How Many Years Did the Great Wall of China Take To Complete: A Chinese History

The Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the world, was originally built to protect the northern side of China. It was not created continuously, as we often imagine it being built, but it actually took over two thousand years to construct the entire surface of the wall. Construction of the Great Wall began during the Warring States Period (770-256 BC) by the Han Dynasty, unfortunately this section of the wall is still standing today, to the constant building, tearing down, rebuilding, and being destroyed again. The building and destruction of the Great Wall is very significant as it represents the ups and downs of the Chinese dynasty. Most of what we see today was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). There are no records of the exact length of time this process took or when it was finished, but it was an ongoing task throughout this time period.

War Against the Nomadic People

The main reason for building the Great Wall of China was to be used as a defense system. It was very vital to China due to it's constant turbulence throughout Chinese history. During early construction of the Great Wall, nomadic groups were a large portion of why they needed this defense system. Often times, when early nomadic people would leave one area to go to the next, they felt entitled to a particular area if they felt the area was beneficial to them. If the people they invaded refused to give them their land, they would fight in order to get what they needed from the community, such as vegetation or other necessities. They would kill whole communities if necessary. Therefore, the primary reason the Great Wall was originally constructed was to protect the Chinese people from these early violent nomadic people. As you can see this need for defense was a necessity not paranoia, but resulted in one of great wonders of the world!

The Defense

Though in order for the Great Wall to be truly effective as a defense, they needed more than just a mere cement slab blocking against violent intruders. For one, they needed watch towers, which they sat at 1500 feet intervals throughout the China Great Wall, where people could stand keeping eyes out for any trespassers. Therefore, throughout the great wall, they had strategically placed watch towers to allow the entire length of the Great Wall to be monitored. The exact number of watch towers is unknown, although we know it was well over ten thousand. During warring times, the watch towers would be manned by bowmen ready for attack. These bowmen also had a system to alert other people that they were being approached. These watch towers were home for the troops that helped guard the wall, as well as storage for the weaponry.

Aside from watch towers, there are also a number of beacon towers which serve as an important part of the Great Walls defense. There were three different types of beacon towers. One kind were built away from the wall, a second kind was built attached to the Great Wall, much like the watch towers, and the third kind could be found built right into the Great Wall. In the beacon towers there would be men keeping watch and to alert others in case of a war. To alert the soldiers they would send up a smoke signal during the day, and bright fire lights at night. Throughout the wall at regular intervals there are square holes or breaches called crenels. Crenels were used to keep watch for invaders as well as place to shoot from.

The Great Wall Statistics

Today, the Great Wall no longer serves as a defense system, but rather as an amazing piece of structure that we awe at today. Although it is untrue that someone can see the great wall from space, it is a very large structure. Today, only 6300 kilometers was well preserved, which most of it was built during the Ming Dynasty. The original great wall was over 7300 kilometers long. Although one might imagine that a structure that is that long could be seen from space, one must realize that the wall was not that wide. In most places, five horses would be able to canter side by side along the top of it. On average it was seven to eight meters high and six to seven meters wide. So you could imagine it being little less than a five lane highway. The road portion where people and horse would travel was approximately four to five meters wide.

The highest point that wall reaches is on the ridge of Yanshan Mountain. It rises one thousand meters above sea level and is one of the more famous sections of the Great Wall.The wall itself starts at the Yellow Sea wraps around the Northern side of China. The video below has some really great pictures of how far the wall reaches.

If These Wall Could Talk

Oh if these walls could talk, they have seen over 2000 years of history. They saw the warring times, the peaceful times, death, pain, victory, and joy. Their history is longer than the wall itself, which is why so many people are fascinated by it. Not only do they have the stories of the war, but of the men who built it.

Building of a Wall

Often times hauling the tools to build the wall was too great, so much of the wall was built with local tools and rocks. Much of the rock used within the wall was taken from the very mountains they stood to protect. During the Ming Dynasty they built a good portion of the wall out of bricks that they would bake in a kiln on the site of construction. Other areas they would use rectangular slabs of stones that were all carried by manpower or pack animals such as donkeys or goats.

The Great Wall In Beijing

In Beijing alone, the Great Wall measures 629 km. Beijing has been the nations capital for the past 800 years since the twelfth century; therefore, was a very significant area to protect. This may also be the reason why Beijing is home to the most well preserved portions of the Great Wall. Due to its mountainous terrain, much of the wall is built on the mountain ridges. Today, the section of the Great Wall that lies in Beijing is often thought of as the most beautiful section, which is why it is one of the most popular among tourists.

Although one would hope that a need for such a great tool of defense will never be needed, the heart and determination in those who created this fantastic monument will never be forgot. Today a wall like that would take years to construct, even though we have technology, machines, vehicles, etc on our side. Imagine the pain and struggle it took to build all 7300 kilometers of that over and over again, with much of it being constructed by the sweat and tears of thousands of men.

• The Forbidden City In China
• Dale Nelson's: 7 Wonders of the World -The Great Wall of China -China
• As for the question, Is the Great Wall Visible From Space:
• Although this guy counters that here, among other great facts. Definitely worth checking out.
  

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/construction/tower/

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