Great Chinese Wall - China

Great Chinese Wall is an extensive system of fortifications across northern China. Its purpose was a defense of the Chinese territory before the Mongolian raiders. The construction of the wall was completed after three centuries of work in the 17th century. Great Chinese Wall stretches the length of a stunning 6 700 km and over poorly accessible terrain on the mountain range. The basis of the wall were the remains of various older fortifications.

The oldest segments come from the 5th century BC. They were built to defend against brigandish tribes. The emperor Chuang Čchin s'-ti-, the founder of Dynasty Qing, let built the first larger wall there. The construction workers were mainly prisoners and prisoners of war. The following dynasties expanded and enlarged the construction. The recent form was given by the dynasty Ming. The construction of Great Chinese Wall was designed to meet the local condition requirements. The base was a double wall. The space between the walls was filled with earth, stones or other material. the top was covered by tiles and each separate parts were strenghtened by watchtowers.

The Great Chinese Wall was from 7 to 8 meters wide at the foot and the height was from 6 to 10 meters. Inside the walls were the arms and food stores or connecting corridors. At some places it stretches in several lines or it creates curves and junctions. At present there are only some restored parts of Great Chinese Wall accessible to tourists. Great Chinese Wall is dilapidated and shabby at many places and its material is being used for other purposes.