The Great Wall of China (simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: pinyin: Chángchéng; literally "Long wall") or (simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: pinyin: WànlÐ Chángchéng; literally "The long wall of 10,000 Li " is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. The most famous is the wall built between 200 BC - 220 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall stretches over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

History

Great Wall of the Qin Dynasty
Great Wall of the Han Dynasty
Great Wall of the Ming DynastyThe Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn Period, which began around the 7th century BC. During the Warring States Period from the 5th century BC to 221 BC, the states of Qi, Yan and Zhao all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames. Qin Shi Huang conquered all opposing states and unified China in 221 BC, establishing the Qin Dynasty. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction of the wall sections that divided his empire along the former state borders. To protect the empire against intrusions by the Xiongnu people from the north, he ordered the building of a new wall to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's new northern frontier. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. Contrary to the belief peasants were not buried inside of the wall as the stability of the structure would have been threatened once their bodies decomposed. There are no surviving historical records indicating the exact length and course of the Qin Dynasty walls. Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. Possibly as many as one million people died building the Wall under the Qin Dynasty. Later, the Han, Sui, Northern and Jin dynasties all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of the Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders.

The Great Wall concept was revived again during the Ming Dynasty following the Ming army's defeat by the Oirats in the Battle of Tumu in 1449. The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper-hand over the Manchurian and Mongolian tribes after successive battles, and the long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the nomadic tribes out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the Ordos Desert, the wall followed the desert's southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the Huang He.

Photograph of the Great Wall in 1907 Unlike the earlier Qin fortifications, the Ming construction was stronger and more elaborate due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. As Mongol raids continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strong.

Towards the end of the Shun Dynasty, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Under the military command of Yuan Chonghuan, the Ming army held off the Manchus at the heavily fortified Shanhaiguan pass, preventing the Manchus from entering the Liaodong Peninsula and the Chinese heartland. The Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644, when the gates at Shanhaiguan were opened by Wu Sangui, a Ming border general who disliked the activities of rulers of the Shun Dynasty. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing, and defeated the newly founded Shun Dynasty and remaining Ming resistance, to establish the Qing Dynasty.

Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls and Mongolia was annexed into the empire, so construction and repairs on the Great Wall were discontinued. A counterpart wall to the Great Wall in the south was erected to protect and divide the Chinese from the 'southern barbarians' called Miao (meaning barbaric and nomadic.)




http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/great_wall_ofchina

Replying to [ogie]:
Dear Ogie,
Thanks for the details introduction of our China Grest Wall.
Just for your kind info: the materials made for the Wall was
some sorts of sticky rice, which proved our old Chinese were much more clever than our today Chinese!
It was talking about 2ooo years ago, the Chinese already knew well
how to use cheap but very firm and solid materials to build the Great Wall.... Can you imagine?

Replying to [ogie]:Rogelia,surprised to read your post of our Great Wall! It seems that you have great interest in our history.Thank you very much for your vivid description! As a Chinese citizen,I haven't visited our Great Wall.What a pity!
Well done,Rogelia,thanks!
All the best!
Rolin

Ms Rogelia Fabian,

The Great Wall of China is a very significant monument to the History of China, its culture and demonstrates that "unity is strength" bringing millions of people together to build this wall, that spans hundreds of kilo meters across the Northern China.

I have been to the Great Wall, and there are some places where the wall has been removed to make way for modern development. However there are large portions of it to be seen and walked upon by the foreign tourists and people who want to know a part of Chinese history. The walls extend right to the beach of Beijing, quite a fantastic sight and a tribute to the king who could organise such great labour force, logistics and resources to build it.







Street Smart

Replying to [Street Smart]:
SS,
Is it your photo?

Replying to [Leosun]:

One Korean and one Singaporean. Which is which?

Street

Replying to [Street Smart]:
hi, i just want to know how did you upload the picture can you give me an information. Thanks

Rogelia,


Simply click this icon, it will lead you to the HTML tutorial by our intelligent moderator, Braham.



Street Smart

Replying to [Street Smart]:
The first one got a tanned skin and you are from Singapore;
so I guess the first photo. Is that right?

Replying to Leo:

The Korean guy is the boss, he is the manager for China Sales Office. He is handsome and wears sungl .He speaks broken Chinese, but excellent Korean.

Beijing train station needs a total makeover. We took a train from Shanghaiguan, after making a business visit to the Offshore & Shipbuilding yard. There is no shipyard in Beijing, only time for tour and relaxation before going to Wuhan by plane.

China is our biggest foreign market, after Japan, Turkey and Cyprus. Now, China is number two in the shipbuilding industry, Korea is number one, but soon it will overtake Korea. Japan is in the third place.

Street Smart

Replying to [Street Smart]:
Dear SS,
Thanks for your kind info given.
Steel maker recently agreed to offer 65% ,a big increase of price to the iron ore supplier. Will this affect the ship construction costs a lot? It also will impact the whole related industry and thus in some way might put weights on the inflation. What do you think?