The Great Wall of China: history and characteristics

The Chinese wall

The Great Wall of China is a defensive system that was built between the 5th century BC and the 17th century AD to protect China from attacks from Mongolia and Manchuria. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World since 2007.

The Great Wall is about 2,240 years old, which makes it an important historical and cultural testimony. The fortification is located on the border with the Gobi desert (south of Mongolia) and North Korea. It crosses several provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. According to official sources, the Great Wall of China is 21,196 km long.

The provinces covered include Qinghai, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Sichuan, Hunan, Shandong, Jilin, Liaoning, Shanxi, and Hebei. The municipalities include Tianjin and Beijing. Among the autonomous regions: Xinjiang, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia.

The fortification was built over several dynasties. Between extensions and reforms, its development continued until the Ming dynasty, which ruled from the middle of the 14th century to the middle of the 17th century of our era. Hence its incalculable historical value.

Although only a third of the wall remains today, it is still the largest fortification in the world. Even so, the Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space, as popular belief says.

History of the Chinese Wall

By the 7th century BC, China was a territory with diverse agricultural populations, but it was not yet a unified kingdom. Soon it began to receive constant attacks from the nomadic tribe known as Xiongnu, mainly from Mongolia, who demanded to stock up on the products of the field.

The Xiongnu were endowed with good weapons and cavalry. So around the 5th century BC, the Chinese began to build protective walls. In the beginning, these were isolated walls, many intended only for the protection of crops.

In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang unified China, proclaimed himself First Emperor, and thus established the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Once the unification was achieved, he gave the order to project a line of fortifications. For this purpose, he commissioned to take advantage of the existing walls and extend them to form a single defensive system.

The Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) maintained the same defensive policy. After the Han, a long period of dynasties followed, in which the wall underwent few changes.

In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded China and formed a new dynasty, the Yuan dynasty in 1271. But a peasant revolt in 1368 would bring the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to the throne, forcing the Mongols to take refuge in the mountains. steppes. The Ming dynasty took up the wall project again, rebuilding several sections and developing new ones.

Characteristics of the Chinese Wall

General plan in which the walls, towers, forts, and steps of the Great Wall can be seen, as well as other adjacent structures.

The Great Wall of China is characterized by its colossal dimensions, but it is much more than a wall. Its structure is made up of walls, towers, forts or barracks, and gates. It is also divided into several sections. Although these seem to be separate, we must consider that the challenging adjacent natural reliefs were considered part of the defensive system. Taking this into account, we summarize its characteristics below.

Great Wall of China Extension

Map of the Great Wall of China and the nine forts of the Ming dynasty.

The official extension of the wall is 21,196 km of construction. This figure was determined by the Chinese authorities, who took into account all the sections of walls built throughout the different dynasties, as well as the topographical lines that it connects.

However, some experts point to a much more moderate figure: 8,851.8 km. This figure corresponds to what was restored and what was built during the Ming dynasty.

Construction materials of the Chinese Wall

Ruined section of the Great Wall, made of rammed earth without facings.

The Great Wall of China is built with locally made bricks, local stones (such as granite or limestone depending on the region), earth (sand), and gravel. The gravel could be made up of various materials such as bones, horse droppings, dry wood remains, etc.

How the Great Wall of China was built

The construction technique of the first stage was strictly based on a system of rammed earth layers. We can describe the process as follows:

1. It began by making a wooden frame, which consisted of parallel planks, arranged with the desired thickness of the wall.
2. The frame was filled with a layer of earth. This was sprinkled with water to compact it and then it was compressed with piston strokes until it reached an approximate thickness of 13 cm.
3. After each layer was finished, the frame was raised to make the next layer.

Over the years, the Chinese added the use of local stone (such as limestone or granite) and brick, all unified with mortar made from a base of rice flour. Both stone and brick were used as exterior facings, that is, as faces of the wall.

Following the old technique, the cavity between the walls was filled with earth or gravel made from all kinds of materials. Once the desired height was reached, the surface of the wall was finished off with more bricks.

The architectural structure of the Chinese Wall

The Jiayu Pass ( Jiayuguan ).

walls. The walls are made primarily of earth, stone, and/or local clay brick. The height ranges from 5 meters to 10 meters, depending on the section. Likewise, the width varies between 4 and 10 meters.

Towers and barracks. The barracks (fortins) and watchtowers (watchtowers) constituted an interconnected system, arranged at strategic points. The barracks could be integrated into the towers, or be adjacent to them.

The towers could reach an average height of 12 meters and had the capacity to house 30 to 50 soldiers, who inhabited them in shifts of four months until they were relieved. They all had a communication system based on smoke signals and light signals.

Access doors. The walls also had access doors called steps. These steps allowed strategic entry and exit of the limits of the populations. The most important are the Juyong, Shanai, and Jiayu steps, but there are many more.

• Juyong Gate or North Pass: located near Beijing, in the Guangou Valley, Changping district of Beijing. It actually consists of two passes, called Nan Pass and Badaling. It was built by the order of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and was rebuilt during the Ming dynasty.
• Jiayu Gate or West Pass: located towards the western end of the wall. It is shaped like a trapezoid. The adjacent wall is about 733 meters long and reaches a maximum height of 11 meters. It has two doors, one facing east and one facing west.
• Shanhai Gate or East Passage: located at the eastern end of the wall, in Hemei province. Started during the Ming dynasty.

State of conservation

At present, only about a third of the wall (30%) remains. Of this percentage, not everything is in good condition. Some sections of the wall are still at risk of disappearing. The Chinese government is carrying out some projects to restore sections of the fortification.

 

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