Facts About the Great Wall of China

For me, one of the highlights of the trip to China will be getting to experience the Great Wall of China. It is Great Wonder of the world that is not fully understood. Even before we started this journey to adopt from China, I remember always wanting to visit the Great Wall at some time in my life.

I found the following post HERE and thought I would add it to my blog as it is quite informative. Enjoy.


How Long is The Great Wall?
This depends on how simple of an answer you want. Most people quote the length as 6,000 Kilometers, which is the length of construction that took place in the Ming Dynasty. If all the walls built in different dynasties throughout China were totaled, it would exceed 50,000 kilometres.

Is it just a wall?
No, there are many sections of wall that include forts and beacon towers which may have held soldiers, weapons, grain, etc.

How narrow and wide is it?
Some sections of the wall are 20 ft wide and up to 10 soldiers can walk abreast. Other sections are so narrow that even one person walking on it is treacherous.

How tall is it?
Again, this varies, but generally 15-30 ft above the ground.

What's the highest point of the Great Wall?
A section along Badaling is over 800 metres above sea level.

Can it be seen from space?
Contrary to legend, it cannot be seen with the naked eye from space. Satellite images have recently uncovered an addition 600 miles of 'buried' Wall which were not known to exist.

How did military in different sections of the Wall communicate?
Sentry posts located every 15-30 miles used wood, straw and wolf dung to produce thick black columns of smoke. One column meant a force of less than 500, while 4 columns meant a force greater than 10,000 strong.

How old is the Great Wall?
The Great Wall was built over many centuries and many Dynasties. The first section was built under the Chunqiu Period, from 770 BC to 476 BC, the most recent section was built Ming Dynasty from 1368 AD to 1644 AD.

When did it become the Great Wall?
The wall was originally built by different states, not as a unified defense system. It did not become the "Great" Wall until the Qin Dynasty, starting in 214 BC to defend it from the Huns of the north after China's unification.

What's it made of?
Contrary to the popular tourist sections of the Great Wall near Beijing, the Great Wall is not made of brick, mortar or granite in all other sections. The Great Wall is a quilt in essence. Made from material at hand, be it dirt, sand, rocks, twigs, reeds, etc. In the plains, earth was rammed into blocks, in the dessert, sand reeds and juniper were used. For instance, during the Ming Dynasty, 300 million cubic meters of dirt were used. In the Badaling section (near Beijing), the wall is made of green and white granite stones, along with marble.

How many people made the Great Wall?
This is hard to answer. The few examples I found online can help us understand the human work force. During the Qi Dyansty a 450 KM section was built with 1.8 million people. These are just TWO brief times in histor and 2 small section... multiply by time and distance and you get the picture.During the Qin Dynasty, estimates are that 3 million people, 70% of China's population at that time, was involved in building the Qin Wall.

How many people died in the making of the Great Wall?
It is said that millions lost their lives in the building of the Great Wall of China. Something to think about as we walk on the Wall when we spend time in Beijing next year. It is a marvel, but like all marvels, there was a price to be paid. Some estimates state that 1 person died for every linear foot of the Great Wall built.