Why Was the Great Wall of China Built?

The Great Wall of China was built to protect China from the Mongols. 

Who Built the Great Wall of China?

Initially, there were separate walls which were built by various states to prevent the northern invasion. Later during the Qin Dynasty (1878), the walls were connected as one by Qin Shi Huang, the very first emperor of China. The laborers were forced to do construction work. Most of the laborers were soldiers, convicts, and common people. Though many states have contributed to the construction of the Great Wall of China it is Qin who renovated the wall with full force and used it as a defense line. Before building the wall he had to defeat the Huns and use around 300,000 soldiers to guard the line. It took around 9 years to build the wall during the Qin dynasty. As per the law of the Qin dynasty, the convicts had to work for more time compared to others and their feet were tied with iron chains.  

Why Was the Great Wall of China Built?

It was built to protect the northern empire from enemies. In the beginning, the states built separate walls to guard themselves from invaders and to prevent the nomads from entering their territory.  Later during various dynasties, the walls were connected, rebuilt and renovated purely for military defense especially to stop Mongol invasion.

Great Wall of China-Length

The Great Wall of China is 9.1 meters wide and 15 meters high and runs for 21,196 kilometers which is the longest man-made construction ever.  During the Qin dynasty, it was built with compact dirt and stones. Later in the Ming dynasty bricks were already in use and the structure was built with the same.

Interesting Facts about the Great Wall of China

• The great wall was built 2700 years ago
• The highest point is Huang Luo Yuan in Beijing and the lowest point is  Laolongtou in Hebei.
• There are around 50 million visitors every year
• It’s a collection of walls and monuments built during different historical periods
• It is not just a plain wall. It has trenches, beacon towers, barracks and fortresses
• Millions of people died during the construction due to forced labor and it is called the longest cemetery in the world
• During the Qin dynasty, rice flour was used as an adhesive to bond the stones.