The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a wall located in China, which extends over large areas of it, and is one among the most important architectural buildings within the world, and the longest wall up the year, and dates back to 2300 years. The Great Wall of China consists of several parallel walls, built over nearly 2000 years across the regions of North China and southern Mongolia, and the largest part which is considered one of the most preserved parts of the wall is one of the parts built during the reign of the Ming dynasty. It is built from a wall, with trenches and pits. Today, not many parts of the fence are left, most of which have disappeared or have been destroyed, and for its importance, it was included on the UNESCO List of Heritage and Culture in 1987 AD.

Along the Great Wall of China

The length of the Great Wall of China is 21.196.18 km and was built during the rule of several ruling chains in different eras, each of which built part of the wall using old parts of it and the addition of new parts until its total length reached the current length, and its construction period extended between The years 221-206 B.C. and even in the year 1368-1644 AD, [4] but the wall that exists today is mostly due to the wall built by the Ming dynasty that ruled between 1368-1644 AD, and the construction of the wall during their rule took more than 100 years to complete.

History of the Great Wall of China

Beginning of the construction of the fence

The construction of the Great Wall of China dates back to the third century B.C.,and lots of of the forts found within the wall go back to many years ago, before that China was divided into variety of kingdoms during the Warring Kingdoms era, and around 220 BC. Qin Shi Huang, the primary king of United China, ordered the removal of ancient forts, the merging of the traditional walls built on the northern border, and therefore the formation of a single wall spanning more than 5,000 km, in order to protect China from attacks from the north.

At the start of the process of building the Great Wall of China, the famous Chinese general Meng Tian managed it and used a huge army of soldiers, convicts, and people from the public to help him build this wall known for its size, and to build the wall, dirt and stones were used. The wall extended from Shanhegyuan Port, which is located in the Sea of China, to Gansu Province, for a distance of 3,000 miles (4828,032 km). It was about 15-30 feet (4.6-9.14 m) high, and fences of 12 feet (3.65 m) or more were above it, and guard posts were distributed along the wall.

The Wall of China throughout the ages

After the death of Qin Shi Huang and the fall of the Qin dynasty, most of the parts of the Wall of China were exposed to a bad situation, and their situation worsened. -535AD), and this dynasty reformed the existing wall to defend against the attacks of other tribes, expanded it,and then the kingdom of Bai Chi (550-577 AD) built and repaired quite 900 miles (1,448.41 km) of the wall, then the dominion of Sui for a brief period (581) 618 A.D.), but it played an efficient role in repairing and extending the Great Wall of China several times.

With the fall of the Sui kingdom and the emergence of the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), the Great Wall of China lost its importance as an impenetrable fortress, as China defeated the Togo tribe in the north, expanded after the original borders protected by the wall, and during the Song dynasty (960-1279), the Chinese were forced to Withdrawal at the threat of the Liao and Jin peoples in the north, where they seized many areas on both sides of the Great Wall of China, after that, the Yuan (Mongolian) dynasty (1206-1368 AD) established by Genghis Khan emerged, and eventually controlled both China and parts From Asia and parts of Europe, although the Great Wall of China was of little importance to the Mongols on the one hand Military fortification, however, they tasked the soldiers with repairing the fence to protect the merchants travelling along the lucrative trade routes that were built during this period.

Building the fence during the Ming dynasty

Much of the existing fence belongs to the wall built by the Ming dynasty, and the early Ming rulers showed little interest in building the fence and building border fortifications, and in 1421 AD, the capital Beijing fell to Emperor Yongli, and under his rule, the Chinese civilization flourished greatly and witnessed The period was great architectural progress alongside the Great Wall, and the bridge, temples, and structures were built, and in 1474 AD the construction of the Great Wall began as we know it today. The Ming dynasty began the processes of improving, restoring, and expanding the Great Wall.

The importance of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China had a crucial role throughout history on both the political and military sides. In the mid-seventeenth century AD, the Manchu peoples attacked Beijing across the Great Wall of China, coming from the centre and south of Manchuria, which eventually forced the Ming dynasty to surrender, Hence the rule of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912 AD, and between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries), the Great Wall of China emerged as a national symbol of China in which it was known in the Western world, and material and moral symbol of the extent of the strength of China, as well as the shield that China defended itself as a country against External interference, while today, bears a Wall of architectural importance as the leading architectural masterpiece in history; where this fence is characterized by being the only edifice built by man and can be seen from space.