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  › Badaling Great Wall & Mutianyu
  › China Great Wall Tour
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China Great Wall

China Great Wall History & Great Wall Information

The Great Wall of China is a national symbol of the ancient Chinese civilization, and is listed among the seven wonders of the ancient world. It's reported that the China Great Wall is the only man made structure easily visible from outer space with the naked eye.

Earliest construction of the great wall began during the period of the warring seven states 475 - 221 BC. Walls were originally built at strategic points by different states (Qi, Chu, Wei, Yan, Zhao, Qin, Han) to protect their territories. In 221 BC when Qin ShiHuang unified China by annexing the other 6 states, he linked up the walls of the states and had the Great Wall extended to prevent invasions from the northern Tribes.

Further construction of the Great Wall took place during the ruling of the following dynasties:

  • Han Dynasty 206 BC - 220 AD
  • Northern Wei Dynasty 386 - 534 AD
  • Northern Qi Dynasty 550 - 577 AD
  • Northern Zhou Dynasty 557 - 581
  • Sui Dynasty 581 - 618

During the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the China Great Wall was renovated on 16 occasions to fend of invasions from the northern tribes. Building the Great Wall was a tremendous undertaking. About one million people, one fifth of China's population at that time were involved in the project.

China Great Wall Facts & Great Wall Information

As mentioned in the history of China's Great Wall above, the Great Wall was not just built over one period of time, but it was a construction that started back in 220's BC, continued on for over 1,000 years, and has been lengthened, connected, and renovated by many ancient Chinese Dynasties.

The length of the Great Wall stands at over 6,700 km(4,000 miles) long. Some of the granite rock slabs used to build the Great Wall were about 2 meters long, and weighs as much as 1 ton (1,000 kg). During the construction of the Great Wall, earth and bricks were passed up from hand to hand or carried up in baskets by donkeys and goats, while large slabs of granite rock were moved up by using rolling rods and hoisting bars.

Location of the Chinese Great Wall

China's Great Wall spans 5 provinces and has a length of 6,700 km. The Great Wall winds over mountain peaks, lies across grass plains, and crosses thru deserts.

The most popular location to tour the Chinese Great Wall is just outside of Beijing City - there are several very popular tourist destinations for the Great Wall by Beijing. These include:

Interesting China Great Wall Fact: By rough estimation, it's calculated that the amount of bricks and rock used to build the Chinese Great Wall would be enough to build a wall 5 meters tall and 1 meter thick around the world.

badaling great wall china

Great Wall Photo: Here I am near the highest tower of BaDaLing section of the Chinese Great Wall. The weather was beautiful that day, clear sky with almost no clouds, and you can see far off to the distance standing on top of the Great Wall.

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