History of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the largest building projects ever accomplished. It stretches about 1,500 miles from Bo Hai off the Yellow Sea in the East to the Gansu province in the West. It is so large it can be seen from space. A majority of the wall was built between 500-3000 years ago. The wall served to mark the boundary between the agricultural civilization of China and the civilization of the nomadic tribes of the north and northwest.

The Great Wall stands 12 feet wide and 25 feet tall.

The length is about 4000 miles long with a series of watchtowers standing 40 feet high and 100-200 yards apart. Along the top runs a 13-foot wide roadway. Behind the wall are intervals of permanent camps for troop guard stations. The effectiveness of the wall depended on the ability of the troops to move quickly to any point while under attack. Since the time the Great Wall has been extended, destroyed, and rebuilt, it still stands and has become one of major tourist attractions in the world.

The Great Wall was considered to be a great asset to thefirst emperor, Chin Shih-Huang-Ti, known the founder of the Chin Dynasty.

Get quality help now

Bella Hamilton

Verified

Proficient in: Asia

5 (234)

“ Very organized ,I enjoyed and Loved every bit of our professional interaction ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

He and other states of north China joined together and extended the separate walls built by earlier states to serve as a defensive barrier against the nomads, especially the Turkish tribes.

It took roughly ten years to complete and long hours of hard labor. The cost of the wall in money and lives may have been a factor in the fall of the Chin Dynasty. Construction of the Great Wall began in 400 BC. Thefirst emperor of China, Chin Shih-Huang-Ti, wanted the wall built to protect his people from Mongolian invaders. He ordered just about one million people to work day and night for ten years to build the wall. The emperor Chin Shih Huang-Ti believed that his defensive barrier would prevent invasion of the Mongolian tribes. Even though the Great Wall protected against attack from outside, its building was a cause of disconte.