6 Facts about The Great Wall of China

Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

Who does not know the Great Wall of China? Symbols of Chinese civilization in the past are amazing to enter one of the wonders of the world. If we only know that this wall was built to cope with the Mongol invasion in northern China in the past and was built for hundreds of years from one dynasty to the next dynasty, there are still some facts that you might not know. Here are 6 hidden facts from the Great Wall of China:

1. Initially a watchtower to observe the enemy's movements

For the sake of holding back the main attack from the Mongols in northern China. Emperor Shi Huang Ti of the Qin Dynasty succeeded in uniting southern China after a war between nations in the southern region in the 8-7 century BC. Initially this big wall was just a watchtower, but Emperor Shi Huang Ti then united each of the watchtowers with a long-lasting wall connection. It was hoped that by building this large and long wall the dynasty in southern China would be able to withstand the Mongol invasion in the north.

2. Built for almost 2,500 years

It seems that the ambitious project of defense for the ruling dynasty in China was not completed during the time of just one dynasty, Qin, the dynasty of the originators of development. Dozens of dynasties, states and kingdoms continued the project little by little and eventually finished to protect the Ming Dynasty's capital, Beijing, which ruled in the 14-17th century and was completely finished by the Qing Dynasty in the 1800s. So if calculated from the 7th century BC to the beginning of the 19th century AD, it could take 2,500 years to complete the construction of the Great Wall of China.

3. Built by slaves and forced laborers

If you imagine that this wall was built by workers who are dedicated to protecting the country from enemy attacks, it would be amazing. However, it seems that this ambitious project, which certainly cost a lot of money, uses recruits, military, slaves, farmers, criminals, prisoners of war through a forced labor system.

4. The adhesive material for the wall is flour

Initially the construction materials for wall construction used wood, stone and just soil. As a result, the construction time is very long. Then after the Ming Dynasty ruled, they began to use bricks for construction so that the construction of the wall was very fast. To glue the brick odor, rice flour paste is used. Without using modern technology, starting from transporting it manually to using a cart.

5. The most wide area can accommodate 5 people riding comfortably

With varying widths and heights, the Great Wall of China in its widest section can accommodate five horsemen or 10 men walking side by side comfortably. Wall height from 60 cm to more than 9 meters. The 2009 National Bureau of Chinese Survey announced after 4 years of research that the length of this large wall was 21,196.18 km. For the tour itself, every year the visitors are up to 10 billion people.

6. Across 15 regions and is considered the largest grave on Earth

The Great Wall crosses 15 regions of northern China: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang.

For 2,500 years of development it is estimated to cost up to one million people, so it is considered the largest grave on Earth. During the recovery and reconstruction projects, archaeologists have found some remains of human bones within the architectural walls of historical value.