One of the greatest world cultural heritages, China Great Wall is a pearl of the industrious and ingenious Chinese ancestors' wisdom, lives, blood, sweat and tears. It had ever played an important role in protecting the northern border of China from being invaded by the northern nomadic tribes for around 2,000 years. However, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared, only some of those built in the Ming Dynasty haven been restored, renovated and opened for tourism. Among them, Badaling is the most developed, receiveing a great number of visitors from home and abroad yearly.
Great Wall Facts
Chinese Name: 长城 (cháng chéng) Alternative Name: 万里长城 (wàn li cháng chéng)
Meaning in English: Long Wall Length: 8,851.8 km (5,500 miles)
Construction Period: From the Warring States Period (476 - 221 BC) to Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)
Great Wall Q&A:
Questions and answers about China Great Wall tours, Great Wall culture, history, weather, transportation, tickets, and accommodation.
Great Wall Sections:
The greatest ancient military defensive project in the world, China Great Wall stretches for about 8,851.8 km (5,500 miles) across the northern border of China, from the Jiayuguan Pass of Gansu Province in the west, via Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Liaoning provinces and cities, to the Hushan Great Wall in Liaoning Province in the east.
Great Wall History:
To guard against the northern nomadic tribes, Chu State of the Warring States Period (476 - 221BC) built the earliest great wall named 'Fangcheng', followed by Qi, Yan, Wei, Zhao, and Qin states. Later, Emperor Qinshishuang had the individual walls of the vassal states connected after his unification of China. In the following dynasties, the wall was extended or repaired on-and-off, with that in the Han and Ming dynasties as the representatives.
Great Wall Legend:
Covering a long period of history and costing a great amount of human wisdom, lives, blood, sweat and tears, the construction of the China Great Wall produced many moving and beautiful stories and legends. Among them, the most well-known are the stories about the collapse of a section of the Great Wall in Shanhaiguan Pass caused by Meng Jiangnü's tears, and 'the sovereign rulers are fooled by the beacon fire.'
Great Wall Construction:
Since the earliest Great Wall appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th Century - 771BC), the wall has been rebuilt and renovated many times in each feudal dynasty. Because of the differences of functions, construction methods, materials, structures, and locations, the Great Walls of different sections and periods are distinct from each other.
Great Wall Protection:
China Great Wall is always compared to be a huge dragon winding through the mountains, grasslands and deserts in the northern border of China. However, owing to natural and man-made factors, its current status is not optimistic - only less than 30% remains in good condition, 30% in ruins, and over 30% extinct forever.
| Great Wall Maps |
Great Wall Photos |
|||
