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

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

Shanhai-guan is the city where the Great Wall of China begins. It is from there that it stretches in wavy curves, skirting more than half 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, flat road. On some sections of the wall there are fortresses and fortifications as additions.

2450 meters is the length of the Chinese Wall, although the total length, taking into account all the branches, bends and meanders, is almost 5000 km. Such large and endless dimensions have long given rise to many legends, myths and fairy tales, 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 in satellite images.

According to a widespread legend, a huge imperial army, about 300,000 people, was spent on the construction of the wall. In addition, tens of thousands of peasants were accepted and involved in construction, as the number of builders decreased by various reasons, and it was necessary to compensate for this with new people. Fortunately, there are no problems with “human resources” in China to this day.

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

Another interesting and tragic fact is that this is the longest and largest cemetery in the world in terms of the number of burials. History is silent about how many people were buried during construction and during the entire period in general. But the figure is probably incredibly large. The remains of the dead are found even today.

During the entire existence of the wall, it was restored more than once: its reconstruction was carried out from the 14th to the 16th centuries, and then from 16 to 17. At this point, special signal towers were added, which made it possible to notify the enemy’s attack through fire and smoke (transmitted from one tower to another).

As a means of defense, the wall performed very poorly, because such a height is not a hindrance for a large enemy. Therefore, the guards for the most part looked not at the north side, but at the south. The reason was that it was necessary to keep an eye on the peasants who wanted to leave the country to avoid 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 runs 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 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, in terms of its length, can compete with the Great Chinese wall.

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. On the structure for protection trade caravans A large number of armed watchtowers are erected to protect against attacks by nomads. Of course, not all areas have survived to this day. great wall, but most of those areas 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 last 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.

The Chinese Wall is an amazing structure that took almost 2000 years to build and is 4 thousand kilometers long! Such long-term construction is not bad... Traditionally it is 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 is that the famous Chinese Wall, from 6 to 7 meters high, and up to three thick, stretching for THREE THOUSAND KILOMETERS, began construction back in 246 BC by Emperor Chi Hoang Ti and WAS COMPLETED ONLY AFTER 1866 YEARS, BY 1620 AD, is so absurd that it can only cause annoyance to a serious historian-thinker.

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

They will tell us that the wall has been repaired for two thousand years. Doubtful. It only makes sense to repair a building that is not very old, otherwise it will become hopelessly outdated and simply fall apart. This is what we are seeing, by the way, in Europe.

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 recently built on the site of an ancient one.”

No, they say that we see exactly the wall that was built 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 answer for sure. 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 defensive structure. And it is unlikely that it has ever been used in this capacity. Defending a 4,000-kilometer wall from enemy attack is SPOILESS.

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

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

In fact, if you place a small detachment on each tower, the enemy will destroy it before the neighbors have time to gather and send help.

If large detachments are spaced out less frequently, gaps will form through which the enemy can easily and unnoticed penetrate deep into the country. A FORTRESS WITHOUT DEFENDERS IS NOT A FORTRESS

How does our point of view differ from 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 Gumilev correctly noted, such an explanation does not stand up to criticism.

If the nomads wanted to cross the Wall, they could easily do so. And more than once. And anywhere. We offer a completely different explanation.

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

And there probably were such disputes. Today, the parties to the agreement 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 agreement that they decided to immortalize 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 this assumption. Four, or one or two thousand kilometers is normal for the border between two states. But for a purely military structure it makes no sense. But the political border

China has changed many times over its supposedly more than two thousand-year history. This is what the historians themselves tell us. China united, then fell apart into separate regions, lost and gained some lands, etc.

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 GO EXACTLY ALONG THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, this will mean that EXACTLY AT THIS TIME THE WALL WAS BUILT.

Today the Chinese Wall is INSIDE China. Was there a time when it marked the BORDER OF THE COUNTRY? And when did this happen? It is clear that if it was being built as a BORDER WALL, then IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EXACTLY ALONG THE POLITICAL BORDER OF CHINA at that time.

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

Let's take a map of Asia from the 18th century made by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam: . We took this map from a rare atlas of the 18th century.

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

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

We see the same Chinese Wall, and with the same inscription on it, on another map of 1754 - Carte de l’Asie, which we took from a rare atlas of the 18th century. Here the Chinese Wall also roughly follows the border between China and Great Tartary, that is, Mongol-Tatary = Russia.

We see the same thing on another map of Asia in the 17th century, in the famous Blau 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 cartographers of the 18th century PLACED THE CHINA WALL ON THE POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD.

Therefore, this Wall HAD THE MEANING 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 the color map of the Qing Empire of 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 its small curves in the terrain. Almost along its entire length it runs EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE, with the exception of the small westernmost section of the Wall, no more than 200 kilometers long. Apparently

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WAS BUILT IN THE 16th-17th CENTURIES AS A POLITICAL BORDER BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA = “MONGOL-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 go 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 found no such references.

When was the Wall = Border between Russia = “Mongol-Tataria” and China built? Apparently, it was in the 17th century. No wonder it is believed that its construction was “completed” only in 1620. And maybe even later. See below about this.

In this regard, we immediately remember 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 AGREEMENT.

Was this Wall before 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 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 was noted in the 14th 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 CONSTITUTED ONE EMPIRE. Therefore, there was no need to build a 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 Russia’s political course, trying to subordinate the country to Western influence.

This 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 large part of America was lost. Relations between China and the Romanovs became tense, and border conflicts began. It was necessary to build a Wall, which was done.

Apparently, it is possible to even more accurately indicate the time of construction of the Great Wall of China. As we have already said, the Wall was apparently built 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 degrees of success. Descriptions of these wars were preserved in Khabarov’s notes.

The treaty FIXING THE NORTHERN BORDER OF CHINA WITH RUSSIA was concluded in 1689 in Nerchinsk. Perhaps there were earlier attempts to conclude a Russian-Chinese treaty.

It should be expected that the Chinese Wall was built between 1650 and 1689. This expectation is justified. It is known that the Emperor = Bogdykhan Kangxi “began the implementation of his plan to oust the RUSSIANS FROM AMUR.

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

- an architectural monument in China over 8800 kilometers long.

History of the construction of the Great Wall of China

Construction of the Great Wall of China began in the 3rd century BC. e. during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (Qin dynasty), during the period of the “Warring States” (475-221 BC). The wall was supposed to protect the subjects of the “Middle Empire” from transitioning 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.

Throughout the 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 on the path of everyone who sought to get to China. Several special checkpoints were made in the Wall, which were closed at night and under no circumstances were to be opened. No exceptions were 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.

Current state of the Great Wall of China

During the three centuries of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), the wall almost collapsed due to erosion. The site near Beijing was maintained in relative safety - Badaling, since 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.

Along its entire length, fortresses, forts, and signal towers were torn down, and the wall and watchtowers were only slightly damaged by time. Nowadays, several areas are open to tourists; the unrestored area is of greatest interest. Symatai.

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

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

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

If you haven't visited the Great Wall of China, you are not a real Chinese.

The total length of the Great Wall of China is 8 thousand 851 kilometers and 800 meters.
The average height of the wall is about 7 meters, and the width in some places reaches 9 meters.
It is one of the most visited attractions in the world, attracting around 40 million tourists every year.
The wall is not continuous - it was built at different times from several separate segments and later connected into one whole.
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 its construction.
The fact that the Great Wall of China is visible from space is a myth; it is barely visible even from 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 rock around it.
The highest point of the wall is 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 sections:

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

It’s easier and closer to get to the Badaling section:

by tourist bus from Tiananmen Square;
by taxi (~500 yuan);
by bus 919 from Deshengmen stop (Jishuitan metro station);
by local train to Badaling from Beijing North Station;

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

Why was the Great Wall of China needed?

To get acquainted with the Great Wall of China, it is worth going back in time to understand where it all began. It would be 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 do not always have practical significance. When construction of the wall began, 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 subject 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 for real strong opponent, the confrontation with which took several centuries. Take a look at the territory occupied by the Xiongnu, it was huge and stretched from the Pamir mountain range to Manchuria. The army numbered more than 300 thousand warriors, among whom were excellent shooters, horsemen and war chariots.

Just to protect yourself from cavalry, on different areas border construction began on 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 raids of the Xiongnu.

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

Chinese Great Wall. Start of construction

During the Qin Dynasty, construction of the wall lasted about 10 years. During this time, only part of the Great Wall of China that we know today was built. The fact is that for the construction of a structure of such incredible scale and design, it was necessary to involve a huge number of people. Of course, the most inexpensive way to find labor for the empire’s budget 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 on how many people died, but the number is likely closer to 1 million. The supply of provisions was poorly organized, and the construction of the wall involved compacting earthworks several meters high, which was very labor-intensive. Many could not stand this lifestyle and died. Therefore, it is customary to say that the Great Wall of China was built on the bones and blood of peasants.

As the wall was built, more and more people were needed and the population's dissatisfaction with the policies of the emperor of the Qin dynasty grew. It reached its apogee 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 ultimately led to the overthrow of the emperor and the fall of the Qin dynasty. Thus, the construction of the Great Wall of China was temporarily suspended. 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 had become a crime against nature.

Chinese Great Wall. Second wind

The boundaries of the wall expanded significantly during 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 soldiers, it was necessary to strengthen defensive structures. For this, an additional 10,000 km of 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 reliable wall in desert areas was not possible until Chinese engineers came up with the idea of compacting sand and clay between layers of brushwood. This multi-layer construction imparted the necessary rigidity, which helped to withstand not only hordes of nomads, but also survive more than 2000 years of exposure to nature. Over time, the nomads were pushed outside the Chinese empire, making it much safer for traders to travel along the Silk Road. After more than a thousand years, the Great Wall of China was subjected to a new, even more difficult test. Hordes of Mongols were moving towards the Chinese Empire.

Chinese Great Wall. Reign of the Ming Dynasty

The Mongols invaded China and ruled there for over 100 years. After this time, around the 14th century, the Ming dynasty expels the Mongols from 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, century after century of attackers from the western borders?

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 protected by a chain of mountains, but there were gorges through which nomads could easily invade the heart of the empire. The best architects and workers were gathered to build the new site. It was headed by the brilliant architect Tzi Jiguang. He came up with the idea of using bricks in the construction of new sections of the Great Wall of China.

The construction system of the Great Wall of China has also undergone changes. Now the towers were connected to each other 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, huge crossbows capable of killing several people with one arrow, and catapults for firing gunpowder shells were installed. A few decades after the construction of a new section of the Great Wall of China, the first attempt to break through by nomads was made. 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 relevant. The main problem, as many centuries ago, was Construction Materials. Chinese architects found a way out here too. Using sand and gravel, which were 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 on the principle of “a fortress within a fortress.” 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 Chinese Great Wall lasted for many years, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, but played important role in the history of the construction of modern China. Opinions differ about the need to build the Great Wall of China. Not everyone is sure that it was worth such human sacrifices. However, there is hardly anyone who does not recognize that this structure is one of the greatest buildings in the entire 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 examine the wall meter by meter, the data still varies.

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 the length of the Great Wall of China is more than 21,000 kilometers. 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 Great Wall of China is 6 meters, while the height of the towers reaches 10 meters. Truly a grandiose 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 clashes 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 above map 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.

The Great Wall of China from satellite

The question of whether the wall is visible from satellite is causing lively debate. The overwhelming 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 question upon his return to Earth was whether the wall was visible from space? He answered in the negative.

If you want to take a look at the Great Wall of China from a satellite, the image below gives you the opportunity to do so.