Carla Mooney - Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China

Carla Mooney

F or thousands of years, the Great Wall of China has stretched across Chinas northern . It winds like a giant, sleeping dragon from the Pacific coast in the east to the Gobi Desert in the west. It reaches across plains, mountains, and sandy deserts. It is the longest manmade structure in human history.

The Great Wall has been extended, modified, and repaired over the centuries.

Did You Know?

The Great Wall of China is about 5,500 miles (8,851.8 kilometers) long.

The Great Wall of China was originally built to protect Ancient China from invaders. The wall itself is not a single structure. Instead, it is a series of walls and (221 BCE- 206 BCE), the Han dynasty (206 BCE 220 CE), and the Ming dynasty (1368 1644).

The Great Wall of China stretches across northern China and has become one of the worlds most famous landmarks.

Thousands of workers carry materials by hand to build sections of the Great Wall.

Building the Great Wall was a massive undertaking. Many people and materials were needed to build this enormous structure. Workers built the Great Wall without sophisticated equipment or machines. They did not have electrical power or motors. Instead, people worked side-by-side to build the wall by hand. The work was hard and many workers died during the Great Walls construction.

Although the Great Wall was designed to keep invaders out, it also helped to unify the Chinese people. It became a source of pride for China. Today, the Great Wall is a symbol of Chinas enduring strength and accomplishments.

T he Great Wall may be Chinas most famous wall, but it is not Chinas first. The Chinese people built many walls before it. These walls were often built for protection. In ancient times, some Chinese people lived as hunters and gatherers. They roamed the land and hunted wild animals for food and clothing. Others settled as farmers. They tamed animals and planted crops. Groups of farmers formed small villages. These farming villages harvested food each season. They stored excess food and supplies until the next planting season.

As people learned about the villages food stores, the residents faced danger from attacks.

This is a food container from the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BCE), which ruled over most of central China.

Hangtu Building Method

Most early Chinese walls were built using a primitive construction method called hangtu. The word hangtu comes from the Chinese words hang, which means beaten, and tu, which means Earth. The hangtu method used packed dirt to build walls. Builders first constructed a frame of wood planks or bamboo. Then they loaded dirt into the forms and packed the dirt with a pounding tool to remove any air pockets. This ensured the wall would not settle or sink. The workers slowly built the wall with many packed layers, each only a few inches thick. Once the wall reached the necessary height, the workers pulled away the wooden forms. A strong wall of tightly packed dirt remained.

In Ancient China, the land was divided into seven states, each ruled by powerful nobles. These states frequently fought each other and northern for territory and power. This time was known as the Warring States Period (475 BCE 221 BCE). During these years, the rulers built walls across China to define and protect their territories. The walls surrounded entire states and stretched for hundreds of miles.