Great Wall Facts Photos

The Great Wall was originally built in the the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC) and the Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC) over 2,500 years ago and was continued to be built in many dynasties afterwards. It was constructed by all peoples of China.

The Qin Wall was built by the first unified multi-ethnic feudal state in Chinese history. The Han Wall was the longest in length in Chinese history.

From the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Song (960 - 1279) and Yuan (1271 - 1368) Dynasties, the northern nomadic peoples established regimes in the central plains. Among them, the Northern Qi, the Northern Zhou, The Sui Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty all built Great Walls.

Most parts of the existing Great wall were built in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). It starts from the Yalu River in the east and ends at the Jiayuguan Pass with a total length of 14, 700 li (4,567 miles).

An alarming system in ancient China, the Beacon Tower integrated with the Great Wall, becoming one of the important components of the Wall. Especially in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220), the court emphasized the beacon towers so much that the walls were substituted by connected beacon towers in some parts.

As early as in the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC), China had the organized message delivering activities, that is drum talk. Coming to the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 221 BC), post carriage and delivering message by horse were developed because of the frequent wars.

The ancient Chinese weapons are divided into three groups: short weapons, long weapons and hidden weapons. As the name implies, short weapons refer to those short, light and one-hand-held weapons like sword and falchion; oppositely, the long weapons are spear, stick and broadsword; lastly, the hidden weapons are those used for assaulting.

The Great Wall of China is the most integrated military defensive project with the largest scale in the world.