Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China (Chinese: 万里长城) is a wall that straddles the northern and northwestern border of China (People’s Republic of China), from Zhenhuangtao on the Gulf of the Bohai Sea (Yellow Sea) in the east to Gaotai District in Gansu Province in the west. Another wall was built to the south, extending from the Beijing area to Handen.

The length of the Great Wall of China is about 21,000 km, and the Great Wall of China is one of the most important World Heritage sites and was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in an international survey in 2007. The Great Wall of China has become one of the most important things that must be seen for visitors and tourists. Where people flock to it from all over the world every year.

The Great Wall of China is an outstanding and rare ancient military defense project in human architectural history. It is a symbol of the Chinese nation, and it not only demonstrates the intelligence of the Chinese ancestors, but also embodies the sweat and blood effort. It is famous in the world for its ancient history, the immensity of its fortifications, its grandeur and its strength. The construction of the Great Wall of China began during the Spring and Autumn Era and the Warring States Era more than 2,000 years ago.

The Great Wall of China is an integrated defense project consisting of defensive walls, watchtowers, strategic corridors, barracks, warning towers and other defensive installations. This defense project is controlled by an integrated military command system consisting of different levels.

Let’s take the Ming Dynasty China Wall as an example. This wall, which starts from the Yaluh River in the east and ends at Jia Yuguan Pass in the west, has a total length of 7000 km. It is divided into nine military administrative districts, and each district has a chief executive to manage it separately and is responsible for repairing the wall within the district. He is also responsible for the defense affairs of the region or for assisting the neighboring military districts in their defense affairs in accordance with the order of the Ministry of National Defense. During the Ming Dynasty, the number of soldiers stationed on the wall was about one million.

The Great Wall of China traverses different and complex geographical terrain, crossing mountains and cliffs, crossing deserts, crossing meadows and cutting rivers. Therefore, the architectural structures of the wall are different and also strange, as the wall was built in the desert areas with materials composed of local stones and a special type of willow due to the scarcity of rocks and bricks.

In the areas of the Yellow Earth Plateau in northwestern China, the wall is built with rammed earth or unburned bricks, but it is sturdy and strong no less than the strength of the wall built with rocks and bricks. And the wall was built in the Ming Dynasty, mostly of bricks or rocks, or a mixture of bricks and rocks. There is a channel that drains water at the top of the fence to automatically drain rainwater and protect the fence.

In addition to its military role, the Great Wall of China also affected China’s economic development. The direction of the China Wall is almost identical to the line between the semi-humid climate and the dry climate in China, and in fact has become a dividing line between agricultural and nomadic regions.

The first parts of the wall were built and built during the reign of the Turkish rulers, Subhio Changu. The new construction allowed them to protect their kingdom from the attacks of the northern peoples (the Mongols and the Turks). One of the rulers of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, built most of the wall, and he was also afraid Campaigns that were waged by nomadic tribes of the northern peoples.

After the unification of China by Qin Shi Huang in the year (221 BC), the pace of construction of the wall accelerated, and the works ended in (204 BC), after more than 300,000 people participated in them, the Han dynasty (202 BC) continued Then «Sui» (589 – 618 AD) construction work.

The Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD) contributed to extending and strengthening the wall, and the parts built with mud were replaced with brick buildings. The construction reached its final length (6,700 km) and ran parallel to the neighboring rivers, and its curves were formed with the terrain of the mountains and hills it traverses. The Great Wall of China was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987.

The wall was built of mud and stones, and its eastern side was covered with bricks. It is 4.6 m to 9.1 m wide at its base (an average of 6 m), becoming narrow at the top (3.7 m). Its height ranges from 3 to 8 meters. Guard towers of a total length of 12 meters were placed approximately every 200 metres. The eastern side of the wall, which extends over a few hundred kilometers, is considered the best preserved parts, while only minor traces remain of the other parts.

Despite all the efforts made by the Chinese rulers to finish its construction, the wall did not fulfill its required task in defending the country against the attacks of the nomadic peoples (barbarians). Only the conquests made by the emperors of the Qing kings, who were in turn descended from one of these peoples, allowed the country to get rid of these threats.