Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 6,700 kilometers from east to west of China.

The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. The most famous is the wall built between 220BC and 200BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of it remains and it was situated much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.

  Panoramic view of the
Great Wall

One of the most magnificent man-made project, stretching more than 6,000 kilometres is the Great Wall, built 2,500 years ago to keep out the barbarians who threatened the Chinese Empire

The Great Wall was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, the Great Wall ['Chang Cheng' in Chinese] is a true marvel and a testament to the long history of the Chinese Civilisation.

The history of the Great Wall is a long one. First built to keep invaders away from the farming villages on the Chinese border, these walls were built at weak points in the natural landscape or where the threat was perceived as greatest. In the early days, the Great Wall was as much a demarcation of territory as a defence as such, but as the Great Wall became stronger, it's defence role increased. Where possible, natural barriers were integrated into the path of the wall. This is particularly true for mountains, their height used to gain both a greater view and for advantage in defense. The Great Wall was built by soldiers, civilians, farmers and prisoners, primarily during three dynasties. The Qin, the Han and the Ming, although the Sui Dynasty and the Ten Kingdoms period also played a part. The building styles of each dynasty added their own flavour and advanced the techniques learned from the previous.

Qin Dynasty: The first dynasty of China was the short-lived Qin Dynasty [221-206BC] The first emperor, Qin ShiHuang, was a tyrannical emperor who unified China by force and set about constructing one Great Wall, by joining existing walls and filling in gaps. He even sent scholars to work on the Great Wall [anyone who was deemed unproductive] These workers faced arduous labour, and the constant danger of being attacked by bandits.

Han Dynasty: The second dynasty to add to the Great Wall was the Han Dynasty [206BC-220AD] This dynasty rose to power in 206BC after the fall of the Qin. The most notable contribution of the Han Dynasty is that they extended the Great Wall westwards through the Gobi Desert. Despite a lack of building materials, ingenious Chinese engineers found a solution. Their answer was similar to that of the Qin, but created a stronger wall.

The Ming Dynasty: During the Ming Dynasty, two-storied watchtowers were built on the Great Wall in strategic places. The ground floor was used for living, and storing food and weapons, and the top floor was used as a high lookout platform and also for defence. Canons were installed in strategic places, sometimes in watchtowers but also along the wall.

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