How many kilometers long is the Chinese wall. How long is the Great Wall of China

From the course school history many of us know that the Great Wall of China is the largest architectural monument. Its length is 8.851 km. The height of the grand structure varies from 6 to 10 meters, and the width varies between 5 and 8 meters.

Chinese wall on the map of China

History of the Great Wall of China

In Northern China, as early as the 3rd century BC, there were frequent clashes between the Chinese people and the Xiongnu. This period of history has been called the Warring States era.

At the same time, the construction of the Great Wall of China began. The main role assigned to the stone structure was that it had to mark the borders of the Chinese Empire, and unite the disparate provinces and regions into a single territory.

In the center of the Chinese plains, new trading posts and cities continually arose. And the neighboring peoples, warring among themselves and with others, robbed and ruined them with enviable regularity. In the construction of the wall, the rulers of that era saw the solution to this problem.

During the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty, it was decided to throw all their efforts into continuing the construction of the wall. Most of the population, and even the emperor's army, participated in this large-scale historical project.

The Chinese wall was built during the reign of this emperor for 10 years. Slaves, peasants, middle-class people gave their lives to build a structure of clay and stone. The construction work itself was complicated by the lack of entrances and roads to some construction sites. People lacked drinking water and food, died from epidemics without doctors and healers. But construction works did not stop.

At first, the wall was built by 300 thousand people. But at the end of its construction, the number of workers reached 2 million. There were many legends and tales around the Chinese Wall. One day, Emperor Qin was informed that the construction of the wall would stop after the death of a man named Wano. The emperor ordered to find such a person and kill him. The poor worker was walled up in the base of the wall. But construction continued for a very long time.

The Wall of China divides China into a south of farmers and a north of nomads. During the reign of the Ming Dynasty, the wall was reinforced with bricks, and watchtowers were erected on it. Under the Wanli Emperor, many parts of the wall were rebuilt or rebuilt. People called this wall the “earth dragon”. Because its foundations were high earthen mounds. And its colors corresponded to such a name.

The Great Wall of China begins in the city of Shanghai-guan, one of its sections passes near Beijing, and ends in the city of Jiayu-guan. This wall in China is not only a national treasure, but also a real cemetery. The bones of people buried there are still found today.

As a defensive structure, this wall proved to be not better side. Its empty sections could not stop the enemy. And for those places that were guarded by people, its height was not enough to repel attacks with high quality. Its small height could not fully protect the area from barbarian raids. And the width of the structure was clearly not enough to place on it a sufficient number of soldiers capable of fully fighting.

Senseless for defense, but useful for trade, the wall continued to be built. For its construction, people were forcibly taken to work. Families broke up, men lost their wives and children, and mothers lost their sons. They could be sent to the wall for the slightest offense. To recruit people there, special calls were made, similar to how soldiers are recruited for the army. People grumbled, sometimes riots were organized, which were suppressed by the army of the emperor. The last rebellion was the last. After all, after him, the reign of the Ming dynasty came to an end, and construction stopped.

The current Chinese government has introduced a number of fines for damaging landmarks. This had to be done due to the fact that many tourists sought to take a piece of the Chinese wall with them. And natural processes its destruction was only accelerated by such barbaric acts. Although in the 70s it was proposed to destroy the wall on purpose. Due to the then political outlook, the wall was perceived as a relic of the past.

What was the Great Wall made of?

Before the reign of the Qin Dynasty, primitive building materials were used for the wall: clay, earth, pebbles. After this period, they began to build from bricks baked in the sun. And also from large boulders. Building materials were taken from the same place where the construction took place. The stone mortar was made from rice flour. This gluten reliably fastened lumps of various shapes to each other.

The Chinese wall was even used as a road. Its structure is heterogeneous. It has a different height, borders on mountain gorges and hills. The height of its steps in some places reaches 30 cm. Other steps are only 5 cm high. Climbing the Chinese Wall is quite convenient, but descending can be a risky adventure. And all because of such a device steps.

Many tourists who visited the wall noted this feature of it. It would seem that there is nothing easier than going down the stairs. But the paradox is that going down the steps different heights takes more time than climbing them.

The attitude of the Chinese to this building

During different periods of construction and reconstruction of the wall, people raised uprisings, as their forces were running out. The guards easily passed the enemy through the wall. And in some places they willingly took bribes so as not to lose their lives during the raids of opponents.

People raised riots, not wanting to build a useless structure. Today in China, the wall is given a completely different meaning. Despite all the failures, difficulties and failures that arose during construction, the wall is considered a symbol of the resilience of the Chinese people.

Modern Chinese people treat the wall in different ways. Someone feels awe at the sight of her, someone can easily throw garbage near this attraction. Most have a moderate interest in it. But the Chinese go on group excursions to the wall just as willingly as foreign tourists.

Mao Zedong wrote in his book that one who has not visited the Great Wall cannot call himself a true Chinese. On small sections of the wall, marathons of runners are organized annually, excursions are held, research and reconstruction are carried out.

Chinese wall: facts, myths and beliefs

Among the abundance of information about the main Chinese attraction, the myth that the Chinese Wall is visible even from the moon is quite popular. In fact, this myth has long been debunked. Not a single astronaut has been able to clearly see this wall with any orbital station, nor from a night satellite of the earth.

In 1754, the first mention appeared that the Great Wall of China is so large that it is the only one visible from the moon. But the astronauts did not manage to see this structure of stones and earth in the pictures.

In 2001, Neil Armstrong also denied rumors that the Wall of China could be seen from Earth's orbit. He stated that none of the other astronauts could clearly see this design on Chinese territory.

In addition to disputes about the visibility of the wall from orbit, there are many rumors and legends around this attraction. The terrible legend that the building mortar was mixed from crushed human bones was also not confirmed. Rice flour served as the basis for the solution.

Another myth says that when a farmer died while building the wall, his wife cried on it for so long that part of the structure collapsed, revealing the remains of the deceased. And the woman was able to bury her husband with all honors.

There were various rumors about the construction of this facility. Some claimed that a real fire-breathing dragon helped people lay a track for the wall, which melted the space with its flame to facilitate construction work on it.

Among other things, there is a legend about the construction itself. It says that when the chief architect was approached and asked how many bricks to make. He named the number "999999". After the construction work was completed, one brick remained, and the cunning architect ordered it to be mounted above one of the entrances to the watchtower to attract good luck. And he pretended that everything was meant to be.

Consider reliable facts about the Great Wall of China:

• The object is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List;
• Some sections of the wall were destroyed by contemporaries, because there was a need for places for new construction;
• This man-made structure is the longest in the world;
• The attraction is not classified as a wonder of the Ancient World;
• Another name for the Wall of China is the "Purple Border";
• For the entire world community, the wall was opened in 1605 by the European Bento de Gois;
• In addition to protective functions, the design was used to introduce state duties, control the migration of peoples and record foreign trade;
• Many famous politicians and actors have visited this attraction;
• The guard posts of the wall were used as beacons;
• Even today, night and evening excursions are organized on the wall;
• This structure can be climbed on foot and by funicular;
• In 2004, 41.8 million foreign tourists visited the wall;
• A simple wheelbarrow, commonly used at the construction site, was invented while building the wall;
• The final battle on this structure took place in 1938 between the Chinese and the Japanese;
• The highest point of the wall is located near the city of Beijing, 5000 meters above sea level;
• This object is the most popular tourism destination in China;
• The construction of the legendary wall was completed in 1644.

Maintaining such a huge architectural object in a presentable form is almost impossible. What influences the Great Wall of China today?

Why is the legacy of the ancestors destroyed?

For three consecutive imperial "kingdoms" in a row, the Chinese Wall was built and rebuilt several times. It was erected during the reign of the Qin, Han and Ming dynasties. Each dynasty brought something new to the appearance of the structure, betraying the construction of the structure new meaning. Construction was completed during the Ming era. The construction of the wall was one of the reasons for a large-scale uprising, during which the last representative of the dynasty was overthrown from the throne.

Today, even modern building technologies and innovations cannot stop the destruction of a huge structure. Some sections of the wall collapse on their own due to exposure to rain, sun, winds and time.

Others are dismantled by local residents to use the materials to build villages. Tourists also damage the wall. Often there are segments of the wall painted with graffiti. Stones and other parts are pulled out of the structure.

In addition, some segments of the Great Wall of China are located so far from cities and towns that there is simply no one to monitor their condition. And the costly business for the economy does not fit into the modern Chinese budget.

The Great Wall gives the impression of a structure organically inscribed in the landscape. It seems to merge with the trees, hills and steppes around, without disturbing the beauty of the places where it lies. Her colors are shades of earth and sand. When viewed from the side, it seems that the building, like a chameleon, adapts to all the shades of greenery around, and dissolves among the woody palettes of the local vegetation.

This attraction has many channels and branches. Her story is full of secrets, tragedies and mysteries. And the design itself is not distinguished by engineering refinements. But the meaning that is embedded in this symbol today allows us to say that the Chinese people know no equal in work and perseverance. Indeed, for the construction of this structure, it took millennia and millions of human hands, erecting a wall stone by stone.

The construction of the first sections of this grandiose object began in the period of the Warring States in the III century BC. e. Great Chinese Wall was supposed to protect the subjects of the Empire from nomadic tribes, who often attacked settlements developing in the center of China. Another function of this grandiose object was to clearly fix the borders of the Chinese state and contribute to the creation of a single empire, which before these events was made up of many conquered kingdoms.

Construction of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China was built quite quickly - within 10 years. In many ways, this was facilitated by the cruelty of Qin Shi Huang, who ruled at that time. Almost half a million people were involved in its construction, most of whom died at the foot of this object from hard work and exhaustion. They were mostly soldiers, slaves and landowners.

As a result of construction, the Great Wall of China stretched for 4,000 km and watchtowers were installed on it every 200 meters. Two centuries later, the wall was expanded to the west, as well as deep into the desert, to protect trade caravans from nomads.

Over time, this structure lost its strategic purpose, the wall was no longer dealt with, which contributed to its destruction. The Great Wall of China was given a second life by the rulers of the Ming Dynasty, who were in power from 1368 to 1644. It was in their times that grandiose construction work began again to restore and expand the Great.

As a result, it stretched from the Liaodong Gulf to the Gobi Desert. Its length began to be 8852 km, including all branches. The average height in those days reached 9 meters, and the width varied from 4 to 5 meters.

The current state of the Great Wall of China

Today, only about 8% of the Great Wall of China has retained its original appearance, which was given to them during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. Their height reaches 7-8 meters. Many sections have not been able to survive to this day, and most of the remaining wall is destroyed due to weather conditions, acts of vandalism, construction of various roads and other facilities. Some areas are subject to active erosion due to improper farming in the 50-90s of the last century.

However, since 1984, a program has been launched to restore this important cultural and historical building. the highest level. After all, the Great Wall of China is still architectural monument and a place of mass pilgrimage for tourists from all over the world.

The Great Wall of China stretches across the northern regions of the People's Republic of China, through the territories of 17 provinces: from Liaoning to Qinghai.

Including all branches measured in 2008, the length of the Great Wall of China in state of the art reaches 8850 - 8851.9 km (5500 miles).

According to archaeological research, the results of which were made public in 2012, the historical length of the Great Wall of China is 21,196 km (13,170.7 miles).

The measurement of the monument is complicated by the fact that some historical sites have a complex shape, are separated by natural landscape barriers, or have been partially or completely eroded, dismantled by local residents.

The history of the construction of the Great Wall of China

The construction of the Great Wall of China began in the 3rd century BC. e. - in the period of the Warring (Warring) kingdoms (475-221 BC) to protect against nomads. At the same time, the technology of erecting fortifications was used earlier - in the VIII-V centuries BC. e.

The population of the kingdoms of Qin, Wei, Yan, Zhao participated in the construction of the northern defensive walls; in total, about a million people were involved in the work. The first built sections were adobe and even earth-beaten - local materials were pressed. To create a common wall, the early defensive areas between the kingdoms were also combined.

In the first centralized state under Emperor Qin Shi Huang (since 221 BC) early plots fortified, completed, a single wall lengthened, and the walls between the former kingdoms demolished: all forces are aimed at creating a continuous fortification along the Yinshan mountain range to protect against raids. At that time, the total number of mobilized wall builders reached almost 2 million, due to harsh working conditions and poor infrastructure, the death rate was rising. The builders of that time continued to use primitive pressed materials and sun-dried bricks. In some rare areas, mostly in the east, stone slabs were also laid for the first time.

The height of the wall with such a heterogeneous landscape of the area also differed in its different segments. On average, the fortifications rose by 7.5 m, taking into account the rectangular battlements - about 9 m, the width was 5.5 m at the bottom and 4.5 m at the top. Integral part the walls became towers - built at the same time at an arrow distance from each other (about 200 meters) and early ones included in the wall in random order. Signal towers, towers with loopholes and 12 gates were also provided in the grandiose fortress wall.

During the Han Dynasty (206 BC - III century AD), the Great Wall of China was extended west to Dunhuang. According to archaeologists, during this period, about 10,000 km of fortifications were restored and built, which included new watchtowers in the desert area, where trade caravans were required to be protected from nomads.

The next described in historical sources the period of construction of the wall - the XII century, ruling dynasty- Jin. However, the sections built at this time were mainly located north of the early wall, within Chinese province Inner Mongolia and on the territory of the modern country of Mongolia.

The surviving Great Wall of China was mostly built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). For the construction of fortifications, durable stone blocks and bricks were used, and a mixture of rice porridge with slaked lime was used as a binder. During the long period of Ming rule, the fortress wall stretched from east to west from the Shanhaiguan gate on the shore of the Bohai Bay to the Yumenguan gate located on modern border Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. These strongholds from the sea to the desert are now designated as the beginning and end of the Great Wall of China.

Interesting facts about the Great Wall of China

• Badaling tourist site since 1957 has been visited by more than 300 statesmen from different countries peace. The first of the foreigners was the revolutionary Klim Voroshilov.
• Since 1999, The Great Wall Marathon has become an annual marathon on the equipped section of the wall. It is attended by 2500 athletes from more than 60 countries of the world.
• The visual distinction of the Great Wall of China from space is a common myth. The misconception that the wall can be seen from the Moon with the naked eye has now been refuted. Visibility from earth orbit has not yet been confirmed, photographs of the Great Wall of China from space cannot serve as evidence, since the resolution of the cameras used is higher than the capabilities of the human visual system.

Sections of the Great Wall of China

For tourists, only a small part of the Great Wall of China is equipped and permanently available. Restored sites near Beijing are designed for mass tourism.

Badaling

The Badaling site was built during the Ming Dynasty and comprehensively restored under Mao Zedong. This is the first section of the Great Wall of China open to the public. The length is about 50 km. Thus, tourism in Badaling has been developing since 1957, and now it is a well-known and most visited site, also due to its location - just 70 km from Beijing, connected to the capital by bus and train express trains.

Entrance fee: 45 CNY from April to October, 40 CNY from November to March.

Opening hours: from 6:40 to 18:30.

Mutianyu

This is the second closest to Beijing (about 80 km from the city center) and also a very popular section of the Great Wall of China, the length is 2.2 km. Mutianyu is located outside the Huaizhou district, connected to Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi in the east. The foundation of this section is older than Badaling: the first wall was built in the 6th century under the Northern Qi, the wall of the Ming Dynasty was built on the preserved foundation. In 1569, Mutianyu was restored, the site has been perfectly preserved to this day, it is located in a picturesque environment of forests and streams. Another feature of Mutianyu is a large number of stair areas.

Entrance fee - 40 CNY, for seniors over 60 years old and children 1.2-1.4 m tall - 20 CNY. Children under 1.2 m - free of charge.

Opening hours: the second half of March - mid-November from 7:30 to 18:00 (on weekends - until 18:30), other days of the year - from 8:00 to 17:00.

Simatai

The 5.4 km section of Simatai is located 145 km from the center of Beijing. In the western part of this segment, 20 watchtowers are well preserved. The eastern wall has a steep slope due to the rugged terrain with rocks. The total number of towers in Simatai is 35.

Simatai has fewer restoration replicas, but the route is more difficult. Of particular interest are the towers; Heavenly bridge - a section up to 40 cm wide; Heavenly Ladder - climb at an angle of 85 degrees. The most extreme areas are closed to tourists.

Entrance fee - 40 CNY for an adult, 20 CNY for a child with a height of 1.2 - 1.5 m. Free - for children under 1.2 m.

Opening hours (day and evening shifts): April-October - from 8:00 to 18:00 and from 18:00 to 22:00; November - March - from 8:00 to 17:30 and from 17:30 to 21:00 (on weekends - until 21:30).

Gubeikou

Mostly "wild" and not restored section of the wall in the Gubeikou area, 146-150 km from Beijing. Built during the Ming Dynasty on a foundation ancient wall VI century, from the XVI century it was no longer rebuilt, retained its authentic appearance, although not as impressive as in Simatai and Jinshalin.

The wall in this area is divided by the city of Gubeikou into two parts - Wohushan (4.8 km, the main attraction is the "Sister Towers") and Panlongshan (about 5 km, the "24-eyed tower" is noteworthy - with 24 observation holes).

Entrance fee - 25 CNY.

Opening hours: from 8:10 to 18:00.

Jinshalin

Located in the mountainous area of ​​Luanping County, 156 km from the center of Beijing by road. Jinshalin is connected to Simatai in the east and Mutianyu in the west.

The length of the Jinshalin wall is 10.5 kilometers, it includes 67 towers and 3 signal towers.

The initial section of the wall has been restored, but its general condition is close to natural, gradually deteriorating.

Entrance fee: from April to October - 65 CNY, from November to March - 55 CNY.

Huanghuachen

Huanghuachen is the only lakeside part of the Great Wall of China in the vicinity of Beijing. The distance from the city center is about 80 km. This is an interesting hiking route, especially picturesque in summer. The wall at Haoming Lake was built from 1404 for 188 years. Now this segment reaches 12.4 km, in some places the stone masonry segments of the wall are submerged in water.

Entrance fee - 45 CNY. Children up to 1.2 m - free of charge.

Opening hours: from April to October on weekdays - from 8:30 to 17:00; on the weekends of May 1-7 and October 1-7 - from 8:00 to 18:00; from November to March - from 8:30 to 16:30.

Juanya Pass

Huanyaguan, or Huangya Pass, built along the mountains, stretching for 42 km from General Pass in Beijing to Malan Pass in Hebei, originally included 52 watchtowers and 14 signal towers. However, due to the lack of repair, most of this wall has been destroyed. Since 2014, about 3 km of the structure and 20 towers have been restored. Attractions include the Widow's Tower, an ancient part of the Northern Qi Dynasty wall at the end of the Chania Sky stairs, and the Great Wall Museum.

The distance to Huanyagang from the center of Beijing is about 120 km.

Entrance fee - 50 CNY. Children up to 1.2 m - free of charge.

Open for tourists from 7:30 to 18:30.

shanhaiguan

The iconic part of the wall: it is here that one of its ends is located - the "Dragon's Head", leaving for the Yellow Sea. It is located 15 km from Qinhuangdao and 305 km from Beijing.

The plan of the Shanhaiguan fortress is in the form of a square with a perimeter of about 7 km (4.5 mi) with a gate on each side. The eastern wall was the main line of defense of the pass, known as the "First Pass under the Sky".

Entrance to the Old City in the fortress, the Museum of the Great Wall of China is free. "First pass under the sky" - 40 CNY in summer, 15 CNY in winter.

Opening hours - from 7:00 to 18:00 during the period May - October, from 7:30 to 17:00 from November to April. The museum is open from 8:00 to 17:00.

Purple marble wall sections

Fortifications made of purple marble as part of the Great Wall of China are considered the most durable and beautiful. They were built from marble mined in local deposits. Two sites are located near the city of Jiang'an, another one is in the Yanyshan mountains. It is hardly possible to check the information in practice: the listed walls are closed for mass tourism.

How to get to the Great Wall of China

The most accessible area in terms of transport is Badaling. However, you can also get to other surviving parts of the Great Wall of China on your own.

How to get to the Great Wall of China from Beijing

From Beijing to Badaling get there by transport:

• bus No. 877 (express from Deshengmen stop, 12 CNY);
• public bus number 919 (it takes longer, with stops, you need to check whether it will take you to Badaling;
• by S2 train from Huangtudian station, then by free bus to Badaling cable car station;
• by special tourist buses: from stops Qianmen, East Bridge, Xizhimen Gate, Beijing railway station.

From Beijing Airport to the Great Wall of China(Badalina) you can get there with a transfer (metro / bus + bus or metro / bus + train) or using a transfer - such offers are enough for both groups and individual travelers.

Transport to the wall Mutianyu from Beijing (with transfer):

• from Dongzhimen station by bus No. 916 (express or regular) to Huairou North Avenue (Huairou Beidajie);
• transfer to the transfer bus h23, h24, h35, or h36 to Mutianyu.

Transport from Beijing to the Wall Simatai(with 1 transfer):

• Bus No. 980 / 980 Express (respectively 15 / 17 CNY) from Dongzhimen to Miyun Bus Station;
• then - by bus Mi 37, Mi 50 or Mi 51 (8 CNY) to Simatai village.

To get to Gubeikou From Beijing, you need to take the No. 980 express bus from Dongzhimen to Miyun Bus Station, then take the Mi 25 bus to your destination.

Jinshalin from Beijing:

• by metro (line 13 or 15) to West Wangjing, then by tourist bus to the destination (departs at 8:00 and returns at 15:00, fare 32 CNY); relevant only in the season from April to November 15;
• from Dongzhimen by bus number 980 to Miyun County, then on your own (with a companion, by rental car, taxi) to Jinshalin.

Huanyaguan from Beijing:

• by intercity bus to Jizhou (30-40 CNY), then by local charter minibus to Hanyaguang (25-30 CNY);
• train to Jizhou from Beijing East Railway Station (14.5 CNY), then by charter minibus.

Transport from Beijing to the Great Wall of China on site Huanghuachen:

• from Dongzhimen by special sightseeing bus during the peak season from April to October (weekends and holidays). You need to purchase a round-trip ticket - Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall for 80 CNY;
Beijing Badaling

Great Wall of China HD video

SOME Russian researchers (President of the Academy fundamental sciences A.A. Tyunyaev and his associate Honorary Doctor of the University of Brussels V.I. Semeyko) express doubts about the generally accepted version of the origin of the defensive structure on the northern borders of the state of the Qin dynasty. In November 2006, in one of his publications, Andrei Tyunyaev formulated his thoughts on this topic in the following way: “As you know, to the north of the territory of modern China there was another, much more ancient civilization. This has been repeatedly confirmed by archaeological discoveries made, in particular, on the territory Eastern Siberia. Impressive evidence of this civilization, comparable to Arkaim in the Urals, not only has not yet been studied and comprehended by world historical science, but has not even received a proper assessment in Russia itself.

As for the so-called "Chinese" wall, it is not quite right to speak of it as an achievement of the ancient Chinese civilization. Here, to confirm our scientific correctness, it is sufficient to cite only one fact. LOOPHOUSES on a significant part of the wall ARE NOT DIRECTIONAL TO THE NORTH, BUT TO THE SOUTH! And this is clearly seen not only in the most ancient, not reconstructed sections of the wall, but even in recent photographs and in works of Chinese drawing.

It is generally accepted that they began to build it in the 3rd century BC. to protect the state of the Qin dynasty from the raids of the "northern barbarians" - the nomadic people of the Xiongnu. In the 3rd century AD, during the Han Dynasty, the construction of the wall was resumed and it was extended to the west.

Over time, the wall began to collapse, but during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), according to Chinese historians, the wall was restored and strengthened. Those sections of it that have survived to our time were built mainly in the 15th-16th centuries.

Over the three centuries of the reign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty (since 1644), the protective structure dilapidated and almost everything collapsed, since the new rulers of the Celestial Empire did not need protection from the north. Only in our time, in the mid-1980s, the restoration of sections of the wall began as material evidence ancient origin statehood in the lands of Northeast Asia.

Earlier, the Chinese themselves made a discovery about the belonging of ancient Chinese writing to another people. There are already published works proving that these people were the Slavs of Aria.
In 2008, at the First International Congress "Dokirillovskaya Slavic writing and pre-Christian Slavic culture" in the Leningrad state university named after A.S. Pushkina Tyunyaev made a report "China is the younger brother of Russia", during which he presented fragments of Neolithic ceramics from the territory
eastern part of northern China. The signs depicted on ceramics did not look like Chinese characters, but showed almost complete coincidence with the Old Russian runic - up to 80 percent.

Based on the latest archaeological data, the researcher expresses the opinion that during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the population of the western part of Northern China was Caucasoid. Indeed, throughout Siberia, up to China, mummies of Caucasians are found. According to genetic data, this population had the Old Russian haplogroup R1a1.

This version is also supported by the mythology of the ancient Slavs, which tells about the movement of the ancient Rus in an easterly direction - they were led by Bogumir, Slavunya and their son Scythian. These events are reflected, in particular, in the Book of Veles, which, let's make a reservation, is not recognized by academic historians.

Tyunyaev and his supporters draw attention to the fact that the Great Wall of China was built in a similar way to European and Russian medieval walls, the main purpose of which is protection from firearms. The construction of such structures began no earlier than the 15th century, when cannons and other siege weapons appeared on the battlefields. Before the 15th century, the so-called northern nomads did not have artillery.

Pay attention to which side the sun is shining.

ON THE BASIS of these data, Tyunyaev expresses the opinion that the wall in eastern Asia was built as a defensive structure marking the border between two medieval states. It was erected after an agreement was reached on the delimitation of territories. And this, according to Tyunyaev, is confirmed by the map of that
the time when the boundary between Russian Empire and the Qing Empire passed along the wall.

We are talking about a map of the Qing Empire in the second half of the 17th-18th centuries, presented in the academic 10-volume " world history". That map shows in detail the wall that runs exactly along the border between the Russian Empire and the Empire of the Manchu Dynasty (Qing Empire).

There are other translations from the French phrase "Muraille de la Chine" - "a wall from China", "a wall delimiting from China". Indeed, in an apartment or in a house, we call the wall that separates us from our neighbors a neighbor's wall, and the wall that separates us from the street - outer wall. We have the same thing with the names of the borders: the Finnish border, the Ukrainian border... In this case, the adjectives indicate only the geographical location of the Russian borders.
It is noteworthy that in medieval Russia there was the word "whale" - knitting poles that were used in the construction of fortifications. So, the name of the Moscow district Kitay-gorod was given in the 16th century for the same reasons - the building consisted of stone wall with 13 towers and 6 gates...

According to the opinion enshrined in the official version of history, the Great Wall of China began to be built in 246 BC. under Emperor Shi Huangdi, its height was from 6 to 7 meters, the purpose of construction was protection from northern nomads.

Russian historian L.N. Gumilyov wrote: “The wall stretched for 4,000 km. Its height reached 10 meters, and watchtowers rose every 60-100 meters. He also noted: “When the work was completed, it turned out that all armed forces China is not enough to organize an effective defense on the wall. In fact, if a small detachment is placed on each tower, then the enemy will destroy it before the neighbors have time to gather and give help. If, however, large detachments are spaced less often, then gaps are formed through which the enemy will easily and imperceptibly penetrate into the interior of the country. A fortress without defenders is not a fortress.”

Moreover, the loophole towers are located on the South side, as if the defenders repelled attacks from the NORTH ????
Andrey Tyunyaev offers to compare two towers - from the Chinese wall and from the Novgorod Kremlin. The shape of the towers is the same: a rectangle, slightly narrowed upwards. From the wall inside both towers there is an entrance blocked round arch, laid out of the same brick as the wall with the tower. Each of the towers has two upper "working" floors. Round-arched windows were made in the first floor of both towers. The number of windows on the first floor of both towers is 3 on one side and 4 on the other. The height of the windows is approximately the same - about 130-160 centimeters.
And what does the comparison of the preserved towers of the Chinese city of Beijing with the medieval towers of Europe say? The fortress walls of the Spanish city of Avila and Beijing are very similar to each other, especially in that the towers are located very often and have practically no architectural adaptations for military needs. Peking towers have only an upper deck with loopholes, and are laid out at the same height as the rest of the wall.
Neither the Spanish nor the Peking towers show such a high resemblance to the defensive towers of the Chinese Wall, as the towers of the Russian Kremlin and fortress walls show. And this is an occasion for reflection for historians.

Description

The thickness of the Great Wall is mostly about 5-8 meters, and the height is most often about 6-7 meters (in some sections the height reaches 10 meters) [ ] .

The wall runs along the Yinshan mountain range, bending around all the spurs, overcoming both high rises and very significant gorges.

Over the centuries, the wall has changed names. Originally called the "Barrier", "Rampant" or "Fortress", the wall later acquired more poetic names such as "Purple Border" and "Land of Dragons". Only at the end of the 19th century did it receive the name that we know to this day.

Story

The construction of the first sections of the wall began in the 3rd century BC. e. during the Warring States period (475-221 BC) to protect the state from the Xiongnu. One fifth of the then living population of the country, that is, about a million people, took part in the construction. The wall was supposed to clearly fix the boundaries of Chinese civilization, to promote the consolidation of a single empire, just made up of a number of conquered kingdoms. [ ]

Settlements developing on the plain of central China, turning into large centers of trade, attracted the attention of nomads, who began to often attack them, raiding from behind Yingshan. Major kingdoms such as Qin, Wei, Yan, Zhao have attempted to build protective walls on their northern borders. These walls were adobe structures. The Wei kingdom erects a wall around 353 BC. BC, which served as the border with the kingdom of Qin, the kingdom of Qin and Zhao build a wall around 300 BC. e., and the kingdom of Yan around 289 BC. e. Disparate wall structures are later connected and form a single structure.

During the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC, Qin Dynasty), the empire unites into a single whole, reaches unprecedented power. Like never before she needs reliable protection from nomadic peoples. Qin Shi Huang orders the construction of the Great Wall of China along Yingshan. During construction, pre-existing parts of the wall are used, which are strengthened, built on, connected by new sections and lengthened, while sections that previously separated separate kingdoms are demolished. The construction of the wall was assigned to manage the commander Meng Tian.

Construction lasted 10 years and faced numerous difficulties. The main problem there was a lack of appropriate infrastructure for construction: there were no roads, there was not enough water and food for those involved in the work, while their number reached 300 thousand people, and the total number of builders involved in Qin reached, according to some estimates, 2 million. Slaves, soldiers, peasants were involved in the construction. As a result of epidemics and overwork, at least tens of thousands of people died. Resentment at the mobilization to build the wall caused popular uprisings and was one of the reasons for the fall of the Qin Dynasty. [ ]

The terrain itself was extremely difficult for such a grandiose structure: the wall went straight along the mountain range, skirting all the spurs, while it was necessary to overcome both high rises and very significant gorges. However, this is what determined the unique originality of the structure - the wall is unusually organically inscribed in the landscape and forms a single whole with it.

Until the Qin time, a significant proportion of the wall was built from the most primitive materials, mainly with the help of earth tamping. Layers of clay, pebbles and other local materials were pressed between shields of twigs or reeds. Most of the materials for such walls could be obtained locally. Sometimes they used bricks, but not burnt, but dried in the sun.

Obviously, with building materials associated with the popular Chinese name for the wall - "earth dragon". In the Qin period, stone slabs began to be used in some areas, which were laid close to each other over layers of compacted earth. stone structures were widely used in the construction of the Wall in the east, in the same place where, according to local conditions, the stone was not available (western lands, in the territory of the modern provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi) - a large mound was erected.

The dimensions of the wall varied in sections, the average parameters were: height - 7.5 m, height with battlements - 9 m, width along the ridge - 5.5 m, width of the base - 6.5 m. The battlements of the wall, located on the outside, have simple rectangular shape. Towers are an integral part of the wall. Some towers built before the wall was built were built into it. Such towers are often less than the width of the wall itself, and their locations are random. The towers erected along with the wall were located at a distance of up to 200 meters from each other (the range of the arrow).

There are several types of towers, differing in architectural solution. The most common type of tower is two stories, rectangular in plan. Such towers had an upper platform with loopholes. Also, within sight of the fire (about 10 km), signal towers were located on the wall, from which the enemy's approaches were monitored and signals were transmitted. Twelve gates were made to pass through the wall, which over time fortified into powerful outposts.

The Chinese and the Great Wall of China

The constant construction and restoration of the wall exhausted the strength of the people and the state, but its value as a defensive structure was questioned. Enemies, if desired, easily found weakly fortified areas or simply bribed the guards. Sometimes, during attacks, she did not dare to raise the alarm and silently let the enemy pass.

For Chinese scientists, the wall has become a symbol of military weakness during the Ming dynasty, capitulation to the next barbarians. Wang Xitong, a 17th-century historian and poet, wrote:

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing emperor dedicated a poem to her, in which it was written about the wall:

The Chinese of the Qing era were surprised by the interest of Europeans in a useless structure.

In modern Chinese culture, the wall has taken on a new meaning. Regardless of the failures associated with its military use, it has become a symbol of the resilience and creative power of the people. On several sections of the Great Wall of China, you can find monuments with the phrase Mao Zedong: " If you haven't been to the Great Wall of China, you're not a real Chinese"(Chinese exercise 不到长城非好汉).

The popular track and field marathon "Great Wall" is held annually, in which athletes run part of the distance along the ridge of the wall.

Destruction and restoration of the wall

Despite many years of efforts, the wall was systematically destroyed and fell into disrepair. The Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644-), having overcome the wall with the help of Wu Sangui's betrayal, treated the wall with disdain.

During the three centuries of Qing rule, the Great Wall almost collapsed under the influence of time. Only a small part of it near Beijing - Badaling - was maintained in order, it served as a kind of "gateway to the capital". In 1899, American newspapers started a rumor that the wall would be completely demolished, and a highway would be built in its place.

Despite the work carried out, the remains of the wall, far from tourist places, are still in a ruined state. Some sections are destroyed when choosing a wall site as a place for building villages or stone from a wall as a building material, others due to the construction of a highway, railways and other extended artificial objects. Some areas are covered in graffiti by vandals.

It is reported that a 70-kilometer section of the wall in Minqin County, Gansu Province in the northwest of the country is undergoing active erosion. Reason - intensive methods farming in China since the 1950s, which led to the desiccation groundwater, and as a result, this region has become the main source and center of the origin of powerful sandstorms. More than 40 km of the wall has already disappeared, and only 10 km are still in place, the height of the wall in some places has decreased from five to two meters.

In 2007, a significant section of the wall was discovered by William Lindsey on the border of China and Mongolia, which was attributed to the period of the Han Dynasty. In 2012, the search for further fragments of the wall by the expedition of William Lindsey culminated in the discovery of a lost section already in Mongolia.

In 2012, a 36-meter-long section of the wall, located in Hebei Province, collapsed due to heavy rains. No one was hurt in the collapse. It happened on August 6, but the official announcement appeared only four days later.

Visibility of the wall from space

Visibility of the wall from the moon

One of the earliest references to the myth of the wall being visible from the moon is in a 1754 letter from the English antiquarian William Stukeley. Stukeley wrote: "This huge wall eighty miles long (we are talking about Hadrian's Wall) is surpassed only by the China Wall, which takes up so much space on the globe, and in addition it is visible from the moon." Henry Norman also mentions this. Sir Henry Norman) is an English journalist and politician. In 1895, he reports: "... besides its age, this wall is the only creation of man that is visible from the moon." At the end of the nineteenth century, the topic of the Martian canals was exaggerated with might and main, which may have led to the idea that long thin objects on the surface of the planets are distinguishable far from space. The visibility of the Great Wall of China from the moon was also heard in 1932 in the popular American comic strip Ripley's Believe It Not. Ripley's Believe It or Not!) and in the 1938 book The Second Book of Wonders ( Second Book of Marvels American traveler Richard Halliburton Richard Halliburton).

This myth has been exposed more than once, but still has not been eradicated from popular culture. The maximum width of the wall is 9.1 meters, and it is about the same color as the ground on which it is located. Based on the resolution of the optics (distance to the object to the diameter of the entrance pupil optical system, which is a few millimeters for the human eye and several meters for large telescopes), only an object that is in contrast to the surrounding background and has a diameter of 10 kilometers or more (corresponding to 1 arc minute) can be seen with the naked eye from the Moon , the average distance from which to the Earth is 384,393 kilometers. The approximate width of the Great Wall of China, when viewed from the moon, would be the same as a human hair when viewed from a distance of 3.2 kilometers. To see the wall from the moon would require vision 17,000 times better than normal. Not surprisingly, none of the astronauts who have walked on the Moon have ever reported seeing a wall while on the surface of our satellite.

Visibility of the wall from Earth orbit

More debatable is whether the Great Wall of China is visible from orbit (that's over 200 km above the ground). According to NASA, the Wall is barely visible, and only under ideal conditions. It is no more visible than other artificial structures. Some authors argue that due to the limited optical capabilities of the human eye and the distance between the photoreceptors on the retina, the wall cannot be seen even from low orbit with the naked eye, which would require vision 7.7 times sharper than normal.

In October 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei stated that he had not been able to see the Great Wall of China. In response, the European Space Agency issued a press release stating that from an orbit with a height of 160 to 320 kilometers, the wall is still visible to the naked eye. In an attempt to clarify this issue, the European Space Agency released a photograph of part of the Great Wall of China taken from space. However, a week later they admitted their mistake (instead of a wall in the photo there was one of the rivers).

legends

According to the legend , a huge dragon pointed out the direction and place of the wall construction to the workers . He walked along the borders of the country, and the workers erected a wall in the place of his footprints. Some argue that even the very shape that the wall formed bears a resemblance to a soaring dragon.

The most famous legend is that of Meng Jiangnu, the wife of a peasant who was forced to work on the wall during the Qin Dynasty. When the sad news reached the woman that during the work her husband died and was buried in the wall, she wept so bitterly that the part of the wall where the remains of her husband were hidden collapsed from her crying, giving her the opportunity to bury them. In memory of this story, a monument was erected on the wall. [