The Great Wall of China

What is the Great Wall of China? The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shihuangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty The emperor connected and extended four old defensive walls along the northern part of China. Signal fires from the Wall provided early warning of an attack. Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic tribes like the Mongols and Huns.

How Big is the Great Wall of China? The Great Wall is one of the largest construction projects ever completed stretching across northern China. It eventually was over 4,000 miles long. Its thickness ranged from about 15 to 30 feet and was up to 25 feet tall. For over 1,500 years it was constantly being renovated. During the Ming dynasty cannons and watchtowers were added to the Great Wall.

Fun Fact At its peak, the Great Wall was guarded by more than one million men.

How was the Great Wall built? Originally it was constructed of rocks, wood, and packed-earth or any other resources workers could find nearby. It wasn’t until the Ming dynasty that bricks were used. The portions of the wall that are still around today were built during the Ming dynasty. The Chinese invented the wheelbarrow and used it extensively in building the Great Wall.

Fun Fact The length of all Chinese defense walls built over the last 2,000 years is approximately 31,070 miles.. Earth's circumference is 24,854 miles.

Who Built the Great Wall? The manpower to build the Great Wall came from soldiers, peasants, unemployed scholars, disgraced noblemen, and convicts. During the Qin and Han dynasties there was a special penalty under which convicted criminals were made to work on the Wall. http://www.history.com/topics/great-wall-of-china/videos#seven-wonders-the-great-wall

Fun Fact The Great Wall of China is also known as the Long Wall of 10,000 Li (a li is approximately 1/3 of a mile).

The Longest Cemetery on Earth… There is an old Chinese saying, "Each stone in the wall represents a life lost in the wall's construction.” It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 1 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall. Rocks fell on people. Walls caved in. Workers died of exhaustion and disease. Laborers were fed only enough food to keep them alive. Attacks from the northern nomads. It is common to hear that the mortar used to bind the stones was made from human bones or that men are buried within the Great Wall to make it stronger. However, the mortar was actually made from rice flour—and no bones, human or otherwise, have ever been found in any of the Great Wall's walls. Workers who died were too far from home to be sent to family for a proper burial. Most were just left beside the Great Wall.

Fun Fact According to legend, a helpful dragon traced out the course of the Great Wall for the workforce. The builders then followed the tracks of the dragon.

Main Ideas… China’s first emperor, Shihuangdi ordered the construction of the Great Wall. The Great Wall is one of the largest construction projects ever completed. Building materials included rocks, wood, packed earth, and later bricks. Soldiers, peasants, unemployed scholars, disgraced noblemen, and convicts built the Great Wall. 1 to 3 million Chinese died while building the wall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5atoe51Ylo