The stretch of the Chinese wall. The great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a grandiose structure in the entire history of mankind, which performs a defensive function. The reasons for the creation of such a large-scale building were formed long before the start of a long construction. Many principalities of the north and the kingdoms of China in general built protective walls from the raids of enmity and simple nomads. When all the kingdoms and principalities united (3rd century BC), an emperor named Qin Shi Huang began the centuries-old and difficult construction of the Chinese Wall with all the forces of China.

shanhai guan is the city where the Great Wall of China begins. It is from there that it stretches in wavy bends, skirting more than half of the borders of Central China. The width of the wall is on average 6 meters, and the height is about 10. At some point in time, the wall was even used as a good level road. On some sections of the wall there are fortresses and fortifications as additions.

2450 meters - this is the length of the Chinese wall, although the total length, taking into account all the branches, bends and meanders, is almost 5000 km. From such a large and infinite size, many legends, myths and fairy tales have long been formed, for example, one of the most common is that the wall can be seen from the Moon and Mars. In fact, the Wall of China is only visible from orbit and satellite imagery.

According to a popular legend, a huge imperial army was spent on the construction of the wall, and this is about 300,000 people. In addition, tens of thousands of peasants were accepted and involved in construction, as the number of builders decreased for various reasons, and it was necessary to compensate for this with new people. Fortunately, there are no problems with the "human resource" in China to this day.

The geographical location of the wall is very interesting in itself: it is a symbol that divides the country into two parts - the north belongs to the nomads, and the south belongs to the landowners.

Another interesting and tragic fact is the longest and largest cemetery in the world in terms of the number of burials. About how many people were buried during the construction, and for all the time in general, history is silent. But the number is certainly incredibly large. The remains of the dead are found even today.

During the entire existence of the wall, it was restored more than once: it was reconstructed from the 14th to the 16th century, and then from the 16th to the 17th. one tower to another).

As a means of defense, the wall proved to be very bad, because such a height is not a hindrance for a large enemy. Therefore, for the most part, the guards did not look at the north side, but at the south. The reason is that it was necessary to keep an eye on the peasants who wanted to leave the country, avoiding taxes.

Today, in the 21st century, the Great Wall of China is an officially recognized symbol of its country, known throughout the world. Many of its sections have been reconstructed for tourism purposes. One part of the wall passes directly next to Beijing, which is a winning option, because it is in the capital that the most a large number of tourists.

The Great Wall of China is also called " long wall". Its length is 10 thousand li, or more than 20 thousand kilometers, and in order to reach its height, a dozen people must stand on each other's shoulders ... It is compared with a wriggling dragon stretching from the Yellow Sea itself to the Tibetan mountains. There is no other one such building.

Temple of Heaven: Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing

Start of construction of the Great Wall of China

According to the official version, the construction began in the period of the Warring States (475-221 BC), under the emperor Qin Shi-Huangdi, in order to protect the state from the Xiongnu nomads' raids, and lasted ten years. About two million people built the wall, which then accounted for a fifth of the entire population of China. Among them were people of various classes - slaves, peasants, soldiers ... The commander Meng Tian supervised the construction.

Legend has it that the emperor himself rode on a magical white horse, plotting the route of the future structure. And where his horse stumbled, then they erected a watchtower ... But this is just a legend. But the story of the dispute between the Master and the official looks much more plausible.

The fact is that for the construction of such a bulk, talented craftsmen-builders were required. There were plenty of them among the Chinese. But one was especially distinguished by intelligence and ingenuity. He was so skillful in his craft that he could accurately calculate how many bricks were needed for such a construction ...

The imperial official, however, doubted the Master's ability and made a condition. If, they say, the Master is mistaken by only one brick, he himself will install this brick on the tower in honor of the craftsman. And if the mistake goes two bricks, then let him blame his arrogance - a severe punishment will follow ...

A lot of stones and bricks went into the construction. After all, besides the wall, watchtowers and gate towers also rose. There were about 25,000 of them throughout the route. So, on one of these towers, which is located near the famous ancient Silk Road, you can see a brick, which, unlike the others, protrudes noticeably from the masonry. They say that this is the same one that the Official promised to put in honor of the skilled Master. Therefore, he escaped the promised punishment.

The Great Wall of China is the longest cemetery in the world

But even without any punishment, so many people died during the construction of the Wall that the place was also called "the longest cemetery in the world." The entire construction route was strewn with the bones of the dead. In total, experts say, there are about half a million of them. The reason was poor working conditions.

According to legend, a loving wife tried to save one of these unfortunates. She hurried to him warm clothes for the winter. Having learned on the spot about the death of her husband, Meng - that was the name of the woman - wept bitterly, and from abundant tears, her part of the wall collapsed. And then the emperor intervened. Either he was afraid that the whole Wall would crawl from women's tears, or he liked the beautiful widow in her sadness - in a word, he ordered to take her to his palace.

And she seemed to agree at first, but it turned out, only in order to be able to adequately bury her husband. And then faithful Meng committed suicide by throwing herself into a turbulent stream ... And how many such deaths have happened yet? However, is there really a record of the victims when great state affairs are being done ...

And there was no doubt that such a "fence" was an object of great national importance. According to historians, the wall did not so much protect the great "Celestial Middle Empire" from the nomads, but guarded the Chinese themselves so that they would not run away from their dear homeland ... They say that the greatest Chinese traveler Xuanzang had to climb over the wall, stealthily, in the middle of the night, under a hail of arrows from the border guard...

Badaling is the most visited section of the Great Wall of China.

“A long wall of 10,000 li” is what the Chinese themselves call this miracle of ancient engineering. For a huge country with almost one and a half billion people, it has become a matter of national pride, a calling card that attracts travelers from all over the world. Today, the Great Wall of China is one of the most popular attractions - approximately 40 million people visit it every year. In 1987, the unique object was included in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage.

Locals still like to repeat that the one who did not climb the wall is not a real Chinese. This phrase, uttered by Mao Zedong, is perceived as a real call to action. Despite the fact that the height of the structure is about 10 meters with a width of 5-8 m in different sections (not to mention not very convenient steps), there are no fewer foreigners who want to feel like true Chinese even for a moment. In addition, a magnificent panorama of the surroundings opens up from a height, which you can admire endlessly.

You involuntarily wonder how harmoniously this creation of human hands fits into the natural landscape, making up a single whole with it. The explanation of the phenomenon is simple: the Great Wall of China was laid not in the desert, but next to hills and mountains, spurs and deep gorges, smoothly bending around them. But why did the ancient Chinese need to build such a large and extended fortification? How did the construction go and how long did it last? These questions are asked by everyone who was lucky enough to visit here at least once. Answers to them have long been received by researchers, and we will dwell on the rich historical past of the Great Wall of China. She herself leaves an ambiguous impression on tourists, since some sections are in excellent condition, while others are completely abandoned. Only this circumstance in no way detracts from the interest in this object - rather, on the contrary.

The history of the construction of the Great Wall of China

In the III century BC, one of the rulers of the Celestial Empire was Emperor Qing Shi Huang. His era was during the Warring States period. It was a difficult and controversial time. The state was threatened from all sides by enemies, especially the aggressive Xiongnu nomads, and it needed protection from their treacherous raids. Thus was born the decision to build an impregnable wall - high and long, so that no one could disturb the peace of the Qin empire. At the same time, this building should have been, to put it modern language, demarcate the boundaries of the ancient Chinese kingdom and promote its further centralization. The wall was also intended to solve the issue of “the purity of the nation”: by fencing off the barbarians, the Chinese would be deprived of the opportunity to enter into marriage relations with them and have children together.

The idea of ​​building such a grandiose border fortification was not born out of the blue. There have already been precedents. Many kingdoms - for example, Wei, Yan, Zhao and the already mentioned Qin - tried to build something similar. The Wei state erected its wall around 353 BC. e .: adobe construction separated it from the kingdom of Qin. Later, this and other border fortifications were connected to each other, and they formed a single architectural ensemble.

The construction of the Great Wall of China started along the Yingshan, a mountain range in Inner Mongolia, in northern China. The emperor appointed commander Meng Tian to coordinate its course. The work ahead was large. Previously built walls had to be strengthened, connected with new sections and lengthened. As for the so-called "inner" walls, which served as borders between separate kingdoms, they were simply demolished.

The construction of the first sections of this grandiose object took a total of a decade, and the construction of the entire Great Wall of China stretched for two millennia (according to some evidence, even as much as 2,700 years). At its various stages, the number of people simultaneously involved in the work reached three hundred thousand. In general, the authorities attracted (more precisely, forced) about two million people to join them. These were representatives of many social strata: slaves, peasants, and military personnel. The workers worked in inhuman conditions. Some died from overwork as such, others became victims of severe and incurable infections.

To comfort, at least relative, did not have the area itself. The construction ran along the mountain ranges, skirting all the spurs extending from them. The builders moved forward, overcoming not only high rises, but also many gorges. Their sacrifices were not in vain - at least from the point of view of today: it was precisely such a landscape of the area that determined the unique appearance of the miracle building. Not to mention its size: on average, the height of the wall reaches 7.5 meters, and this is without taking into account the rectangular battlements (with them all 9 meters are obtained). Its width is also not the same - at the bottom 6.5 m, at the top 5.5 m.

The Chinese in everyday life call their wall "earth dragon". And it is by no means accidental: at the very beginning, any materials were used in its construction, primarily rammed earth. It was done like this: first, shields were woven from reeds or rods, and clay, small pebbles and other improvised materials were pressed in layers between them. When Emperor Qin Shi Huang took over, they began to use more reliable stone slabs, which were laid right next to each other.

Surviving sections of the Great Wall of China

However, not only the variety of materials determined the heterogeneous appearance of the Great Wall of China. The towers also make it recognizable. Some of them were built before the wall itself appeared, and were built into it. Other elevations appeared simultaneously with the stone "border". It is not difficult to determine which were before and which were erected after: the first ones have a smaller width and are located at an unequal distance, while the second organically fit into the building and are exactly 200 meters apart from each other. They were usually erected rectangular, in two floors, equipping upper platforms with loopholes. Observation of enemy maneuvers, especially when they were advancing, was carried out from signal towers located here, on the wall.

When the Han Dynasty came to power, ruling from 206 BC to 220 AD, the Great Wall of China was expanded westward to Dunhuang. During this period, the object was equipped with a whole line of watchtowers that went deep into the desert. Their purpose is to protect caravans with goods, which often suffered from nomadic raids. To this day, mainly sections of the wall, erected in the era of the Ming dynasty, which ruled from 1368 to 1644, have survived. They were built mainly from more reliable and durable materials- stone blocks and bricks. Over the three centuries of the reign of the named dynasty, the Great Wall of China "grew" significantly, stretching from the coast of the Bohai Bay (Shanhaiguan outpost) to the border of modern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Gansu Province (Yumenguan Outpost).

Where does the wall begin and end?

The man-made border of Ancient China originates in the north of the country, in the city of Shanghai-guan, located on the shores of the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea, which once had strategic importance on the borders of Manchuria and Mongolia. This is the easternmost point of the 10,000 Li Long Wall. The Laoluntou tower is also located here, it is also called the “dragon's head”. The tower is also notable for being the only place in the country where the Great Wall of China is washed by the sea, and it itself deepens into the bay by as much as 23 meters.

The westernmost point of the monumental structure is located in the vicinity of the city of Jiayuguan, in the central part of the Celestial Empire. Here is the Great Wall of China the best way. This site was built back in the 14th century, so it might not stand the test of time either. But it survived due to the fact that it was constantly strengthened and repaired. The westernmost outpost of the empire was built near Jiayuyoshan Mountain. The outpost was equipped with a moat and walls - internal and semicircular external. There are also main gates located on the western and eastern sides of the outpost. The Yuntai Tower stands proudly here, considered by many almost as a separate attraction. Inside, Buddhist texts and bas-reliefs of ancient Chinese kings are engraved on the walls, which arouse the constant interest of researchers.

Myths, legends, interesting facts

For a long time it was believed that the Great Wall of China could be seen from space. Moreover, this myth was born long before the flights to low Earth orbit, in 1893. Not even an assumption, but a statement was made by The Century magazine (USA). Then they returned to this idea in 1932. Robert Ripley, a well-known showman at the time, claimed that the structure could also be seen from the moon. With the advent of the era of spaceflight, these claims were largely refuted. According to NASA experts, the object is barely visible from the orbit, from which to the Earth's surface is about 160 km. The wall, and then with the help of strong binoculars, was able to see the American astronaut William Pogue.

Another myth takes us directly to the time of the construction of the Great Wall of China. An ancient legend says that as a cementing mortar that held the stones together, they allegedly used prepared from human bones powder. It was not necessary to go far for “raw materials” for him, given that many workers died here. Luckily, this is just a legend, albeit a creepy one. The ancient masters really prepared the adhesive solution from powder, only the basis of the substance was ordinary rice flour.

There is a legend that a great fiery Dragon paved the way for the workers. He also indicated in which areas the wall should be erected, and the builders steadily followed in his footsteps. Another legend tells of a farmer's wife named Men Jing Niu. Upon learning of the death of her husband at the construction site, she came there and began to cry inconsolably. As a result, one of the sites collapsed, and the widow saw the remains of her beloved under it, which she was able to take and bury.

It is known that the Chinese invented the wheelbarrow. But few people know that they were prompted by the construction of a grandiose facility that had begun: the workers needed convenient fixture, with which it would be possible to transport building materials. Some sections of the Great Wall of China, which were of exceptional strategic importance, were surrounded by protective ditches filled with water or left in the form of ditches.

Great Wall of China in winter

Sections of the Great Wall of China

Several sections of the Great Wall of China are open for tourists to visit. Let's talk about some of them.

The closest outpost to Beijing, the modern capital of the PRC, is Badaling (it is also one of the most popular). It is located north of the Juyongguan pass and is only 60 km from the city. It was built in the era of the ninth Chinese emperor - Hongzhi, who ruled from 1487 to 1505. Along this section of the wall are signal platforms and watchtowers, which open great view if you climb to its highest point. In this place, the height of the object reaches an average of 7.8 meters. The width is sufficient for 10 pedestrians or 5 horses to pass.

Another outpost quite close to the capital is called Mutianyu and is located 75 km from it, in Huaizhou, the urban subordination area of ​​Beijing. This section was built during the reign of the Longqing (Zhu Zaihou) and Wanli (Zhu Yijun) emperors of the Ming Dynasty. At this point, the wall takes a sharp turn towards the northeastern regions of the country. The local landscape is mountainous, there are many steep slopes and cliffs. Zastava is notable for the fact that three branches of the “great stone border” converge at its southeastern tip, and at a 600-meter height.

One of the few sites where the Great Wall of China has been preserved almost in its original form is Simatai. It is located in Gubeikou Village, 100 km northeast of Miyun County, Beijing Municipality. This section stretches for 19 km. In its southeastern part, which still impresses with its impregnable view even today, there are partially preserved observation towers (14 in total).

The steppe section of the wall originates from the Jinchuan Gorge - this is east of the county town of Shandan, in the Zhangye district of Gansu province. In this place, the structure stretches for 30 km, and its height varies between 4-5 meters. In ancient times, the Great Wall of China was supported on both sides by a parapet that has survived to this day. The gorge itself deserves special attention. At a height of 5 meters, if you count from its bottom, you can see several carved hieroglyphs right on a rocky cliff. The inscription translates as "Jinchuan Citadel".

In the same province of Gansu, north of the Jiayuguan outpost, at a distance of only 8 km, there is a steep section of the Great Wall of China. It was built during the Ming period. He received this view due to the specifics of the local landscape. The bends of the mountainous terrain, which the builders had to take into account, “lead” the wall to a steep descent right into the crevice, where it goes straight. In 1988, the Chinese authorities restored this site and opened it to tourists a year later. From the watchtower you have a magnificent panorama of the surroundings on both sides of the wall.

Steep section of the Great Wall of China

The ruins of the Yangguan outpost are located 75 km southwest of the city of Dunhuang, which in ancient times served as a gateway to the Celestial Empire on the Great Silk Road. In the old days, the length of this section of the wall was approximately 70 km. Here you can see impressive heaps of stones and earthen ramparts. All this leaves no doubt: there were at least a dozen watch and signal towers here. However, they have not survived to our time, except for the signal tower north of the outpost, on Mount Dundun.

The section known as the Wei Wall originates in the town of Chaoyuandong (Shaanxi Province), located on the west coast of the Changjian River. Not far from here is the northern spur of one of the five sacred mountains of Taoism - Huashan, belonging to the Qinling Range. From here, the Great Wall of China moves towards the northern regions, as evidenced by its fragments in the villages of Chengnan and Hongyan, of which the former is best preserved.

Measures to save the wall

Time did not spare this unique architectural object, which many call the eighth wonder of the world. The rulers of the Chinese kingdoms did everything in their power to counteract the destruction. However, from 1644 to 1911 - the period of the Manchu Qing Dynasty - the Great Wall was practically abandoned and suffered even more destruction. Only the Badaling section was maintained in order, and that because it was located near Beijing and was considered the “front gate” to the capital. History, of course, does not tolerate the subjunctive mood, but if it were not for the betrayal of the commander Wu Sangui, who opened the gates of the Shanhaiguan outpost to the Manchus and let the enemy through, the Ming dynasty would not have fallen, and the attitude towards the wall would have remained the same - careful.

Deng Xiaoping, the founder of economic reforms in the PRC, paid great attention to the preservation historical heritage countries. It was he who initiated the restoration of the Great Wall of China, the program of which started in 1984. It was financed from the most different sources, including funds from foreign business structures and donations from individuals. To raise money in the late 80s, an art auction was even held in the capital of the Celestial Empire, the course of which was widely covered not only in the country itself, but also by the leading television companies in Paris, London and New York. A lot of work was done with the proceeds, but the sections of the wall that are far from the tourist centers are still in a deplorable state.

On September 6, 1994, the thematic Museum of the Great Wall of China was inaugurated in Badaling. Behind a building that resembles a wall with its appearance, she herself is located. The institution is intended to popularize the great historical and cultural heritage this, without exaggeration, a unique architectural object.

Even the corridor in the museum is stylized under it - it is distinguished by its sinuousness, along its entire length there are “passages”, “signal towers”, “fortresses”, etc. The tour makes you feel as if you are traveling along the real Great Wall of China: so everything is well thought out and realistic.

Note to tourists

There are two funiculars on the Mutianyu section, the longest of the completely restored fragments of the wall, located 90 km north of the capital of China. The first is equipped with closed cabins and is designed for 4-6 people, the second is an open lift, similar to ski lifts. Those suffering from acrophobia (fear of heights) are better off not taking risks and prefer a walking tour, which, however, is also fraught with difficulties.

Climbing the Great Wall of China is easy enough, but the descent can turn into real torture. The fact is that the height of the steps is not the same and varies between 5-30 centimeters. You should go down them with the utmost care and it is advisable not to stop, because after a pause it is much harder to resume the descent. One tourist even calculated: climbing the wall at its lowest point involves overcoming 4,000 (!) steps.

Time to visit how to get to the Great Wall of China

Tours to the Mutianyu site from March 16 to November 15 are held from 7:00 to 18:00, in other months - from 7:30 to 17:00.

The Badaling site is available for visits from 6:00 to 19:00 at summer period and from 7:00 to 18:00 in winter.

You can get acquainted with the Symatai site in November-March from 8:00 to 17:00, in April-November - from 8:00 to 19:00.

A visit to the Great Wall of China is provided both as part of excursion groups and individually. In the first case, tourists are delivered by special buses, which usually depart from Beijing's Tiananmen Square, Yabaolu and Qianmen streets, in the second, at the service of inquisitive travelers public transport or a private car with a driver hired for the day.

The first option is suitable for those who are in China for the first time and do not know the language. Or vice versa, who know the country and those who speak Chinese, but at the same time want to save money: group tours are relatively inexpensive. But there are also costs, namely the significant duration of such tours and the need to focus on other members of the group.

Public transport to get to the Great Wall of China is usually used by those who know Beijing well and at least speak and read Chinese. A trip by regular bus or train will cost less than even the most attractive group tour. There is also a time saving: an independent tour will allow you not to be distracted, for example, by visiting numerous souvenir shops, where guides love to take tourists so much in the hope of earning their commission on sales.

Renting a driver with a car for the whole day is the most comfortable and flexible way to get to the section of the Great Wall of China that you choose for yourself. The pleasure is not cheap, but it is worth it. Wealthy tourists often book a car through a hotel. You can catch it just on the street, like an ordinary taxi: this is how many metropolitan residents earn money, readily offering their services to foreigners. Just do not forget to take a phone number from the driver or take a picture of the car itself, so that you don’t have to look for it for a long time if the person leaves or drives off somewhere before you return from the tour.

There is no other structure in the world that would arouse so much interest among scientists, tourists, builders and astronauts as the Great Wall of China. Its construction gave rise to many rumors and legends, took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and cost a lot of money. In the story about this grandiose building, we will try to uncover secrets, solve riddles and briefly answer many questions about it: who built it and why, from whom did it protect the Chinese, where is the most popular site of the structure, is it visible from space.

Reasons for building the Great Wall of China

During the Warring States period (from the 5th to the 2nd century BC), large Chinese kingdoms absorbed smaller ones through wars of conquest. This is how the future unified state began to take shape. But while it was fragmented, individual kingdoms were subjected to raids by the ancient nomadic people of the Xiongnu, who came to China from the north. Each kingdom built protective fences on separate sections of its borders. But ordinary earth served as the material, so the defensive fortifications eventually disappeared from the face of the earth and did not reach our times.

Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (III century BC), who became the head of the first united kingdom of Qin, gave rise to the construction of a protective and defensive wall in the north of his possession, for which they erected new walls and watchtowers, combining them with existing ones. The purpose of the buildings being erected was not only to protect the population from raids, but also to mark the boundaries of the new state.

How many years and how was the wall built

For the construction of the Great Wall of China, a fifth of the entire population of the country was involved, which is about a million people in 10 years of the main construction. Peasants, soldiers, slaves and all criminals sent here as punishment were used as labor force.

Taking into account the experience of previous builders, they began to lay not rammed earth, but stone blocks at the base of the walls, sprinkling them with soil. The subsequent rulers of China from the Han and Ming dynasties also expanded the line of defense. Stone blocks and bricks, fastened with rice glue with the addition of slaked lime, have already been used as materials. It is those sections of the wall that were built during the Ming Dynasty in the XIV-XVII centuries that are quite well preserved.

The construction process was accompanied by many difficulties related to food and difficult working conditions. At the same time, more than 300 thousand people had to be fed and watered. This was not always possible in a timely manner, so human casualties numbered in the tens, even hundreds of thousands. There is a legend that during the construction of all the dead and dead builders were placed in the foundation of the structure, since their bones served as a good bond for stones. The people even call the building "the longest cemetery in the world." But modern scientists and archaeologists refute the version of mass graves, probably most of the bodies of the dead were given to relatives.

It is definitely impossible to answer the question of how many years the Great Wall of China was built. Volumetric construction was carried out for 10 years, and about 20 centuries passed from the very beginning to the last completion.

Dimensions of the Great Wall of China

According to the latest estimates of the dimensions of the wall, its length is 8.85 thousand km, while the length with branches in kilometers and meters was calculated in all sections scattered throughout China. The estimated total length of the building, including sections that have not been preserved, from beginning to end would today be 21.19 thousand km.

Since the location of the wall goes mainly along the mountainous territory, passes both along the mountain ranges and along the bottom of the gorges, its width and height could not be sustained in single figures. The width of the walls (thickness) is in the range of 5-9 m, while at the base it is about 1 m wider than in the upper part, and the average height is about 7-7.5 m, sometimes reaching 10 m, outer wall it is supplemented with rectangular battlements up to 1.5 m high. Brick or stone towers are built along the entire length with loopholes directed in different directions, with weapons depots, observation platforms and premises for protection.

During the construction of the Great Wall of China, according to the plan, the towers were built in the same style and at the same distance from each other - 200 m, equal to the range of the arrow. But when connecting old sections with new ones, towers of a different architectural solution sometimes crash into the harmonious pattern of walls and towers. At a distance of 10 km from each other, the towers are complemented by signal towers (high towers without internal content), from which the sentinels watched the surroundings and, in case of danger, had to give the signal to the next tower with the fire of a lit fire.

Can you see the wall from space?

Listing Interesting Facts about this building, everyone often mentions that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure that can be seen from space. Let's try to figure out if this is really the case.

Assumptions that one of the main attractions of China should be visible from the moon were set out several centuries ago. But not a single astronaut reported on flights that he saw it with the naked eye. It is believed that the human eye from such a distance is able to distinguish objects whose diameter is more than 10 km, and not 5-9 m.

From the Earth's orbit, it is also impossible to see it without special equipment. Sometimes objects in a photo from space, taken without magnification, are mistaken for the outlines of a wall, but when magnified, they turn out to be rivers, mountain ranges, or the Grand Canal. But through binoculars good weather You can see the wall if you know where to look. Enlarged satellite photos allow you to see the entire length of the fence, distinguish towers and turns.

Was a wall needed?

The Chinese themselves did not believe that they needed the wall. After all, for many centuries she took strong men to the construction site, most of the state's income went to its construction and maintenance. History has shown that it did not provide special protection to the country: the nomads of the Xiongnu and the Tatar-Mongols easily crossed the barrier line in destroyed areas or along special passages. In addition, many sentinels let attackers pass in the hope of escaping or getting a reward, so they did not give signals to neighboring towers.

In our years, the Great Wall of China has been made a symbol of the resilience of the Chinese people, created from it business card countries. Everyone who has visited China seeks to go on an excursion to an accessible site of interest.

Current state and tourist attraction

Most of the fence today needs full or partial restoration. The state is especially deplorable in the northwestern section in Minqin County, where powerful sandstorms destroy and cover the masonry. Great damage to the building is caused by the people themselves, dismantling its components for the construction of their houses. Some sections were once demolished by order of the authorities to make way for the construction of roads or villages. Modern vandal artists paint the wall with their graffiti.

Realizing the attractiveness of the Great Wall of China for tourists, the authorities of large cities are restoring parts of the wall close to them and laying excursion routes to them. So, near Beijing there are sections of Mutianyu and Badaling, which have become almost the main attractions in the capital region.

The first site is located 75 km from Beijing, near the city of Huaizhou. At the Mutianyu site, a 2.25 km long section with 22 watchtowers has been restored. The site, located on the crest of the ridge, is distinguished by the very close construction of the towers to each other. At the foot of the ridge there is a village where private and excursion transport stops. You can get to the top of the ridge on foot or by using the funicular.

The closest to the capital is the Badaling section, they are separated by 65 km. How to get here? You can come by sightseeing or scheduled bus, taxi, private car or train express. The length of the accessible and restored section is 3.74 km, the height is about 8.5 m. You can see everything interesting in the vicinity of Badaling while walking along the crest of the wall or from the cable car cabin. By the way, the name "Badalin" is translated as "giving access in all directions." During the 2008 Olympics, the finish line of the group road cycling race was located near Badaling. Every year in May, a marathon is organized, in which participants need to run 3800 degrees and overcome ups and downs, running along the ridge of the wall.

The Great Wall of China was not included in the list of "Seven Wonders of the World", but the modern public included it in the list of "New Wonders of the World". In 1987, UNESCO took the wall under its protection as a World Heritage Site.

The Great Wall of China - to this day, this architectural structure impresses with its mighty grandeur and deservedly takes the place of the largest and most ancient architectural monument on the entire planet. The structure stretches across China for 8851.8 km. One of the gaps of the structure runs very close to Beijing. Most likely, each of us has heard about this miracle of architectural thought, but not everyone knows what history the wall went through during its construction. The construction of the Great Wall of China can shock any historian with its scale. Today, our travel site invites you to immerse yourself in the history of the construction of the Wall, as well as learn new interesting facts that largely influenced the progress of work and the current appearance of the structure.

Most likely, you cannot even imagine correctly how much time and resources were spent to create such a huge architectural object. And how many people suffered and died during the construction of the Wall - these are just huge numbers. Nowhere else in the world is there a structure that, in its length, can compete with the Great Chinese wall.

Construction history

The study of the Great Wall of China will not be complete if we do not delve into the history of the creation of this powerful structure. They began to build the Wall in the distant years of the 3rd century BC. In those turbulent times, the country was ruled by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, who was a descendant of the Qin dynasty. The period of his reign was the years of the Warring States (475 - 221 BC).

For the state, this period of history was very dangerous, since the nomadic people of the Xiongnu regularly carried out their raids. Of course, their members were not the only ones who did not mind taking easy money. Then it was decided to build a huge fence that would enclose the state and protect it reliably. More than a fifth of the population of all of China was called to build the wall. In those years it was about one million people.

The Great Wall had one of its main tasks to protect the subjects of the "Celestial Empire" from the fact that they would be involved in a nomadic lifestyle. It could also guarantee the absence of assimilation with the barbarians. At that time, China had only just begun its formation into one state out of many small ones conquered by it. It was critically important to designate and protect their territories and possessions. The wall was supposed to be that help that would help unite and keep the empire as one. The boundaries of the wall on the map can be indicated by the following scheme:

Year 206 BC. The Han dynasty comes to power, and it was during this period that the Wall conquered new numbers in length. To the west, it is increased to Dunhuang. A large number of guard armed towers are erected on the structure to protect trade caravans from attacks by nomads. Of course, not all sections of the great wall have survived to this day, but most of those sections that nevertheless appear to us today belonged to the Ming dynasty, which ruled from 1368 to 1644. It is during this period that the structure becomes the most durable, as it is already being built from bricks and concrete blocks. During this period, the wall runs from east to west from the territory of Shanhaiguan on the coast of the Yellow Sea up to the lands of Yumenguan, which are located on the border with Gansu province.

In 1644, the Qing Dynasty from Manchuria came to power. Representatives of this dynasty had conflicting opinions about the need for the existence of this structure. During the Qing period, the Great Wall was more destroyed than during the reign of other dynasties. This factor was affected by its influence and time as well. small plot from Beijing to Badaling was used as a gate that opened the entrance to the capital. This area is the best preserved. Today, this particular segment of the structure is the most popular among tourists from all over the world. It has been open to the public since the distant 1957. It will be interesting that this section also served as the finish line for cyclists who took part in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In 1899, the United States wrote that the remaining section of the wall would be completely dismantled, and a freeway would be built in its place. The wall was visited by President of the United States of America Richard Nixon.

Great Wall today

Yes, at a certain period of the last century, it was really decided to dismantle the Wall, but after rethinking the situation a little, the government decided, on the contrary, to reconstruct the wall and leave it as a legacy Chinese history.

In 1984, the architect Deng Xiaoping organized a fundraiser that was needed to carry out work to return the wall to its former glory. Funds were attracted from both Chinese and foreign investors. Funds for restoration were collected even from ordinary private individuals, so everyone could contribute to the history of the restoration of a unique architectural heritage.

Let's stop for a second now and think about the next sentence for a moment. The length of the Great Wall of China is 8,851 kilometers and 800 meters! Think about this number! It is simply unbelievable how such a giant could be built by human hands.

In China, very active, and sometimes even aggressive methods are Agriculture. For this reason, since the 1950s, the waters that provided the bowels of the earth began to dry up in the country. As a result, the entire region has become a place where very gusty and strong sandstorms originate. It is because of these factors that today more than 60-kilometer section of the Wall in northwest China is subject to severe erosion and active destruction. 40 kilometers of the section have already been destroyed, and only 10 kilometers still remain in place. However, the impact of the elements and natural factors also changed the height of the wall in some sections. Where previously the wall reached 5 meters, now it does not exceed 2 meters.

In 1987, the Wall was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It has rightfully taken its place in the category of the greatest historical sights of China. By the way, today this area is one of the most visited in the world. More than 40 million tourists choose this point on the map as the main object of their travels.

Of course, such a significant architectural structure could not but leave its traces throughout the history of the state and the planet as a whole. There are many legends and superstitions around the Wall to this day. For example, there is a version that the wall was built in one piece in just one go. However, if we turn to the facts, then it immediately turns out that this is just a myth. In fact, the wall is not something that in one go - it was built even by different dynasties. In addition, the works were erected separate sections certain length. The length of the section was determined by various factors, taking into account the relief, weather conditions and other factors. They built it as reliably as possible in order to secure and protect China from the north.

All the dynasties that built the wall created their own specific area, which eventually united with the previous already the next dynasty. All this happened in different times sometimes separated by decades. For the period of turbulent times in which the wall was built, such defensive structures were an objective necessity, they were built everywhere. If we reduce all the defensive structures of China over the past 2000 years into one statistic, then we get a figure in the region of 50 thousand kilometers.

The wall, as I have already described above, had discontinuous segments in many places. As a result, in 1211 and 1223, this was used by Genghis Khan and his Mongol invaders, who eventually took possession of the entire northern part of the country. Until 1368, the Mongols were the rulers of China, but the representatives of the Ming dynasty expelled them by fasting.

In the framework of this paragraph, let us dispel another common myth. No matter what anyone says, the Great Wall of China is not visible from space. This assumption or just fiction came to light in 1893. Then the magazine The Centuries (Centuries) was published in America, and such a fact was mentioned there. Later in 1932, noumenon Robert Ripley stated that the Wall was visible from space, namely from the Moon. This fact was amusing, considering that there were still many decades before the first landing of a man on Ken. Today, space has already been explored to some extent, and our cosmonauts and satellites can provide high quality photos from orbit. see for yourself, it is quite difficult to notice the wall from space.

You can also hear about the wall that the mortar used to fasten the bricks was based on a powder based on the bones of the dead workers of this construction site. And the remains of the bodies were buried right inside the wall. Thus, the structure allegedly became stronger. But in fact, none of this happened, the wall was built using standard methods for those times, and ordinary rice flour was used to make the bonding solution.

For obvious reasons, this miracle was not included in the 7 ancient wonders of the world, but the Great Wall of China is rightfully included in the list of 7 new wonders of the world. Another legend says that a large fire dragon paved the way for the workers, indicating where to build the wall. Builders subsequently followed in his footsteps

There is also a legend that will tell us about a big dragon that showed the way for the builders with his flames. As a result, the workers followed in his footsteps, and the fire of their dragon's mouth cleared the way for them. What's most interesting about this story is that it's actually true. We managed to find a photo of this dragon and even find out which zoo it ended up in:

Okay, let's admit, nevertheless, that this is simply one of the mythical legends that have neither common sense nor logical justification. The photo is just a drawing. mythical creature- dragon.

But there is no doubt that today the Great Wall of China deservedly takes its place of honor in the list of "7 new wonders of the world."

The most famous legend associated with the Wall of China is the tale of the girl Meng Jing Niu, who was simply a farmer's wife. She was involved in the construction of the Wall. The wife, who was stricken with grief, came at night to the wall and wept over it until the reading cracked and showed the girl the bones of her lover. In the end, the girl was able to bury them.

Here, on the ground, there was a certain custom of burying people who died during the construction. The family members of the one who died here carried a coffin crowned with a white rooster. The crowing of the rooster was supposed to keep the spirit of the deceased awake. This must have continued until the procession with the coffin crossed the Wall. There were legends that if the ceremony was not completed, or completed with violations, then the spirit would remain here forever and wander along the wall.

For the period when the wall was being built for all prisoners in the state and all the unemployed, there was only one measure of punishment. Send everyone to build the Great Wall! This period especially needed the protection of external borders, so drastic measures had to be taken.

This construction gave the heritage of the Chinese people many useful inventions. So, it was here and for the purposes of construction that the same wheelbarrow was invented, which is used today everywhere at construction sites. Vulnerable areas during the construction of the Wall were surrounded by a moat, which was filled with water, or simply remained in the form of an abyss. Among other things, the people of China also used advanced weaponry for defense. These were hammers, and spears, and crossbows, axes. But the main advantage of the Chinese was their main invention - gunpowder.

Observation platforms were erected everywhere along the wall at equal intervals, which served to monitor the area and protect trade caravans. if danger approached, the sentinel at the top lit a torch or dropped a flag, after which the troops were put on alert. Lookout towers also served as storage for provisions and ammunition. The famous trade route, the Silk Road, ran along the wall. He was also guarded from the top of the wall.

The wall has seen many bloody battles, he saw his own last Stand. It happened in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese war. The wall still bears many scars from the bullets of those battles.

The Great Wall of China, though not the highest building, but its height at its maximum point reaches 1534 meters. This place is located near Beijing. But the lowest point dropped to sea level near the coast of Laolongtu. If we start from average values, then the height of the wall is 7 meters, and the width in the most spacious areas is 8 meters. But on average more often from 5 to 7 meters.

Today, the Chinese government is spending billions of dollars to strengthen and maintain great wall. Today, for the country, the mighty Wall is not just a structure. It is a symbol of cultural pride, a symbol of a struggle that lasted several centuries, and an indicator of the greatness of an entire nation.