In the southern part of the Qi state an extensive perimeter wall was gradually created using existing river dikes, newly constructed bulwarks, and areas of impassable mountain terrain. From the 6th to the 4th century other states followed Chu’s example. Known as the “Square Wall,” this fortification was situated in the northern part of the kingdom’s capital province. Early buildingĪbout the 7th century bce the state of Chu started to construct a permanent defensive system. For several centuries these kingdoms probably were as concerned with protection from their near neighbours as they were with the threat of barbarian invasions or raids. The Great Wall developed from the disparate border fortifications and castles of individual Chinese kingdoms. The Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan, Hebei province, China. The Great Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Although lengthy sections of the wall are now in ruins or have disappeared completely, it is still one of the more remarkable structures on Earth. Nearly all of the rest (about 70 percent of the total length) is actual constructed wall, with the small remaining stretches constituting ditches or moats. This wall often traces the crestlines of hills and mountains as it snakes across the Chinese countryside, and about one-fourth of its length consists solely of natural barriers such as rivers and mountain ridges. The most extensive and best-preserved version of the wall dates from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and runs for some 5,500 miles (8,850 km) east to west from Mount Hu near Dandong, southeastern Liaoning province, to Jiayu Pass west of Jiuquan, northwestern Gansu province. The Great Wall actually consists of numerous walls-many of them parallel to each other-built over some two millennia across northern China and southern Mongolia. Great Wall of China, Chinese (Pinyin) Wanli Changcheng or (Wade-Giles romanization) Wan-li Ch’ang-ch’eng (“10,000-Li Long Wall”), extensive bulwark erected in ancient China, one of the largest building-construction projects ever undertaken. Due to its coloration and pollution, the structure is only sometimes visible from low orbit and the International Space Station. A popular myth, the claim was disproved when astronauts stated that the Great Wall of China was not visible with the naked eye from the Moon. You typically can’t see the Great Wall of China from space.

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