Have you seen the Great Wall of China? It is one of the biggest and longest walls in the world. It is the only structure that can be seen from the space, however, it is not visible from low Earth orbit without magnification, and even then it can be seen only under perfect conditions. The Great Wall was built for defence structure that was made from bricks, stone, wood and other strong material. It is built across the historical northern borders of China to protect and strengthen the territories of Chinese states and the entire empires against various enemies.
According to the records several walls were built as early as possible in the 7th century. “The Long Wall of 10,000 miles” is the Chinese name of the Great Wall of China, it is a unique world heritage and symbol of China. The monument is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the structure was built 2,000 years ago around 221 BC. According to the archaeological surveys conducted on the Great Wall tells that the walls measuring 8,850 Km were built by the Ming dynasty with an average height of 6 to 7 meters. Every year 50 million tourist visits the Great Wall of China and it is one of the major attractions of China.
Here are some fun little facts that you must know about the Great Wall:
Some Great Wall numbers You Should Know
1. How Many Dynasties Completed The Wall
The Chinese government faced many difficulties while calculating the official length of the Wall because it was re-built several times by different rulers but finally the government came up with a legit number. The official length is 21,196.18Km (13,170.17 miles) and it took six dynasties to finish the total work of Great Wall and these periods were:
- The Spring & Autumn Period (770-476 BC)
- The Warring States Period (475–221 BC)
- The Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC)
- The Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD)
- Other Feudal Dynasties (220–960)
- The Song Dynasty (960–1279)
- The Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)
- The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
- Post-Ming History (1644–present)
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2. How Old is The Great Wall of China
Many tourists who visit the place have a common notion that the Great Wall is an ancient structure and it was built several ages ago. But the reality is, the Wall is only 2,000 years old. The idea was to create a defence Wall was of Qin Shi Huang, he united the different parts into one kingdom.
Most of the relics of the Great Wall is dated 2,300 years old and most of the structure was made in the Ming Dynasty. At the time of the Ming Dynasty, the length of the Wall was 8,851 Km and the era of Ming dynasty was 1368 – 1644, most of the structure was completed in this era. These sections that are popular with tourists are generally 400 to 600 years old.
3. How Many Collections of Wall
People around China and around the world have a perception that this massive structure was built in a single form or constructed in a regular format but this is not the correct information. The Great Wall is not a single Wall, therefore, it is a collection of Walls. There was no motive of any kingdom to construct a great wall, instead of a wall they were making collections of the wall.
Many kingdoms made walls according to them, it was mainly made for defencing or guarding the kingdom. It is basically a defence network consisting of many walls and forts built in different historical periods and time. However, some sections are destroyed and some are re-built. In some places, the Walls are built two to three times.
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4. A Rumour Completed The Wall
The one who is known as the founder or initiator of The Great Wall is Qin Shi Huang, he is known as the King who started to combine all the Walls that are built with some distance to each other. Basically, he was the first who ordered his entire army to link all the broken Walls with each other. However, all these construction work started with a rumour.
All of these started when the king wanted to rule all of China, the king established his dynasty in the year 221 BC. One day Qin Shi Huang sent a wizard to explore a way for immortality. After a lot of time and count-less empty hand, the wizard came back with a rumour that a group of people from the northern direction may attack the kingdom and will attain the throne by defeating the king. Now the king was very frightened and immediately ordered the complete army to connect the entire wall to guard the northern side of the kingdom.
5. The Wall Was Not Always Safe For The Kingdom
For so many years The Great Wall was like a barrier between the Chinese kingdom and northern nomads. The different kingdom has used the wall according to for there use, even some parts of the wall are still destroyed. Most of the parts of the walls are reconstructed but some that are very delicate & left still as it is.
According to the records in the 13th century, the Mongols attacked the kingdom and breached the Wall and entered into central China. Even in the year 1644, the Manchus entered into the Shanhaniguan due to which the Ming Dynasty was ended.
Reaching To The Wall
Most of the tourists view the Great Wall of China at various locations around Beijing. One of the best ways for the tourist to view the Great Wall is to hire a taxi or take your own car from one destination to another. There are many sections of the Great Wall near Beijing and it can be visited by public transport, however, the trip may take a long time. There are some entrance fees to the various sections of the Wall.
There are many sections of the Wall where you can visit with your family, some are listed below:
- Simatai Great Wall
- Badaling Great Wall
- Huanghua Great Wall
- Jinshanling Great Wall
- Mutianyu Great Wall
- Juyongguan Great Wall
- Gubeikou Great Wall
In the end
Therefore The Great Wall is one of the best tourist attractions for everyone. You should definitely visit the place with your friends and family and the best time to visit is in spring (April – May) and autumn (September – November). So I hope this article would have helped you in acquiring the correct information for The Great Wall of China and for more travel-related information do visit IndiaImagine.
