fees and lunch. Hours from 6.30 to 22.00.
Secrets of the Great Wall of China
Mutianyu Wall
Mutianyu is the second known section of the wall. It is located 90 km north of Beijing. It can be visited from 6.30 to 18.00. Entrance ticket costs 35 yuan. The Mutianyu site is located in a mountainous area. You can climb it using the funicular. On the cable car, spend another 50 yuan for a round-trip ticket or 35 yuan for a one-way ticket only. A happier, cheaper descent is the iron chute that runs under the cable car. On it, in a special capsule, you can ride down. Bill Clinton also rode in one of the cable car cabins. You can read this on a special sign. Maybe you will be able to take a ride in the president's cabin.
This wall has great dignity. It is located in a very picturesque place. There are much fewer people here than in Badaling. There are no people after the fourteenth tower. Therefore, this place is very suitable for capturing beautiful and interesting moments and taking photographs.
Here it is necessary to take into account that this section of the wall, which consists of stairs going down and up, was made very thoughtfully. To slow down the enemy who had made his way onto the wall, they came up with these uneven stairs of various sizes. Not all visitors enjoy so many obstacles during their walk.
By taking bus number 916 to the last stop you can reach the tower. To get to the wall you need to transfer to a minibus. This stop is located 200 meters east of Dongzhimen Station. You will pay 11 yuan for travel. Bus operating hours are from 6.00 to 19.00.
Simatai Wall
110 kilometers northeast of Beijing is the next section of the wall - Simatai, 4.5 km long. 30 yuan is the entrance fee to this site. Visiting hours are from 8.00 to 17.00. In order to climb the wall, you must ride the cable car, paying 50 yuan for a round trip ticket or 30 for one way only.
From the same Dongzhimen stop, two buses go to Simatai Wall. The first bus number 970 goes to Simatai at 5:40, and the last return bus leaves at 18:30. The second bus, number 980, goes there at 5:50, and the last one at 19:00. In the same way, you need to go to the last stop and then transfer to a minibus.
There are much fewer people here. People need good physical fitness to visit this wall, which goes up along the mountains and down the cliffs. There are 35 watchtowers located close to each other, with a minimum distance between them of 40 meters. The main tower, which features mythical creatures and is decorated with carvings, is the most beautiful of them all. The tallest one, the sixteenth tower, is the Beijing Tower. For an elevation of one kilometer above sea level, it lacks several meters. Incomparable, magnificent and interesting view opens from it.
There are two places in this area that are especially surprising and dangerous. These are the Heavenly Bridge and the Heavenly Staircase. The Sky Bridge at the top narrows to 30 centimeters. Can you imagine how brave Chinese soldiers in ancient times could overcome it? Tourists are not allowed on the Sky Bridge and the Sky Staircase. The climb to the top of the Heavenly Staircase is very steep. The staircase is very narrow and the angle of climb is 85 degrees. There are no parapets there.
Jinshanling Wall
Jinshanling is located 130 kilometers from Beijing, west of Simatai. Entrance tickets to this site cost 40 yuan from mid-November to mid-March, and 50 yuan at other times of the year. You can get there by cable car in the same way and at the same cost, i.e. 50 yuan round trip and 30 one way. Here, as in Simatai, the opening hours are the same, i.e. from 8.00 to 17.00.
This section of the wall has been little restored. Here, there are very few visitors and few places where people can be allowed.
The length of the Jinshanling wall is 10.5 kilometers. There are 24 watchtowers here. They all have different shapes. The height of the additional walls that enclosed the watchtowers was 2.5 m. These walls were made to protect the soldiers. Warriors, being in a safe place, in case of an attack, could attack the enemy, even after they were able to climb the wall.
Near the tower, which is called Hudin, there are bricks in the wall on which there are signatures of hieroglyphs. The date of manufacture of the bricks and the departments involved in the construction of each site can be found out from them.
You can get to Jinshalin in the same way and by the same buses that go to Simatai. Then you need to take a minibus. There is another way to get there - by train No. 6453, which departs at 6:38 from Beijing North Station to Gubeikou Station. After which it remains to take a short bus ride to the wall.
Other famous pieces of the wall
There are three sections of the wall that are built of marble purple. Two sites are located in Jiang'an City, and the other is in the Yanyshan Mountains, which is called Baiyanyu. They are considered the most reliable, strongest and most beautiful. Unfortunately, not every tourist can visit this wall.
The essence of the inscription left by Mao Zedong at the entrance to the reconstructed part of the wall is that a Chinese who has not visited the Great Wall of China is not a real Chinese.
The Great Wall of China - to this day, this architectural structure amazes with its powerful grandeur and deservedly takes the place of the largest and oldest architectural monument on the entire planet. The structure stretches across Chinese territory for 8851.8 km. One of the spans 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 website 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 progress of work and the current appearance of the structure.
Most likely, you will not be able to even correctly imagine 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 simply huge numbers. Nowhere else in the world is there a structure that can compete in length with the Great Wall of China.
History of construction
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. During those turbulent times, the country was ruled by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, 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 Xiongnu people regularly carried out their raids. Of course, their participants were not the only ones who did not mind making easy money. Then it was decided to build a huge fence that would enclose the state and reliably protect it. More than a fifth of the population of all China was called upon 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. This could also guarantee the absence of assimilation with the barbarians. At that time, China had just begun its formation into one state from the many small ones it had conquered. It was critical to mark and defend their territories and possessions. The wall was supposed to be the help that would help unite and maintain the empire as one. The boundaries of the wall on the map can be indicated by the following diagram:
The year is 206 BC. The Han Dynasty comes to power, and it was during this period that the Wall conquered new numbers in terms of length. To the west it increases to Dunhuang. The structure is being built to protect trade caravans from attacks by nomads. a large number of armed watchtowers. Of course, not all sections of the Great Wall have survived to this day, but most of those sections that still 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, since it is already built from bricks and concrete blocks. During this period, the wall runs from east to west from the territory of Shanhaiguan on the shores of the Yellow Sea all the way to the lands of Yumenguan, which are located on the border with Gansu province.
In 1644, the Qing dynasty from Manchuria comes to power. Representatives of this dynasty had conflicting opinions about the necessity of the existence of this structure. During the Qing period, the Great Wall was destroyed to a greater extent than during the reign of other dynasties. This factor was also influenced by time. A small area 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 section of the structure is the most popular among tourists from all over the world. it has been open to the public since 1957. An interesting fact is that this section also served as the finishing 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 highway would be built in its place. The Wall was visited by the President of the United States of America, Richard Nixon.
The Great Wall today
Yes, at a certain period of the last century, it was indeed 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 of Chinese history.In 1984, the architect Deng Xiaoping organized a collection of funds that were needed to carry out work to return the wall to its former grandeur. Funds were attracted from both Chinese and foreign investors. Funds for restoration were collected even from ordinary private individuals, so everyone could make their contribution to the history of restoration of the 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 thousand 851 kilometers and 800 meters! Think about this number! It’s simply incredible how such a huge thing could be built by human hands.
In China they use very active, and sometimes even aggressive, methods to 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 became the site of very gusty and strong sand storms. It is because of these factors that today a more than 60-kilometer section of the Wall in northwestern China is subject to severe erosion and active destruction. 40 kilometers of the site have already been destroyed, and only 10 kilometers still remain in place. However, the effects 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 listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has rightfully taken its place in the category of China's greatest historical attractions. By the way, today this area is one of the most visited in the world. More than 40 million tourists choose this particular point on the map as the main destination of their travels.
Of course, such a significant architectural structure could not help 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 you turn to the facts, then it immediately becomes clear that this is just a myth. In fact, the wall was not built in one go - it was even built by different dynasties. In addition, the work involved the construction of individual sections of a certain length. 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 to secure and protect China from the north.
All dynasties that built the wall created their own specific area, which eventually merged with the previous one by the next dynasty. All this happened in different times, which were sometimes separated by decades. During the turbulent times during which the wall was built, such defensive structures were an objective necessity; they were built everywhere. If we combine 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 described above, had interrupted sections in many places. As a result, in 1211 and 1223, Genghis Khan and his Mongol invaders took advantage of this, who eventually took possession of the entire northern part of the country. Until 1368, the Mongols were the rulers of China, but they were driven out by fasting by representatives of the Ming dynasty.
Within 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 was born in 1893. At that time, the magazine The Centuries was published in America, and the following fact was mentioned there. Later in 1932, noumen Robert Ripley stated that the Wall was visible from space, namely from the Moon. This fact was funny, considering that there were still many decades left before the first landing of man on Ken. Today, space has already been explored to some extent, and our cosmonauts and satellites can provide high quality photos from orbit. Look for yourself, it’s quite difficult to notice the wall from space.
You can also hear about the wall that the mortar used to hold the bricks together was based on 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 supposedly 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 fastening solution.
For obvious reasons, this miracle was not included in the 7 ancient wonders of the world, but the Great Wall of China is quite rightly included in the list of 7 new wonders of the world. Another legend says that big Fire Dragon paved the way for the workers, indicating where to build the wall. The builders subsequently followed his tracks
There is also a legend that tells us about a large dragon, which with its flames showed the way for the builders. As a result, the workers followed in his footsteps, and the fire of their dragon's mouth cleared the way for them. The most interesting thing about this story is that it really is true. We managed to find a photo of this dragon and even find out which zoo it ended up in:
Okay, let’s admit that this is simply one of the mythical legends that has no common sense or logical basis. And the photo shows just a drawing of a mythical creature - a dragon.
But what there is no doubt about is 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 Chinese Wall is the tale of the girl Meng Jing Nu, who was simply a farmer's wife. She was involved in the construction of the Wall. The wife, who was struck by grief, came to the wall at night and cried over it until the reading cracked and showed the girl the bones of her lover. As a result, the girl was able to bury them.
Here in the area there was a certain custom of burying people who died during construction. Family members of the one who died here carried the coffin, topped with a white rooster. The crowing of the rooster was supposed to keep the spirit of the deceased awake. This was to continue until the procession with the coffin crossed the Wall. There were legends that if the ritual was not completed, or completed with violations, then the spirit would forever remain here and wander along the wall.
During the period when the wall was being built, there was only one punishment for all prisoners in the state and all the unemployed. Send everyone to build the Great Wall! This period especially required the protection of external borders, so it was necessary to resort to drastic measures.
This construction gave a lot to the heritage of the Chinese people useful inventions. So, it was here and for construction purposes that the same wheelbarrow was invented, which is used everywhere on construction sites today. Areas that were vulnerable during the construction of the Wall were surrounded by a ditch, which was filled with water, or simply remained as an abyss. Among other things, the people of China also used advanced weapons for defense. These were hammers, spears, crossbows, and axes. But the main advantage of the Chinese was their main invention - gunpowder.
Everywhere along the wall, observation platforms were erected at equal intervals, which served to monitor the area and protect trade caravans. if danger was approaching, the watchman on the top would light a torch or drop the flag, after which the troops would be put on alert. The observation 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, and he has also seen his last Stand. This happened in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese War. The wall still bears many scars from bullets from those battles.
The Great Wall of China may not be the tallest structure, 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 shores of Laolongtu. Based on average values, the height of the wall is 7 meters, and the width in the most spacious areas is 8 meters. But on average it is more often from 5 to 7 meters.
Today, the Chinese government is spending billions of US 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 people.
In China, there is another material evidence of the presence in this country of a highly developed civilization, to which the Chinese have no relation. Unlike the Chinese pyramids, this evidence is well known to everyone. This is the so-called The great Wall of China.
Let's see what orthodox historians say about this largest architectural monument, which Lately has become a major tourist attraction in China. The wall is located in the north of the country, stretching from the sea coast and going deep into the Mongolian steppes, and according to various estimates, its length, including branches, is from 6 to 13,000 km. The thickness of the wall is several meters (on average 5 meters), the height is 6-10 meters. It is alleged that the wall included 25 thousand towers.
A brief history of the construction of the wall today looks like this. They supposedly started building the wall in the 3rd century BC during the reign of the dynasty Qin, to defend against raids by nomads from the north and clearly define the border of Chinese civilization. The construction was initiated by the famous “collector of Chinese lands” Emperor Qin Shi-Huang Di. He gathered about half a million people for construction, which, considering the total population of 20 million, is a very impressive figure. Then the wall was a structure made mainly of earth - a huge earthen rampart.
During the reign of the dynasty Han(206 BC - 220 AD) the wall was expanded to the west, strengthened with stone and a line of watchtowers was built that went deep into the desert. Under the dynasty Min(1368-1644) the wall continued to be built. As a result, it stretched from east to west from the Bohai Gulf in the Yellow Sea to the western border of the modern province of Gansu, entering the territory of the Gobi Desert. It is believed that this wall was built by the efforts of a million Chinese from bricks and stone blocks, which is why these sections of the wall have been preserved to this day in the form in which a modern tourist is already accustomed to seeing it. The Ming Dynasty was replaced by the Manchu Dynasty Qing(1644-1911), which was not involved in the construction of the wall. She limited herself to maintaining in relative order a small area near Beijing, which served as the “gateway to the capital.”
In 1899, American newspapers started a rumor that the wall would soon be demolished and a highway would be built in its place. However, no one was going to demolish anything. Moreover, in 1984, a program to restore the wall was launched on the initiative of Deng Xiaoping and under the leadership of Mao Zedong, which is still being carried out today, and is financed from Chinese and foreign companies, as well as individuals. It is not reported how much Mao drove to restore the wall. Several areas were repaired, and in some places they were completely rebuilt. So we can assume that in 1984 the construction of the fourth wall of China began. Usually, tourists are shown one of the sections of the wall, located 60 km northwest of Beijing. This is the area of Mount Badaling, the length of the wall is 50 km.
The wall makes the greatest impression not in the Beijing region, where it was built on not very high mountains, but in remote mountainous areas. There, by the way, you can clearly see that the wall, as a defensive structure, was made very thoughtfully. Firstly, five people in a row could move along the wall itself, so it was also a good road, which is extremely important when it is necessary to transport troops. Under the cover of the battlements, the guards could secretly approach the area where the enemies were planning to attack. The signal towers were located in such a way that each of them was within sight of the other two. Some important messages were transmitted either by drumming, or by smoke, or by the fire of fires. Thus, the news of an enemy invasion from the farthest borders could be transmitted to the center per day!
During the restoration of the wall, interesting facts were discovered. For example, its stone blocks were held together with adhesive rice porridge with an admixture of slaked lime. Or what the loopholes on its fortresses looked towards China; that on the north side the height of the wall is small, much less than on the south, and there are stairs there. The latest facts, for obvious reasons, are not advertised and are not commented on in any way by official science - neither Chinese nor world. Moreover, when reconstructing towers, they try to build loopholes in the opposite direction, although this is not possible everywhere. These photos show the south side of the wall - the sun is shining at midday.
However, this is where the weirdness comes from Chinese wall don't end. Wikipedia has a complete map of the wall, which shows in different colors the wall that we are told was built by each Chinese dynasty. As we see, there is more than one great wall. Northern China is often and densely dotted with the “Great Walls of China”, which extend into the territory of modern Mongolia and even Russia. Light was shed on these oddities A.A. Tyunyaev in his work “The Chinese Wall - the great barrier from the Chinese”:
“Tracing the stages of construction of the “Chinese” wall, based on the data of Chinese scientists, is extremely interesting. It is clear from them that the Chinese scientists who call the wall “Chinese” are not very concerned about the fact that the Chinese people themselves did not take any part in its construction: every time another section of the wall was built, the Chinese state was far from the construction sites.
So, the first and main part of the wall was built in the period from 445 BC. to 222 BC It runs along 41-42° north latitude and at the same time along some sections of the river. Yellow River. At this time, naturally, there were no Mongol-Tatars. Moreover, the first unification of peoples within China took place only in 221 BC. under the kingdom of Qin. And before that there was the Zhanguo period (5-3 centuries BC), in which eight states existed on Chinese territory. Only in the middle of the 4th century. BC. The Qin began to fight against other kingdoms, and by 221 BC. conquered some of them.
The figure shows that the western and northern border of the Qin state by 221 BC. began to coincide with that section of the “Chinese” wall that began to be built in 445 BC and it was built exactly in 222 BC
Thus, we see that this section of the “Chinese” wall was built not by the Chinese of the Qin state, but northern neighbors, but precisely from the Chinese spreading to the north. In just 5 years - from 221 to 206. BC. - a wall was built along the entire border of the Qin state, which stopped the spread of its subjects to the north and west. In addition, at the same time, 100-200 km west and north of the first, a second line of defense against Qin was built - the second “Chinese” wall of this period.
The next construction period covers the time from 206 BC to 220 AD During this period, sections of the wall were built, located 500 km to the west and 100 km to the north of the previous ones... During the period from 618 to 907 China was ruled by the Tang dynasty, which did not mark itself with victories over its northern neighbors.
In the next period, from 960 to 1279 The Song Empire established itself in China. At this time, China lost dominance over its vassals in the west, in the northeast (on the Korean Peninsula) and in the south - in northern Vietnam. The Song Empire lost a significant part of the territories of the Chinese proper in the north and northwest, which went to the Khitan Liao State(part of the modern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi), the Tangut kingdom of Xi-Xia (part of the territories of the modern province of Shaanxi, the entire territory of the modern province of Gansu and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region).
In 1125, the border between the non-Chinese Jurchen kingdom and China ran along the river. Huaihe is 500-700 km south of where the wall was built. And in 1141, a peace treaty was signed, according to which the Chinese Song Empire recognized itself as a vassal of the non-Chinese state of Jin, pledging to pay it a large tribute.
However, while China itself huddled south of the river. Hunahe, 2100-2500 km north of its borders, another section of the “Chinese” wall was erected. This part of the wall built from 1066 to 1234, passes through Russian territory north of the village of Borzya next to the river. Argun. At the same time, 1500-2000 km north of China, another section of the wall was built, located along the Greater Khingan...
The next section of the wall was built between 1366 and 1644. It runs along the 40th parallel from Andong (40°), just north of Beijing (40°), through Yinchuan (39°) to Dunhuang and Anxi (40°) in the west. This section of the wall is the last, the southernmost and the deepest penetrating into the territory of China... At the time of the construction of this section of the wall, the entire Amur region belonged to Russian territories. By the middle of the 17th century, Russian fortresses (Albazinsky, Kumarsky, etc.), peasant settlements and arable lands already existed on both banks of the Amur. In 1656, the Daurian (later Albazinsky) voivodeship was formed, which included the valley of the Upper and Middle Amur on both banks... The “Chinese” wall, built by the Russians by 1644, ran exactly along the border of Russia with Qing China. In the 1650s, Qing China invaded Russian lands to a depth of 1,500 km, which was secured by the Aigun (1858) and Beijing (1860) treaties...”
Today the Chinese Wall is located inside China. However, there was a time when the wall meant country border.
This fact is confirmed by what has come down to us vintage maps. For example, a map of China by the famous medieval cartographer Abraham Ortelius from his geographical atlas of the world Theatrum Orbis Terrarum 1602 On the map, north is on the right. It clearly shows that China is separated from the northern country - Tartaria by a wall.
On the map of 1754 "Le Carte de l'Asie" it is also clearly visible that the border of China with Great Tartaria runs along the wall.
And even a map from 1880 shows the wall as China's border with its northern neighbor. It is noteworthy that part of the wall extends quite far into the territory of China’s western neighbor – Chinese Tartaria...
Interesting illustrations for this article are collected on the “Food RA” website...
False antiquity of China
The Great Wall of China (China) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.
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It is difficult to find a larger-scale creation of human hands than the Great Wall of China. We can only highlight the Egyptian pyramids. And while the structures in the Giza Valley are mostly concentrated in one place, the wall, like a giant dragon, stretches across deserts, fields, mountains and plateaus, stretching for more than 20,000 km from east to west China. Despite its almost zero effectiveness in protecting against invaders, it still became a symbol of the country’s power, a kind of barrier between the Middle Kingdom and the rest of the world. Today, millions of tourists annually strive to see this symbol, a significant part of which are residents of the PRC, who believe that if a person has never been on the wall, he cannot be a real Chinese.
A little history
The Great Wall of China was not built overnight. This is the result of the work of many states that existed on the territory of modern China. The rulers of the Chu state began to build it in the 7th century, and it was completed in 1878 by the rulers of the Qing Empire. The main part of the structure was built 600 years ago. Until the 1980s, the wall was practically not repaired, and only the Badaling segment was in more or less intact condition. But thanks to a large-scale restoration program, the structure was saved, although many areas are still in a dilapidated state.
There is an urban legend that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space. In fact, this is not entirely true. The wall is truly impressive, but primarily for its length. Its width is relatively small, and visual acuity is simply not enough to see it. But you can still see the wall in a high-quality photograph. She looks similar to him, but has thin, broken hair.
What to see
The Great Wall is not a solid structure. Over the 2,700 years of its existence, many of its sections turned into ruins, or were even completely dismantled. Therefore, this means traveling to certain segments, most often completely restored, located near large cities with developed tourist infrastructure.
Mutianyu is the most sleek 73-kilometer section, located 2 hours drive from Beijing. The carefully restored wall with many watchtowers is surrounded by stunning mountain ranges. There are not as many people here as on other segments, so if time permits, it is better to go here. According to many tourists, the architecture here is more interesting than in the super popular Badalin area.
Badaling is often crowded - this is “thanks” to the short distance from Beijing (80 km), developed infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, cable car) and, of course, beautiful scenery.
Symatai is one of the few segments that has retained the original appearance 14th century. The bricks that make up the wall are marked with the date they were laid and the number of the military unit involved in the construction. This is the only area open in the evening.
The highlight of the Jinshanling segment is a well-preserved defensive system with loopholes, clock towers, gates and firing points.
Practical information
The most popular sections of the wall are located in relative proximity to Beijing. Here's how to get to them.
Mutianyu. Take the subway directly from the airport and get to Dongzhimen station. From there, on weekends at 7:00 and 8:30, bus No. 867 leaves for the wall. It spends 2-2.5 hours on the road and leaves back for Beijing at 14:00 and 16:00.
Badalin. Bus No. 877 to Badaling departs from the capital's Deshengmen Bus Station from 6:00. You can also get here by taking the Beijing Tourist Hub tourist bus, which runs from the southern end of Tiananmen Square. The ticket costs 100 CNY, children under 120 cm tall travel for free.
Get out. From Beijing Dongzhimen Station, take Bus No. 980 to Miyun City and then take a taxi to the wall (CNY 180 roundtrip). The total travel time is 2 hours.
Jinshanling. Take the subway to Dongzhimen Station. From there, a tourist bus leaves for the wall at 8:00. From Jinshanling it departs at 15:00. Ticket 50 CNY, travel time 2 hours. Prices on the page are as of August 2018.
