: Facts and Myths |
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 Image of the Great Wall from a satellite taken January 9, 2001 by NASA. Two symbolic monuments still stand at each end of the Great Wall: the "First Door under Heaven" lies at Shanhaiguan, on the eastern end, and the "Last Door under Heaven" at Jiayuguan on the northwestern end. How long is the Great Wall of China? The longest man-made structure in the world, the Great Wall, including all of its branches (and based on archaeological surveys), stretches approximately 5,500 miles (8,851 kilometers) from the Shanhaiguan Pass in the east (Hebei Province) to Lop Nur in the west. There are nearly 4,000 miles (approximately 6,300 kilometers) of actual sections of wall. 6 When was the Great Wall of China built and by whom? Most of what we call the Great Wall today was built during the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), but ancient Chinese people began building changcheng ("long walls") as far back as the sixth century BC. In 220 BC, the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, began joining these various walls into one long wall to keep out invaders from the north. It is estimated that over 700,000 workers contributed to the building of the wall, and when they died, many were buried directly in the wall. 3 What was the purpose of the Wall? Marking the traditional border between Inner and Outer China, the Great Wall was originally built to protect the norther borders of the Chinese Empire from Hun, Mongolian and other nomadic tribe attacks. 1 What is the Wall made out of? Most sections of the Wall consist of packed earth and rubble, secured by bamboo poles, and faced by bricks and cut stone. The roadway along the top was paved with cobble stone or brick, and shielded on the north by a 6-foot high barricade. A lower barricade was built on the south (Chinese) side. The roadway is wide enough for at least five horsemen ride side-by-side. How tall is the Great Wall of China? In some places, the Wall reaches a height of 25 feet, while in other sections, the height barely reaches 2 feet. The average height is 23 feet, with a width at the base of between 20 and 23 feet. 10 The height of the wall placed army sentries at a vantages point from where they could see the enemy forces from a distance and thus take counter action. How many towers does the Wall have? There are nearly 25,000 watchtowers along the length of the Wall, with an additional nearly 15,000 separate from it. Patrolling soldiers looked for fires from some 10,000 lamps to warn them of an approaching attack. 16 Why is the Great Wall of China also known as the Wall of Death? The Wall was a defensive structure, built by dictators over a long span of time. While the building materials and styles varied, the labor force was virtually the same: soldiers, prisoners and local, abled-bodied people. About 3 million people are estimated to have died while building the Wall. 3 Thousands were killed by exhaustion, disease, and injuries from rocks and cave-ins. It is rumored that Qin (Ch'in) ordered any workman leaving a crack between the stones large enough to insert a nail should be hanged on the spot. However, one rumor is not true: dead builders were not generally thrown into the wall because, after they decomposed, the void would weaken the structure. 16 Can you see the Wall from space? There has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Wall can actually be seen by the naked eye from space, probably originating with a Ripley's Believe It or Not cartoon from 1932, as well as Richard Halliburton's 1938 Second Book of Marvels, in which he stated that the Wall is the only man-made object visible from the moon. 16 When Chinese taikonaut Yang Liwei touched down after his 21-hour journey in low Earth-orbitin 2003, he was asked this inevitable question. Despite the likely pressure of national pride, he responded that no, he could not see the Great Wall. It has to do with scale - the wall is only 12 feet wide in places, so it would be a good deal easier to see, say, an interstate highway. Of course with today's technology, satellites can pick up the wall, as seen in the photograph above.
Well, the Wall was not on the original list created by the Greeks in the fifth century (they were most likely unaware of its existence), but the Wall is listed among the New Seven Wonders (www.new7wonders.com ). How much is left of the Wall today? At it's longest point, during the Ming Dynasty, the wall was nearly 4,000 miles. 19 Today only about one third of the original Wall still stands; one third is partially intact, and the rest has disappeared. Links to Legends: http://www.thegreatwall.com.cn/en/goc/goc-4.htm Read about Meng Jiangnu’s Bitter Weeping, the Legend of the Widow's Tower, the Story of the Happy Meeting Pass, the Origin of the "Metal Soup" Great Wall and the Story of Jia Yu Gaun. |
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