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THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

V. Ryan © 2001

     

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Great Wall of China ‘zig-zags’ central-east Asia and it is an incredible structure. It took over a thousand years to build and is over 1500 miles in length. It is the longest, oldest, most time consuming construction project ever attempted, in history. It is said that the Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, although there is some dispute regarding this. It is only when cameras are used, that sections of the wall can be differentiated from the surrounding countryside.

 

 Great Wall, Badaling, Beijing

The Great Wall was built for defensive purposes, especially to stop attack from the north of China. Emperors feared that China would be conquered from the north. The Wall stretches across deserts and up and down mountain ranges.
Building started in the Qin dynasty (221-206BC) and continued until the Jin dynasty (1115-1234AD).

Climbing the Badaling section of the Great Wall

The Great Wall was part of a Chinese strategy of preventing mass invasion. In the early years the walls were made of rammed earth but as hundreds of years past more sophisticated methods of building were developed with rocks, bricks and mortar being used. It is estimated that over one million people helped in the construction of the Great Wall.

The Badaling section is steep in places.

1. Use a World Atlas or a map of China and draw a simplified map which shows the distance covered by the Great Wall.

2. Research the Great Wall of China. This may be through the internet or the library etc... Present this information on A4 paper explaining where you found each piece of information.
   

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