Great wall of china

SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE

• The Great Wall of China spans over 21,000 kilometers and took over 2000 years to build.
• It involved 800 thousand laborers and was constructed to defend against Mongol invasions.
• Legends claim it's visible from the moon, though debunked by experts.
• Stories surround its construction, including tales of human bones used in its foundation.
• Ming dynasty added military fortifications, watchtowers, and roads to enhance its defensive capabilities.
• Today, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site and a top tourist destination, attracting millions annually.
• It generates significant revenue for China, with over 10 million tourists visiting each year.
• Notable figures have crossed the wall on foot, adding to its historical significance.

THE MAGNIFICIENT WALL

 Talking about man made wonders around the world, there are literally thousands of such examples where human craftsmanship transformed something into an undying historical heritage. Among these wonders, there are some master pieces, that resulted from decades of toil of millions of people. Dear readers, do you know about one such marvel, which is the largest man made structure in human history to this date. And it didn't take mere decades but centuries to get built. We are talking about the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall, that passes through 9 Chinese states, was constructed by 6 Royal families, with the help of 800 thousand laborers over a period of 2000 years.

WHEN WAS THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA BUILT?

 In ancient times, China was divided into many smaller states. Every state had built huge walls around their cities to keep them safe. From 221 BC to 206 BC, the Qin dynasty rose to power in China. Under their rule, all these scattered states unified into one big empire. During his rule, the emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty initiated the plan of building a grand wall by joining the borders of its states. For a start, the fortifications of Chin, Nao and Yan were joined in a system to build a giant wall, that was almost 5000 km long. Its strength and size kept on increasing under the following emperors. But the major part of the wall was built from 14th to 17th century by Ming dynasty. According to estimates, the Ming rulers built an 8800 km long wall. That way the total duration of construction of the great wall is 2000 years. Initially its length was estimated to be either 5500 km or 6200 km. Since it's not just a wall, rather a combination of many walls, in a 2012 archeological survey, it was discovered that its total length was 13,171 miles which means that it is 21,196 km. 21,196 km.

WHY WAS THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA BUILT?

Lying along the north of China, is the land of Mongols Mongolia In ancient times, Mongol nomadic raiders would often attack China and its neighboring regions. In 1234, the armies of Genghis Khan defeated the Jin dynasty and started the Mongol empire of China. They destroyed the great wall in the north and entered China. Never before in 14 centuries, had the nomads of the Gobi desert, established an empire on such a vast area of ​​land. Eventually they were thrown out of China by Ming dynasty in 1368 and strengthened the northern wall again. In 1420, under the rule of Ming Dynasty, the construction of the Great Wall of China was restarted.

It was during that time when military fortresses, roads and watch towers for guards were also added in the wall, so as to keep an eye on the enemy. According to experts, some 25 thousand watch towers were built; not necessarily equidistant from each other. The distance between two watch towers is very little at some places, whereas at some other places, it's more than 3 miles. These three storeyed watch towers, had chambers on top of them to keep an eye on the enemy. These watch towers were also used to relay signals from tower to another. If some place got attacked by the enemy, a smoke signal was used to alert the other towers. According to a research, signals could be sent as far as 620 miles from any tower.

CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS

 It is estimated that almost 800 thousand people worked for its construction. And that included 300 thousand soldiers and 500 thousand commoners. The materials used in the construction of this masterpiece were sand, bricks, limestone, wood and stone. However, at some points, rice batter is also used to gel the bricks together. According to another estimate, approximately 3.87 billion bricks were used in this project. It is pertinent to note that the invention of wheelbarrow also took place in that era. It's foremost application was the construction of the great wall. The Great Wall of China could weigh around 58 million tons. The wall is 25 feet high at some places while at some other it goes as tall as 50 feet. It is 15 feet at broad at some places while 30 feet at some other. To make the wall invincible around important strategic pathways, against the attacks of barbaric nomads, some secondary walls are also built out of the main wall.

 After the Qin dynasty, Han, Ming and Song dynasties also contributed to the construction and maintenance of the wall. The total expenditure in the construction of the great wall is estimated to be USD 95 billion. 95 Billions Dollars Emperor Qin Shi Huan is known as a cruel ruler. Other than building the great wall and unifying China, the emperor Qin is also known for starting bronze coins, popularizing silk, standardizing weights and measures, wielding iron weapons and tools, digging a canal and the construction of many significant highways. The emperor passed an order in 213 BC, following which, all the books, except for the ones on agriculture and medicine, were set on fire. Their writers along with other scholars were burnt alive. Hundreds of thousands of people were forcibly put into labor to build the great wall. Historians believe that emperor Qin put every third citizen of his empire into forced labor for the construction. Some 400 thousand laborers are dreadfully expected to have died during the construction of the wall. For this reason, the Great Wall of China is also known as 'the longest graveyard of the world'.

STORIES SURROUNDING THE GREAT WALL

 Many interesting stories related to the great wall are in common knowledge. The most famous one being the claim that the great wall can be seen from the moon. This theory was first presented in an article published in the National Geographic magazine in 1925. In the article, it was claimed that this man made wonder can be seen from the moon. Experts from NASA clarified that where it is possible to locate the region of the wall, it is not possible to see it from such great distance with naked human eye. It was further stated that the great wall is without a doubt the only object that can be seen at 250 - 300 km in space. Another well known story is related to the construction of the wall. It is rather famous belief that the foundations of the great wall were laid on human bones. But there wasn't much evidence to its truth.

However, human bones were found at some places. But researches believe that they belong to the laborers who died during the construction work. Besides, many folk tales also circle around the great wall. One of them is the story of a girl named Ming. Ming sets off on a quest to search his husband during the construction period. Paving her way through harsh weather and exhaustive journey, when she reached the wall, she discovers that her husband is dead. The story goes that in her woe, Ming cried so much that a portion of the wall collapsed. This is a rather well known story and many folk songs have been written about it. But that's just a story....Right?

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND MODERN PRESERVATION:

The great wall extends from Hebei province in the east to Jiayuguan in  Gansu province in the west. This fortress like wall stretches across mountains, plains, grasslands and the Gobi desert. A magnificent looking pass is also situated in Jiayuguan. The Jiayu pass and this part of the wall was built by Ming dynasty during 1539 - 1772. There's a famous story that involves this pass and a Chinese engineer. Through his calculations, the engineer estimated the total number of bricks needed for constructing the pass will be 99,999. The relevant authorities did not believe him at all. So they said that if his calculations differ even by a single brick, all the labourer would be put in prison for 3 years. However, a single brick got left behind behind the construction was complete. Upon being asked by the authorities, the engineer replied rather calmly. He said that this brick was placed there by some supernatural entity or may be some god. And that any attempt to move that brick would result in the collapse of the whole wall. Nobody dared to touch that brick after that and it can still be found there. The Great Wall of China in Present Day This masterpiece was included in UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1987. 20 years later, in 2007 the great wall was included in the list of 7 wonders of the modern world. But before that, during the cultural revolution from 1966 - 1976, the wall was badly damaged.

The Chinese living in the areas near the wall, took the bricks and stones from the wall to build their own houses. But the Chinese authorities got it repaired without any delays and brought it under the government control. China and Japan have battled a war on this wall in 1938. The war is known as the Second Sino-Japanese war. This war also inflicted some serious blows to the wall. Although the main purpose behind constructing this wall was to protect China from the Mongol attacks.

TOURISM AND RECORDS

The last decades of the 20th century has seen it become a top tourist destination. The wall was opened to world tourism for the first time in 1970. Each year hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world come to China to see the wall. According to a safe estimate, 10 million tourists visit the wall each year. The section of the wall passing by the capital Beijing is about 600 km long. That's why Beijing is the most famous tourist point for wall tourists. It is worthwhile to know that many famous world leaders have also visited the wall. More than 2500 people from around the world participate in a marathon annually held here. China reaps a revenue of about USD 15.5 billion from this tourism every year. Records Many a great people have crossed these thousands of miles long stretch on foot. This feat was first achieved by an American adventurer William Geil in 1908. He achieved this feat in 5 months. After that some Chinese adventurer crossed the wall in 1985 and 1986. Other than that, a British traveler in 1987, and many many others have walked the whole wall on foot.

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