The Chinese Great Wall

The Chinese Great Wall

 

Extending about 8,850 kilometers, and 80 kilometers from Beijing the Great Wall of China is indeed not a continuous wall but a series of short walls that attract millions of viewers and tourists to experience a walk over this magnificent wonder. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC (Great Wall of China - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013).

            The wall was first begun to be worked and constructed on during the Quinn dynasty. The emperor then decided that a great long wall might prevent the Mongol nomads from entering China. So between 221 and 206 BCE the king ordered the people of China to start building the wall. Under the extreme heat and under hard conditions the Chinese people were forced to leave their houses and bare the diseases and began building the wall. But the major construction of the wall began during the Ming dynasty.  Between 1388 and 1644 BCE the people in China were ordered to continue the building of the wall and again with no pay and under the most extreme conditions that claimed many lives of those working. The Chinese people, using earth and stone in wooden frame continued what their grandparents had started doing and built the Great Wall.

            Today extending for thousands of kilometers China’s Great Wall can be observed in a clear sky from the moon. It is a work of an art and a work of great dynasties. Although the Chinese Great Wall was built to prevent Mongol Nomads from entering China, it actually never succeeded in doing so. Now with the future lying ahead and with the nuclear power China has I don’t believe that Chinese people will have to worry about continuing the building of the wall. They can simply relax and enjoy the millions of tourists who visit the awesome piece of art yearly.

Since the Great Wall was build over a span of all time in Chinese history, the materials were used for build it differed according to the areas they were taken from and also according to time they at which it was built in since bricks were not used at first, so stones, earth and wood were used. These materials were often fetched from local areas at the place of construction.

Stones of the mountain were often exploited and used in mountain areas. Earth was rammed into hard blocks in the plain areas, while sanded reeds as well as juniper tamarisks were used in desert areas. Stones and bricks were used during the Ming Dynasty

 Transporting the materials was also a story by itself. Supply departments and workshops were established. Timber which was used for constructing the passes was transported from outside areas. Stones, bricks as well as mortars were often carried on men’s back and shoulders by using baskets to hold them. Other means were used to transport these materials such having men stand in long lines to pass the bricks and stones to one another. Some other times rolling logs, hand carts, basket and cable ways were also used to transport the materials in hard areas like the mountains.

Long ago in history The Great wall had many important benefits to the Chinese people during the various dynasties. It prevented outside attacks like Mongols from happening and brought new traders to come to the region of building the wall looking for better lives. As for nowadays, the wall is considered among the seven Great Wonders and it attracts millions of visitors every year as well since it is a great historical significance of the Chinese history.    

Ingenious Chinese engineers designed the Chinese wall.  During the Han Dynasty bricks were not available since the wall extended in the desert. So they solved the problem of having to strengthen the Wall by laying layers of woken reeds, applying water on the top, trampling them and then repeating the pattern again to reach the desired height. Local engineers designed height. Local engineers designed the Chinese wall. Each dynasty had its own engineers who contributed into the design.

They had selected what materials to be made and how to use them as well as the passage way of the wall. Peasants, soldiers, prisoners and also local people built the Chinese wall. The construction of the wall took place during various times and tens of thousands of builders died while working.

Problems in working on the wall were mostly the difficult working condition the people had to face. Bad weather conditions, mainly the extensive heat, starvation and water shortage. Some problems were overcome and many others remained and issue that claimed lived of thousands of people. The Great Wall of China was kind of protection from danger neighborhood. The Great Wall of China is one of the seven wander in the world so it will one of the mail place in China for the tourists to visit.

 

References

Great Wall of China - Enchanted Learning Software. (2010, January 1). ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/

Great Wall of China - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2013, April 15). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

Maynila, M. (2012, March 7). Great Wall of China: Great Wall Tours, Facts, History, Photos. China Travel Agency with 24/7 Tour Service - TravelChinaGuide. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/

Meinking, M. (2008, January 1). Ezproxy Login. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/science/docview/211861194/13D9BACFB92420224E5/3?accountid=1215

Rosenberg, M. (2013, January 1). Great Wall of China - All About the Great Wall of China. Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/greatwall.htm

What is the importance of the Great Wall of China. (2013, January 1). The Q&A wiki. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_importance_of_the_Great_Wall_of_China

 

 

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