Great Wall of China – Beyond Time and Space

Great Wall of China Facts:
A magnificent and ridged wall stretching over 25,000 kilometers long strides across the vast land of China from west to east like a huge dragon, which is called the Great Wall of China, one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Great Wall Painting

As an outstanding defense system in ancient China, the Great Wall of China embodies the fortitudinous spirit and wisdom of ancient Chinese people and the extraordinary achievement of Chinese nation in ancient engineering technology as well as China’s long history, boasting the most substantial project of its kind in the world. Initially built from the 7th century and lasting for over 2,000 years, the Great Wall is widely distributed in North and Central China, which is praised as “Spanning over 2,000 Years in Time and Stretching over 100,000 Li in Space”, and such project is very unique even in the world architecture history, so it’s listed as one of the seven wonders of the world in addition to Roman Amphitheater, Leaning Tower Pisa and Egyptian Pyramids.

Great Wall in Spring

Relevant History
A number of watchtowers were successively built by different states to defend against invasion from enemies during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring State Period and were well-linked by city walls, serving as predecessor of the Great Wall, which were enhanced and enlarged by emperors from the following dynasties.

Shanhaiguan Pass

According to Historical documents, over one million labors (taking up 1/20 of Qin Empire then) were dispatched to build the Great Wall under the order the Emperor Qinshihuagn (the 1st emperor in Chinese history) in the Qin dynasty, and it’s said that the huge project was purely done by hands instead of any mechanical facility, so countless labors lost their lives just for the cause. Most sections of the Great Wall of China we witness nowadays were built during the Ming dynasty, of which the well-preserved Badaling Great Wall boasts the best, and it wows visitors from all over the world for its large scale and magnificent style, which is not only a rare treasure of China, but it’s a priceless cultural relics for all human Beijing, becoming the pride of Chinese nation.

Great Wall

Starting and Ending Points of Great Wall
Based on historical documentations, there are 3 dynasties, during which over 5,000-meter long Great Wall were built, in Chinese history, namely, the Qin dynasty, the Han dynasty and the Ming dynasty. The Great Wall built under the order of Emperor Qinshihuang starts from Lintao in the west and ends with Liaodong in the east, the one built in the Han dynasty stretches from Hosi Corridor in the west to Liaodong in the east, while the one built in the Ming dynasty runs from Jiayu Pass in the west to Yanlu River in the east.

Author: Yang Qingwei