The Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall of China is a strategic building of thousands of kilometers long, with a defensive role. The wall was built in order to defend the Chinese border against attacks by the nomadic people in northern China.

It is a giant construction considered relating on its volume as the world’s largest, with a controversy length; after recent data it would have a length of 6350 km, the main wall about 2400 km long. The wall was built as a system linking several pieces of different ages.

China declared the wall length and it is considered excessive to 10 000 units of length Li, considered calculating a Li = 575.5 m which would correspond to approx. 5755 km. The first portion of the wall was built probably in the second half of the fifth century BC during the Chinese Empire (475-221 BC) for defensive purposes against the northern nomads.  In 214, the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi allows to build the first part of the wall of the Yellow River as a defense against the nomadic Xiongnu people (in Europe called the Huns).

Unlike the earlier built wall that stretches in the valleys, the wall that was built just over the mountain. Because of lack of clay, it was used in the construction of the wall only stones placed in layers. Since that time the wall has always been rebuilt, reaching the maximum length during the Ming Dynasty. In 1493, Hongzhi Emperor began the construction of the wall of the Ming Dynasty, wall that served as a defense against the Mongols and greater supervision of trade routes, the central portion of the Silk Road, over the mountain with trade in a very expensive construction.

The Great Wall Of China

The mortar used was produced from burnt limestone mixed with rice starch. The interior of the wall construction used a mixture of clay sand and stone carvings. Wall thickness is very different examples of this in Beijing region, the wall has a thickness between 4 and 8 m, the ridge of the wall 8, and based on 10 m thick. Every few hundred meters towers were built, 12 feet high with the role of observation, signal transmission and storage of weapons.

It is estimated that there were approx. 25,000 also integrated into the wall towers and 15,000 towers signal that links with the capital located near Kashgar. Signal code was simple, if the abuser was observed they made fire in the tower. Giant construction of the ancient world, the Great Wall of China measured 10,000 kilometers long and it is still the longest wall of the Earth.  No one knows exactly what the Chinese state parties decided its surrounding territory waves of earth and stone.

People Visiting The Great Wall Of China

To protect the state that was unified by China‘s first emperor, Qin (221-210 BC) commanded to be interconnected fortifications built by his predecessors. This will present both east and west, a total length of 5,000 kilometers, making the longest wall that will become subsequently famous. During the next dynasty, the Han (206-220 BC), the wall was again extended to the east and west to a length of 10,000 kilometers long. Having suffered major damage over a millennium, the Great Wall was rebuilt about 6400 km during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which is fixed the capital of Beijing (the form that has been preserved until today).

Winding over the mountain and hills, deep valleys and through the wall, provided with forts at intervals looking rectangular towers of defense, has a height of 8 meters and a width of 6.5 meters. Paved with stone, was used as a strategic road and as a trade route.
Left derelict since the nineteenth century, the Great Wall was taken under government protection in 1952, was declared a historical monument of China. However, only a small portion of the wall was restored and is accessible to tourists.

The Great Wall Of China

The wall passes through the ten regions of China: Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Mongolia International, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai. With a history dating back over 2,000 years, the Great Wall is one of the most important attractions in the world, due to its architectural grandeur and historical significance. Initially, the wall was built as independent segments for different states, who wanted to defend the invasion of such migratory tribes that came from the northern steppes.

The Great Wall of China was declared a historic monument in 1952 and entered into UNESCO in 1987. The Great Wall is the monument of the Chinese nation throughout history. Visiting the Great Wall is like a comeback in history, offering guests a special attraction to each step. The building itself remains a great mystery. The Great Wall starts at Shanhaiguan Pass to the east, and extends to the Jiayuguan Pass in the west, crossing the regions of Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu.

The Great Wall of China is a core element of Chinese mythology and popular symbolism. The most popular legend tells of the collapse of a section of the Great Wall caused by Meng’s Jiangnu crying bitterly after her husband’s death. There is a peculiarity related to the Great Wall: over the years much has been speculated that this idea is the only building visible from the moon.

These rumors were so convincing that at one point they even entered the history books.
Truth, cruel, like every time something is demystified, that the wall is not seen even at 500 km from Earth, what means 0.1% of distance to the moon. So not surprisingly, no lunar astronaut has been reported that he saw the wall.

The Great Wall Of China In The Winter

The Great Wall became the border “de facto” between China and Manchuria.
Some estimates say that only 20% of the wall is in good condition today. Important sections that are un-maintained are painted with graffiti and vandalized. Other parts were destroyed due to erosion and resist materials that have been built. In some places, the wall height was reduced from five meters to less than 2 meters.

Archaeologists believe that some sections are still to be discovered. A section was even discovered a few years ago. Currently the wall is in UNESCO since 1987.11