The Great Wall Of China History

The Great Wall of China is an array of walls built over the course of 2000 years in the northern part of China. The walls were primarily built to protect China from Mongol invaders in the north. Originally the wall was built independently in distributed sections by individual tribes to protect themselves from other competing tribes. Early construction techniques of the Great Wall of China included a mixture of compacted mud and rock with wood framing. During the Qin Dynasty in the 2nd Century BC, the construction of a unified wall became a priority as the Qin Dynasty attempted to unify China and keep it protected from threats to the north. For the next 100 years, the Qin Dynasty succeeded in building a unified Great Wall of China. As threats from Mongolia waned, so did the construction of the wall. For the next 1000 years, up until the Ming dynasty in the 15th century, the Great Wall of China fell into disrepair. During the 15th century, as more and more nomadic tribes began to invade from Mongolia, a renewed effort to rebuild the wall took place. Chinese construction technology had evolved from the old mud and stone techniques used 1000 years prior and they began to use brick and mortar to build new sections and rebuild old sections the Great Wall of China. Some of the most impressive and strongest portions of the wall are around the old capitol city of Beijing. In the 17th century, during the Qing dynasty, the borders of China had extended far north of the Great Wall of China so it was no longer a priority to maintain and build.

Today, The Great Wall of China is not one long continuous wall. There are many veins that spider out and gaps in other areas where the wall has completely eroded away. There are also several sections of the Great Wall of China at various degrees of latitudes that sum up to a length of more than 4000 miles in total. Most of the construction of the Great Wall of China is in the northern portion of China, with one section extending as far as northern Mongolia and Russia. In its entirety, the Great Wall of China is the largest structure ever built by man. Some of the best restored sections and most visited sections are around the city of Beijing.

The Great Wall of China: Wonder of the World

On July 7, 2007, the Great Wall of China was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World. The others were The Colosseum in Rome, Christ Redeemer in Brasil, Petra in Jordan, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Taj Mahal in India, and Machu Picchu in Peru.

On February 15th, 2009, The Great Wall of China was voted as the 4th of 12 Wonders of the World on our own Wonders of the World Vote. The other three already voted in are Machu Picchu in Peru, The Colosseum in Rome, and The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.