Great Wall of China: history, length, space

The Great Wall of China is an impressive structure that is considered one of the seven wonders of the world. We present some interesting facts about the wall

The Great Wall of China: length and history

The Great Wall of China is one of the landmarks of China and is also known there as the infinite wall, the “10,000 Li Wall”. It is a whopping 21,196.18 kilometers long, although it is not one continuous wall, but extends over several sections and locations.

• The origins of the Great Wall of China date back to the 7th century BC, but the parts that remain today are around 400 to 700 years old. The reason for building the wall: the Chinese people wanted to protect themselves from the peoples from the north.

• During the Warring States period, these walls were extended further as the Chinese people fought amongst themselves. The first Chinese emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, had more and more sections of wall built to protect his people from the Xiongnu from the north.

• However, the most famous sections of the Great Wall of China were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). The wall was reinforced and extended to protect the Chinese empire from repeated invasions by Mongolian and Manchurian tribes. Even then, the wall reached an impressive length and height and was reinforced with watchtowers, fortresses and other defenses.

5 facts about the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World – more precisely, the longest section of the wall. It can be found between Yumenguan, Yangguan and Shanhaiguan and measures 3,460 kilometers. But did you know these facts?

• The oldest sections of the Great Wall of China are made of beaten clay mixed with straw and rice. This “sticky rice” is considered to be the reason for the wall’s stability. Other parts were built with stones, bricks, wood, earth and other materials.

• Around 400,000 people died during the construction of the Great Wall of China. However, the fact that the bodies were allegedly built into the wall is one of the myths that has not been proven.

• The construction of the Great Wall of China took a total of 2,000 years. In each dynasty, further sections were built to complete the wall.

• Another myth is that you can see the Great Wall of China from space. Unfortunately, this is not true, as no structure on Earth can be seen from space with the naked eye – not even from the International Space Station (ISS), which is around 400 kilometers away from us.

• The Wall has been a World Heritage Site since 1987 and since 2006 it has been forbidden to remove Wall stones and reuse them for private purposes. Previously, residents liked to tear down parts of the wall when it was in the way and use the stones to build their own houses