The Great Wall Of China - History

One of the greatest wonders of the ancient world, the Great Wall of China was listed as a World Heritage in 1987 by UNESCO. This Great Wall was not built by one particular ruler at one particular time, but it emerged as this great sleeping dragon bordering China by the fusion of several smaller walls built by several rulers reigning at different points in the history of China. This wall chain extends to about 8,850 kilometers, stretching from the East to West of China. Thus, The Great Wall is also referred to as the "long Wall of 10,000 Li" in China.

The Wall actually runs through three different geographical regions such as the Gobi desert, Ordose Steppes where the Yellow river meanders and the mountainous regions of eastern China to the Pacific Ocean. It's quite unfortunate that certain parts of this 2000 year old heritage structure is lying in ruins or has disappeared. Time has taken its toll on this marvelous piece of work. Nevertheless, the mammoth wall still succeeds in mesmerizing the generations and will continue to do so in the future! Let's have a look at the Great Wall of China history and learn more about this ancient world wonder.

Great Wall's Great Beginnings
The genesis of the Great Wall's construction can be traced back to the time when 7 powerful states emerged together at the same time during the Spring, Autumn and Warring States Periods. The rulers of these states needed to protect themselves from the Mongolian nomads of the North, who were constantly raiding the Northern Chinese borders. The rulers had various options of protecting themselves from these nomads such as driving them out of their territory by initiating offensive campaigns, forming diplomatic ties with them and reaching a mutual consensus or building a strong, defensive wall that would keep the menace out.

Since implementing the offensive campaign idea was too expensive and risky, the rulers of those states decided to build protective walls and use earth and stones in wood frames for its construction. Guard stations and watch towers were established at regular intervals for surveillance and protection purposes. However, these walls did not manage to hold the Mongolian nomads back, simply because they were discontinuous. The separate walls built ended abruptly, thereby losing the whole purpose of acting as a protective fence.

When Did the Wall Become the Great Wall
It was only in 221 BC, that the Great Wall that we know of today was actually brought into existence. That was the time when Emperor Qin Shihuang absorbed the six of the seven powerful states and for the first time in Chinese history brought about a unified kingdom. The emperor was a wise man and identified the loop holes in the wall defense system. He wanted to protect his nation form the Huns in the north and ordered for the connection of the separate pieces of the walls. He also ordered them to build some portions of the wall, and this was how turned out to make history!

Different dynasties used different techniques to build this Wall, which is what makes this monument even more endearing. After Qin's rule, came the Hans who were also equally troubled by the irksome Huns. They also worked on the Wall's construction, with more or less the same construction techniques like the one of Qin. Following them came the Ming dynasty, which was the time when most of the parts of the Great Wall was actually constructed. During this dynasty, bricks were used as construction material, not to forget the millions of workers who toiled to erect a Wall of this height. Armed soldiers were stationed at different points to guard the borders of China. The diligent efforts put by the Chinese people centuries ago has stemmed into the pride of China!

If you happen to visit the land of China, then you definitely have to make time to visit this awesome monument of Chinese history. A trip to the Wall will only teach you so much more about the history of the nation of China, moreover, the memorable experience of walking along this Great Wall will be etched into your memory forever!