East is a delicate matter. This is what Vereshchagin said in the legendary “White Sun of the Desert”. And he turned out to be right, more than ever. The thin line between reality and the mystery of Chinese culture encourages tourists to go to the Celestial Empire in order to unravel the mysteries.
In northern China, along winding mountain paths, rises the Great Wall of China - one of the most famous and extraordinary architectural structures in the world. At least once, each of the people more or less interested in history looked for what the Great Wall of China looks like on the map, and whether it is so majestic.
The beginning of the Great Wall of China is near the city of Shanhaiguan, Hebei Province. The length of the Great Wall of China, taking into account the “branches,” reaches 8851.9 km, but if measured in a straight line, the length will be about 2500 km. The width varies, according to various estimates, from 5 to 8 meters. Scientists claim that it was built so that a patrol of 5 horsemen could easily pass through it. Rising to a height of 10 meters, protected by observation towers and loopholes, the wall protected the eastern power from attacks by nomadic peoples. The end of the Great Wall of China, which even bypasses the outskirts of Beijing, is located near the city of Jiayuguan, Gansu Province.
Construction of the Great Wall of China - a historical approach
Historians around the world agreed that the Great Chinese wall Construction began around the 3rd century BC. Due to military historical events, global construction was interrupted and leaders, architects and the approach to it as a whole changed. On this basis, there are still debates on the topic: who built the Great Wall of China?
Archives and research give reason to believe that the Great Wall of China began to be created on the initiative of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The ruler was prompted to such a radical decision by the period of the Warring States, when, during long battles, the 150 states of the Celestial Empire were reduced by 10 times. The increased danger of wandering barbarians and invaders frightened Emperor Qin, and he assigned the general Meng Tian to lead the large-scale construction of the century.
Despite bad mountain roads, potholes and gorges, the first 500 workers headed to the northern part of China. Hunger, lack of water and hard physical labor exhausted the builders. But, according to all Eastern severity, those who disagreed were severely punished. Over time, the number of slaves, peasants and soldiers who built the Great Wall of China increased to a million people. They all worked day and night, following the Emperor’s orders.
During construction, twigs and reeds were used, held together with clay and even rice porridge. In some places the earth was simply compacted or mounds of pebbles were created. The peak of construction achievements of that period was clay bricks, which were immediately dried in the sun and laid out row by row.
After the change of power, Qin's initiatives were continued by the Han dynasty. Thanks to their assistance, in 206-220 BC, the wall stretched another 10,000 km, and watchtowers appeared in certain areas. The system was such that from one such “tower” one could see two standing nearby. This is how communication between the guards was carried out.
Video - History of the construction of the Great Wall of China
The Ming Dynasty, which came to the throne, starting in 1368, replaced some of the worn-out and not particularly strong building materials with durable brick and massive stone blocks. Also, with their assistance, in the area of the current city of Jian'an, the wall was restored with purple marble. This change also affected the section near Yanshan.
But not all Chinese rulers supported this idea. The Qing Dynasty, having come to power, simply abandoned construction. The imperial family did not see the practicality of a block of stone on the outskirts of the state. The only part they were worried about was the erected gate near Beijing. They were used for their intended purpose.
Only decades later, in 1984, the Chinese authorities decided to restore the Great Wall of China. Little by little from the world - and construction began to boil again. With money collected from caring sponsors and philanthropists around the world, destroyed stone blocks in several sections of the wall were replaced.
What does a tourist need to know?
After reading history books and looking at photographs, you may feel an irresistible desire to go and challenge yourself to climb the Great Wall of China. But before you imagine yourself as an Emperor on top of a rock massif, you need to consider a few points.
First of all, it's not that simple. The problem is not only the amount of paperwork. You will have to submit copies of both passports, an application form, photographs, copies of round-trip tickets and a copy of your hotel reservation. Also, you will be asked for a certificate from your place of work, where your salary should not be less than 5,000 hryvnia. If you are unemployed, you must have a certificate from the bank about the status of your personal account. Please note - it must be worth at least 1500-2000 dollars. If you have collected all the necessary forms, copies and photographs, then you will be provided with a visa for up to 30 days without the possibility of extension.
Secondly, it is advisable to plan a visit to the Great Wall of China in advance. It’s worth deciding on the miracle of architecture and how to spend time there. You can go from the hotel to the wall on your own. But it is better to book a planned excursion and follow the plan provided by the guide.
The most popular tours offered in China take you to several sections of the wall that are open to the public.
The first option is the Badaling site. For the excursion you will have to pay about 350 yuan (1355 hryvnia). For this money you will not only explore the wall and climb to the heights, but also visit the tombs of that very Ming dynasty.
The second option is the Mutianyu site. Here the price reaches 450 yuan (1,740 hryvnia), for which, after visiting the wall, you will be taken to the Forbidden City, the greatest palace complex of the Ming Dynasty.
Also, there are a lot of one-time and shortened excursions, in the context of which you can either walk along the hundreds of steps of the Great Wall of China, or take a funicular ride, or simply admire the picturesque view from the tops of the towers.
What else is worth knowing about the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall of China, like everything else in the Celestial Empire, is shrouded in legends, beliefs and mysteries.
There is a legend among the Chinese people that even at the beginning of the construction of the wall, the lover Meng Jiangui accompanied her newly-made husband to the construction. However, after waiting for him for three years, she could not stand the separation and went to the wall to see her beloved and give him warm clothes. It was only after going through a difficult path that she found out at the wall that her husband had died of hunger and hard work. Overwhelmed by grief, Maine fell to her knees and sobbed, causing part of the wall to crumble down, and the body of her deceased husband appeared from under the stones.
Such legends local residents supported by beliefs. They believe that if you put your ear to the stones of the wall, you can hear the moans and cries of those workers who were buried during the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Video - The Mesmerizing Great Wall of China
Other storytellers claim that the mass graves of slave construction workers are a tribute to higher powers. Because as soon as Emperor Qin ordered the construction of a defensive structure, a court magician came to him. He told the emperor that the Great Wall would be completed only when 10,000 inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom were buried under the boulders, and a Chinese man named Wang was dead. Inspired by the sorcerer’s speeches, the emperor ordered to find a subject with that name, kill him and wall him up within the walls.
There is also a more mundane story, which to most seems only a myth. The fact is that in 2006 V. Semeiko published an article in one of the scientific journals. In it, he suggested that the authors and builders of the stone border were not the Chinese, but the Russians. The author reinforces his idea by the fact that the towers are directed towards China, as if observing the eastern state. And the fact is that general style buildings are more typical of Russian defensive walls, supposedly unconditionally testifying to the Slavic roots of the architectural phenomenon.
Whether this is true or just a hoax will remain a mystery for centuries. But tourists happily come to China to walk the steps of one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. Stand at the tower and wave your hand to the sky in the hope that somewhere in orbit someone will certainly see them. But the theory that the Great Wall of China is visible from orbit is a lie. The only celestial images the wall can boast of are those from satellite cameras. But this fact also gives the wall a special grandeur.
And, be that as it may, the Great Wall of China, with all its ambiguity and mystery, is the best symbol of the massiveness, strength and greatness of the Celestial Empire. Its sublimity and successful symbiosis of innovation and mysticism.
Today it is believed that the Chinese began building their Great Wall of China as early as the 3rd century BC. e. Built for protection from northern nomads. The current state of the Wall is shown in Fig. 37 and 38. Regarding this, N.A. Morozov wrote:
“One thought is that the famous Chinese Wall, 6 to 7 meters high, and up to three thick, stretching for THREE THOUSAND KILOMETERS, began construction back in 246 BC by Emperor Shi Hoang Ti (aka Shi Huang Di - Initial Venerable Emperor - Auto.) and WAS FINISHED ONLY AFTER 1866 YEARS, BY 1620 AD, is so absurd that it can only cause annoyance to a serious historian-thinker. After all, every large building has a predetermined practical purpose... Who would have thought of starting a huge construction that could only be completed in 2000 years, and until then would only be a useless burden for the population... And the Chinese Wall would be preserved as well as it is now could only if it was no more than several hundred years old”, vol. 6, p. 121–122.
Rice. 37. The Great Wall of China. Taken from, vol. 6, p. 121.
They will tell us that the Chinese took care of and constantly repaired their Wall for two thousand years in a row. Doubtful. It only makes sense to repair a building that is not very old, otherwise it will become hopelessly outdated and simply fall apart. This is what we are seeing, by the way, in Europe. Old defensive walls were dismantled and new, more powerful ones were built in their place. For example, many military fortifications in Rus' were rebuilt in the 16th century.
Rice. 38. Great Wall of China modern form. Taken from, vol. 21.
But in China everything was supposedly completely different. We are told that the Chinese Wall was built and stood for TWO THOUSAND YEARS. Historians don’t say that “ modern wall recently built on the site of an ancient one.” No, they claim that today we see exactly the same wall that conscientious Chinese workers built two thousand years ago. In our opinion, this is extremely strange, to say the least.
When and against whom was the Wall built? It's easy to give an approximate answer. As we have already said, “Chinese” history up to the 15th century AD. e. actually unfolded IN EUROPE. Therefore, the Chinese Wall could only have been created NO EARLIER than the 15th CENTURY AD. That is, when Chinese history“settled” already in modern China. And the Wall was built, of course, not against arrows and spears with copper or even stone tips of the 3rd century BC. Against which stone wall three meters thick is simply not needed. Walls such as the Chinese Wall were already built against battering rams and firearms. And they began to be built no earlier than the 15th century, when GUNS appeared on the battlefields, including SIEGE WEAPONS. In Fig. 39 we show another image of the Chinese Wall. It is very interesting that ancient authors also called it the WALL OF GOG AND MAGOG, vol. 1, p. 294. This was stated, for example, by Abulfeda.
Who was the wall built against? We cannot yet answer for sure. This requires additional research.
However, we will express the following thought, which will simultaneously indicate our proposed dating of the Wall.
Apparently, the Great Wall of China was built primarily as a structure marking the BORDER between China and Russia. And it was only partially conceived as a military-defensive structure - and it was hardly ever used in this capacity. Defend 4000- kilometer wall, With. 44, from an enemy attack is SENSELESS. Even if it stretches “only” one or two thousand kilometers. The wall in its current form is only slightly short of 4 thousand kilometers.
L.N. Gumilyov wrote: “The wall stretches for 4 thousand km. Its height reached 10 meters, and watchtowers rose every 60-100 meters. But, when the work was completed, it turned out that all of China’s armed forces were not enough to organize an effective defense on the wall (as if this could not have been realized BEFORE construction began - Auth.). In fact, if you place a small detachment on each tower, the enemy will destroy it before the neighbors have time to gather and send help.
Rice. 39. The Great Wall of China. It turns out that it was also called “The Wall of Gog and Magog”, vol. 1, p. 293–294. Taken from, vol. 1, p. 293.
If large detachments are spaced out less frequently, gaps will form through which the enemy can easily and unnoticed penetrate deep into the country. A FORTRESS WITHOUT DEFENDERS IS NOT A FORTRESS”, p. 44.
How does our point of view differ from the traditional one? We are told that the Wall separated China from the nomads in order to secure the country from their raids. But, as A.N. correctly noted. Gumilev, this explanation does not stand up to criticism. If the nomads wanted to cross the Wall, they could easily do so. And more than once. And anywhere.
We offer a completely different explanation. We believe that the Wall was built primarily to MARK THE BORDER BETWEEN TWO STATES. And it was built when an agreement was reached on this border. Apparently in order to eliminate border disputes in the future. And there probably were such disputes. Today, the parties to the agreement draw the border ON THE MAP (that is, on paper). And they think that this is enough. And in the case of Russia and China, the Chinese side apparently attached such great importance to the agreement that they decided to immortalize it not only on paper, but also on the ground itself, by drawing the Wall along the agreed border. This was more reliable and, as the Chinese probably thought, should have eliminated border disputes for a long time.
The length of the Wall itself speaks in favor of this assumption. Four thousand kilometers may well be the LENGTH OF THE BORDER between the two states. But for a purely military structure such a length is meaningless.
But the northern border of China has changed many times over its supposedly more than two-thousand-year history that has passed since the construction of the Wall. What the historians themselves tell us about. China was either united or divided into separate states, lost and gained some lands, etc.
But then we are given a wonderful opportunity not only to test our idea that the Wall was from the very beginning the BORDER of China, but also to supposedly DATE the construction of the Wall. Because if we manage to find a RELIABLE DATED ancient map, on which the BORDER OF CHINA GOES EXACTLY ALONG THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, then this will mean that, most likely, THE WALL WAS BUILT AT THIS TIME.
Today the Chinese Wall is INSIDE China. Was there a time when she passed EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER? And when was this? By answering these questions we will get an approximate dating of the Wall.
Let's try to find a GEOGRAPHICAL MAP on which the Chinese Wall runs EXACTLY ALONG THE NORTHERN BORDER OF CHINA. It turns out that SUCH CARDS REALLY EXIST. Moreover, there are many of them. These are maps of the 17th–18th centuries AD.
Take, for example, an 18th-century map of Asia produced by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam. The map is part of a rare 18th-century atlas. The inscription on the map reads: L"Asie, Dresse sur les observations de l"Academie Royale des Sciences et quelques autres et Sur les memoires les plus recens. Par G. de l "Isle Geographe a Amsterdam. Ches R. & J. Ottens, Geographes dans le Kalverstraat au Carte du Monde. See Fig. 40.
On this map we see two large states in Asia: Tartarie and China. See Figure 41 and our drawing of the map in Figure 42. China's northern border runs approximately along the 40th parallel. THE CHINA WALL IS VERY CLOSE TO THIS BORDER. Moreover, on the map the Wall is MARKED as a thick line with the inscription Muraille de la Chine, that is, “high wall of China” translated from French.
We see the same Chinese Wall, with the same inscription on it, on another map of 1754 - Carte de l "Asie, which we took from a rare atlas of the 18th century. See Fig. 43. Here the Chinese Wall goes EXACTLY along the border between China and Great Tartary. See Fig. 44 and drawing in Fig. 45.
Rice. 40. Map of Asia from an 18th century atlas. Made in Amsterdam. L"Asie, dresse sur les observations de l"Academie Royale des Sciences et quelques autres, et sur les memoires les plus recens. Par G. de l'lsle Geographe. a Amsterdam. Chez R. & J. Ottens, Geographes dans le Kalverstraat au Carte du Monde. Taken from.
We see literally the same thing on another map of Asia in the 17th century, placed in the famous Blau world atlas of 1655. See Fig. 46. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China, and only its small western section is already inside China.
It is also important that the cartographers of the 18th century ACTUALLY CONSIDERED IT NECESSARY TO PLACE THE CHINESE WALL ON THE POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD. Which indirectly suggests that the Wall HAD THE MEANING OF A POLITICAL BORDER. After all, they did not depict other wonders of the world. For example, there are no Egyptian pyramids on this map. And they painted the Chinese Wall.
Rice. 41. Fragment of a map of Asia from an 18th century atlas. It is clearly visible that the Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China. The wall is not only depicted on the map, but is also directly called the “Wall of China”: Muraille de la Chine. Taken from
The Great Wall of China is depicted on a color map of the Qing Empire of the second half of the 17th–18th centuries from a 10-volume academic book World History, With. 300–301. This map shows the Great Wall in detail, with all its small curves in the terrain. Almost along its entire length it runs EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE, with the exception of a small westernmost section no more than 200 kilometers long.
Rice. 42. Our drawing of a fragment of a map of Asia in the 18th century with the image of the Great Wall of China. Map taken from.
Rice. 43. East End maps of Asia from the atlas of XVIII Bek. Taken from .
Rice. 44. Fragment of a map of Asia from an 18th century atlas. The Great Wall of China runs exactly along the border of China. It is not only depicted on the map, but also directly named “ Chinese wall": Muraille de la Chine. Taken from .
Rice. 45. Our drawing of a fragment of the map of 1754. "Carte de I" Asie. 1754. It is clearly visible that the Great Wall of China runs exactly along the northern border of China. Map taken from.
Rice. 46. Fragment of a map of Asia from the Blaeu atlas of 1655. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China, and only a small western section is located inside China. Taken from .
Rice. 47. The Great Wall of China on a map supposedly from 1617, running exactly along the border between “China” (China) and Tartary. Taken from, p. 190–191.
Rice. 48. Enlarged image of the Chinese Wall, which plays the role of the border between China and Tartaria. From a map supposedly from 1617. Taken from, p. 190–191.
On a map supposedly from 1617 from the Blau Atlas, we also see the Chinese Wall, running EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER between “China” - that is, China - and Tartaria (TARTARIA), Fig. 47 and 48.
We see exactly the same picture on the map allegedly dated 1635 from the Blaeu Atlas, p. 198–199. Here, exactly along the border between China-China (CHINAE) and Tartaria, runs the Great Wall of China, fig. 49 and 50.
Rice. 49. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border between China and Tartaria on a map allegedly dating from 1635. Taken from Blaeu's Atlas, p. 198–199.
Rice. 50. Enlarged fragment depicting the Chinese Wall as a border between states. Taken from, p. 199
In our opinion, all this means the following. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WAS PROBABLY BUILT IN THE 17TH CENTURY TO DELIVER THE STATE BORDER BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA.
And if, after all these maps, someone still insists that the Chinese, they say, still built their Wall in the 3rd century BC, then we will answer this way. Maybe you're right. Let's not argue. However, in this case, we will have to admit that the “ancient” Chinese had such an amazing gift of foresight that they predicted exactly how the state border would run in the north of China in the 17th–18th centuries of the NEW ERA. That is, two thousand years after them.
They may object to us: the wall was not built along the border, but, on the contrary, the border between Russia and China in the 17th century was drawn along the ancient Wall. However, in this case, the Wall would have to be mentioned in a written Russian-Chinese treaty. But, as far as we know, there are no such references.
But if the Great Wall of China is really the border between Russia and China, then WHEN EXACTLY was it built? Apparently, in the 17th century. No wonder it is believed that its construction was “completed” only in 1620, vol. 6, p. 121. Or maybe even later. We will return to this issue in the next chapter.
And I immediately remember that EXACTLY in the 17th century there were BORDER WARS between Russia and China. See S.M. Soloviev, “History of Russia since ancient times,” vol. 12, chapter 5, . It was probably only at the end of the 17th century that the border was agreed upon. And then they built the Wall to FIX THE AGREEMENT.
Did the Wall exist in some form before the 17th century? Apparently not. As we now understand, in the XIV-XVI centuries Rus' AND CHINA STILL CONSTITUTED ONE EMPIRE. It is believed that China was conquered by the “Mongols”, after which it became part of the Great = “Mongol” Empire. Therefore, there was no need to build a Wall on the border. Most likely, such a need arose only after the Great Troubles of the early 17th century and the seizure of power in Rus' by the pro-Western Romanov dynasty. Then Türkiye separated from the Empire and heavy wars began with it. China also separated. The Manchu dynasty needed to build a wall to secure the border of the state they created. Which is what was done.
By the way, many “ancient Chinese” chronicles talk about the Great Wall. So what year were they written? It is clear that after the construction of the Wall, that is, not earlier than the 17th century AD. e.
And one more interesting question. Are there any other powerful stone fortress structures still preserved in China that were erected earlier than the 17th century, that is, before the Manchu rule over China? And also stone palaces and temples? Or did the Great Wall, before the arrival of the Manzhurs in the 17th century, stand in China in splendid isolation as the ONLY powerful stone fortification structure in the entire country? If so, then it’s very strange. Is it really possible that in the two thousand years that have supposedly passed since the construction of the Wall, the Chinese did not think of building many other structures that were even remotely comparable to the Wall? After all, we are told that the long history of China was filled with internecine wars. Why then did the Chinese not fence each other off with walls? According to the logic of historians, in two thousand years all of China should have been blocked by a wide variety of Great - and not so great - Walls. But there is nothing like it.
In Europe and Rus', for example, a lot of stone fortifications have been preserved. If the Chinese, two thousand years ago, built a gigantic stone structure that was generally useless from a military point of view, then why didn’t they use their remarkable talents to build really useful stone kremlins in their cities?
If the Wall was built, as we assume, only in the 17th century and was ONE OF THE FIRST grandiose stone buildings in China, then everything falls into place. Since the 17th century, there have been no major internecine wars in China. Until 1911, the same Manjurian dynasty ruled there. And after it, in the 20th century, no one built stone fortresses for military purposes. They are no longer needed.
Apparently, it is possible to even more accurately indicate the time of construction of the Great Wall of China.
As we have already said, the Wall was apparently built as a border between China and Russia during the border disputes of the 17th century. ARMED COLLISIONS between the two countries flared up from the middle of the 17th century. The wars went on with varying degrees of success, p. 572–575. Descriptions of the wars are preserved in Khabarov’s notes.
The treaty that secured the northern border between China and Russia was concluded in 1689 in Nerchinsk. Perhaps there were earlier attempts to conclude a Russian-Chinese treaty. Therefore, we would expect that the Great Border Wall of China was built sometime between 1650 and 1689. This expectation is justified. It is known that the Chinese Emperor (Bogdykhan) Kangxi “began the implementation of his plan to oust the RUSSIANS FROM AMUR. Having built a chain of fortifications in Manzhuria (! - Author), Bogdykhan in 1684 sent the Manjurian army to the Amur”, vol. 5, p. 312. We show a portrait of Bogdykhan Kangxi based on a drawing from the 18th century in Fig. 51.
Rice. 51. Chinese Bogdykhan. (Emperor) Kangxi (1662–1722), under whom construction of the Great Wall of China probably began. From an 18th century drawing. Taken from, vol. 5, p. 312.
What kind of fortification chain did Bogdykhan Kangxi build by 1684? In our opinion, this refers to the construction of the Great Wall of China. A CHAIN OF FORTIFIED TOWERS CONNECTED BY A WALL.
Figure 52 shows an engraving from the early 18th century, which depicts the Russian embassy passing through the Great Wall of China. It is worth noting that the Wall depicted here bears little resemblance to a real military fortification. For example, both passages in the towers through which the road from Russia to China is laid are COMPLETELY DEprived of ANY GATES OR GRATINGS, Fig. 53. Both through passages through the Wall are quite high and spacious. They are not protected by anything! The thickness of the wall, judging by the drawing, is quite small. So, from a military-defensive point of view, the Wall depicted in Fig. 54 is rather meaningless.
Rice. 52. An ancient image entitled: “The Russian embassy passes through the gates of the Great Wall of China. Engraving from the book by I. Ides. Beginning of the 18th century." This Wall is not like the Chinese Wall that we are shown today. It is much narrower than modern and there is no wide passage along its top. And today in China a much thicker “ancient” Wall with a wide road along the top has already been built. Taken from, p. 143.
Rice. 53. An enlarged fragment of an ancient engraving from the 18th century depicting the passage towers of the Chinese Wall. The passage through them is wide and high. There are no gates or bars visible in the towers. Such a wall is in no way capable of serving as a serious military-defensive structure, but it may well mark the border between two states. Taken from, p. 143.
The Great Wall, which the Chinese show their guests today, is constructed significantly differently. It has become much thicker and there is now a wide road along its top, fig. 55. The question is, when was it built in this form? Isn't it in the 20th century? By the way, the road leading along the top of the modern Chinese Wall looks as if it was made for tourists to walk, and not for soldiers to run under a hail of arrows. It's a wide road that opens up beautiful views to the surrounding area. Figure 56 shows a photograph of the Wall of China, believed to have been taken in 1907. But perhaps this photograph was taken much later or was heavily retouched. It is possible that a significant contribution to the construction of the “most ancient” Chinese Wall was made in the 20th century, already under Mao Zedong, when it was necessary to create an outstanding symbol of the greatness of the “most ancient” China. The wall was completed, expanded, and in some places rebuilt from scratch... And they said that, they say, it has always been this way.
Rice. 54. Current state of the Great Wall of China. It is already made very thick and there is a wide road along its top. Probably a remake for tourists. Taken from, p. 362.
Rice. 55. Photograph of the Great Wall of China, allegedly taken in 1907 (which, however, is doubtful). Taken from, p. 122.
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The Great Wall of China is one of the largest and oldest architectural monuments in the world. Its total length is 8851.8 km, in one of the sections it passes near Beijing. The construction process of this structure is amazing in its scale. We will tell you about the most interesting facts and events from the history of the Wall
First, let's delve a little into the history of the great structure. It is difficult to imagine how much time and human resources are required to build a structure of this scale. It is unlikely that anywhere else in the world there will be a building with such a long, great and at the same time tragic history. Construction of the Great Wall of China began in the 3rd century BC during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, during the Warring States period (475-221 BC). In those days, the state was in dire need of protection from attacks by enemies, in particular the nomadic Xiongnu people. A fifth of the Chinese population was involved in the work, at that time it was about a million people
The wall was supposed to become the northernmost point of the planned expansion of the Chinese, as well as protect the subjects of the “Celestial Empire” from being drawn into a semi-nomadic lifestyle and assimilation with the barbarians. It was planned to clearly define the boundaries of the great Chinese civilization and to promote the unification of the empire into a single whole, since China was just beginning to form from many conquered states. Here are the boundaries of the Chinese Wall on the map:
During the Han Dynasty (206 - 220 BC), the structure was expanded westward to Dunhuang. They built many watchtowers to protect trade caravans from attacks by warring nomads. Almost all sections of the Great Wall that have survived to this day were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During this period, they built mainly from bricks and blocks, thanks to which the structure became stronger and more reliable. During this time, the Wall ran from east to west from Shanhaiguan on the shores of the Yellow Sea to the Yumenguan outpost on the border of Gansu provinces and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 
The Qing Dynasty of Manchuria (1644-1911) broke the resistance of the Wall defenders due to the betrayal of Wu Sangui. During this period, the structure was treated with great disdain. During the three centuries that the Qing remained in power, the Great Wall was practically destroyed under the influence of time. Only a small section of it, passing near Beijing - Badaling - was preserved in order - it was used as a “gate to the capital”. Nowadays, this section of the wall is the most popular among tourists - it was the very first open to the public back in 1957, and also served as the finishing point of the cycling race at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. US President Nixon visited it. In 1899, newspapers in the US wrote that the wall would be dismantled and a highway would be built in its place. 
In 1984, on the initiative of Deng Xiaoping, a restoration program was organized Chinese wall, financial assistance was attracted from Chinese and foreign companies. A collection was also held among individuals; anyone could donate any amount. 
The total length of the Great Wall of China is 8 thousand 851 kilometers and 800 meters. Just think about this figure, isn’t it impressive?
Nowadays, a 60-kilometer section of the wall in the Shanxi region in northwestern China is undergoing active erosion. The main reason for this is the intensive farming methods in the country, when, starting from the 1950s, groundwater gradually dried up, and the region became the epicenter of extremely strong sand storms. More than 40 kilometers of the wall have already been destroyed, and only 10 kilometers are still in place, but the height of the wall has partially decreased from five to two meters
The Great Wall was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 as one of China's greatest historical sites. In addition, this is one of the most visited attractions in the world - about 40 million tourists come here every year
There are many myths and legends surrounding such a large-scale structure. For example, the fact that this is a solid, continuous wall, built in one approach is a real myth. In reality, the wall is a discontinuous network of individual segments built by various dynasties to protect China's northern border
During its construction, the Great Wall of China was called the longest cemetery on the planet because a large number of people died at the construction site. According to rough estimates, the construction of the wall cost the lives of more than one million people
It is logical that such a giant has broken and still holds many records. The most significant of them is the longest structure ever built by man.
As I wrote above, the Great Wall was built as many individual elements in different times. Each province built its own wall and gradually they were united into a single whole. In those days, protective structures were simply necessary and were built everywhere. In total, more than 50,000 kilometers of defensive walls have been built in China over the past 2,000 years.
Since the Chinese Wall was interrupted in some places, it was not possible for the Mongol invaders led by Genghis Khan special labor raid China, and they subsequently conquered the northern part of the country, between 1211 and 1223. The Mongols ruled China until 1368, when they were driven out by the Ming Dynasty, described above.
Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space. This pervasive myth was born in 1893 in the American magazine The Century and then re-discussed in 1932 on Robert Ripley's show, which claimed that the wall was visible from the moon - even though the first flight into space was still very far away. Nowadays, it has been proven that it is quite difficult to notice a wall from space with the naked eye. Here's a NASA photo from space, see for yourself 
Another legend says that the substance used to hold the stones together was mixed with powder from human bones, and that those killed at the construction site were buried right in the wall itself to make the structure stronger. But this is not true, the solution was made from ordinary rice flour - and there are no bones or dead in the wall structure
For obvious reasons, this miracle was not included in the 7 ancient wonders of the world, but the Great Wall of China is quite rightly included in the list of 7 new wonders of the world. Another legend says that a large fire dragon paved the way for workers, indicating where to build a wall. The builders subsequently followed his tracks
While we are talking about legends, one of the most popular is about a woman named Meng Jing Nu, the wife of a farmer working on the construction of the Great Wall. When she found out that her husband died at work, she went to the wall and cried on it until it collapsed, revealing the bones of her loved one, and her wife was able to bury them 
There was a whole tradition of burying those who died during the construction of the wall. Family members of the deceased carried the coffin, on which was a cage with a white rooster. The crowing of a rooster was supposed to keep the dead man's spirit awake until the procession recounted the Great Wall. Otherwise, the spirit will forever wander along the wall 
During the Ming Dynasty, more than one million soldiers were called upon to defend the country's borders against enemies on the Great Wall. As for the builders, they were recruited from the same defenders in peacetime, peasants, simply the unemployed and criminals. There was a special punishment for all those convicted and there was only one verdict - to build a wall! 
The Chinese invented a wheelbarrow especially for this construction project and used it throughout the construction of the Great Wall. Some particularly dangerous parts of the Great Wall were surrounded by protective ditches, which were either filled with water or left as ditches. The Chinese used advanced weapons for defense such as axes, hammers, spears, crossbows, halberds, and a Chinese invention: gunpowder 
Observation towers were built along the entire Great Wall in uniform areas and could be up to 40 feet high. They were used to monitor the territory, as well as fortresses and garrisons for troops. They contained supplies of necessary food and water. In case of danger, a signal was given from the tower, torches, special beacons or simply flags were lit. The western section of the Great Wall, with a long chain of observation towers, served to protect caravans that moved along the Silk Road, a famous trade route 
The last battle at the wall took place in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese War. There are many bullet marks left in the wall from those times. The highest point of the Great Wall of China is at an altitude of 1534 meters, near Beijing, while the lowest point is at sea level near Lao Long Tu. The average height of the wall is 7 meters, and the width in some places reaches 8 meters, but generally ranges from 5 to 7 meters 
The Great Wall of China is a symbol of national pride, centuries-old struggle, and greatness. The country's government spends enormous amounts of money on the preservation of this architectural monument, amounting to billions of US dollars per year, hoping to preserve the wall for future generations
The most grandiose wonder of the world - the Great Wall of China, which has a length of almost nine thousand kilometers, is perceived today by us far from being a fortification structure against enemy raids, but only in the form of a unique ancient monument. For this reason, few people think about which side of this wall were those same enemies?
The Chinese Wall was not built by the Chinese
But in 2011, British archaeologists excavated an unknown part of the Chinese Wall, and were extremely surprised: its loopholes were directed towards modern China. It turns out that the famous wall was not built by the Chinese, then by whom and from whom?
From the north of Ancient China there lived nomadic tribes who could hardly build such a grandiose structure. And in general, scientists believed that even with modern technologies to build such a wall would require laying tens of thousands of kilometers railways, involve hundreds of thousands of machines, cranes and other equipment, abandon tens of millions of people and spend at least a hundred years on all this.
In ancient times there were no such possibilities, which means that it took thousands of years to build a gigantic wall, in comparison with which even the Egyptian pyramids seem like toys in a sandbox. Why and who needed this, because it makes no sense both from an economic and military point of view. But someone built this wall, most likely with more high technology what we have today. But who? And for what?
The Chinese Wall was built by the Slavs
The medieval geographical atlas of Abraham Ortelius, published back in 1570, helped answer this question. It could be seen that modern China is divided into two parts - southern China and server Catai. It was between them that the wall was laid, which, apparently, was built by the inhabitants of the mysterious Tartary, which occupies the territory of Siberia and Far East modern Russia and the northern part of modern China.
Ancient vessels found in the northern provinces of China back in the sixties of the last century, but deciphered only recently, completely shed light on this mystery. As paradoxical as it may seem, they were written in runitsa - an ancient Slavic script. And the ancient treatises of China often talk about white people who live in the northern lands and communicate directly with the Gods. These were the ancient Slavs, descendants of Hyperborea, who lived in Tartaria. It was they who built the Great Wall, not the Chinese, but the Slavic. By the way, in the runic language the word “China” only means “high wall.”
The truth about the Chinese wall is not needed by the powers that be
But against whom was this “high wall” built? It turns out that it was against the race of the Great Dragon, with whom the White race of Russians, who lived in Tartary, had been fighting for a long time. This battle at the level of two extraterrestrial civilizations ended with the great victory of the White race more than seven and a half thousand years ago. It is this date that the Slavs consider the beginning of the creation of the World; the ancient Slavic calendar began with it, which, unfortunately, was abolished by Peter the Great.
And the fact that there was once a war of extraterrestrial civilizations is said by the legends of many peoples of the world; naturally, it is reflected in the legends of the Slavic and Chinese people. So why didn’t these civilizations leave any traces on Earth? It turns out they did, and the Great Wall of China is not the only unique evidence of this. A lot of such artifacts have been found, but no one is in a hurry or even dares to publish all this data: firstly, then all history and geography need to be rewritten, and secondly, for many peoples, say, the Americans or the Chinese, this is not at all profitable .
Even we, Russians, cannot restore our true history - the history of the ancient Slavs, which, as it turns out, dates back not centuries, but millennia. However, look at the new one documentary“Ancient Chinese Rus'”, where you will find answers to these and many other questions that modern “fundamental” science is silent about.
The Great Wall of China is a unique structure; it looks like the body of a long dragon, spread across northern China. The length is more than 6400 km, the thickness of the wall is about 3 meters, and the height can reach seven meters. It is believed that it was in the 3rd century BC that the construction of the wall began, and ended only in the 17th century AD. It turns out that according to the accepted historical version, this construction lasted almost 2000 years. Truly a unique building. History does not know such long-term construction. Everyone is so accustomed to this historical version that few people think about its absurdity.
Any construction project, especially a large one, has a specific practical purpose. Who today would think of starting a huge construction project that can only be completed in 2000 years? Of course, no one! Because it's pointless. Not only will this endless construction put a heavy burden on the population of the country, the building itself will be constantly destroyed and will have to be restored. This is what happened with the Great Wall of China.
We will never know what the first sections of the wall, allegedly built before our era, looked like. They, of course, collapsed. And those sections that have survived to this day were mainly built during the Ming Dynasty, that is, allegedly, in the period from the 14th to the 17th centuries AD. Because in that era building materials there were bricks and stone blocks that made the structure more reliable. So historians are still forced to admit that this “wall,” which anyone can see today, appeared no earlier than the 14th century AD. But even 600 years is a fairly respectable age for a stone building. It is still not clear why this structure is so well preserved.
In Europe, for example, medieval defensive structures grew old and fell apart over time. They had to be dismantled and new, more modern ones built. The same thing happened in Rus'. Many medieval military fortifications were rebuilt in the 17th century. But in China, for some reason these natural physical laws do not apply...
Even if we assume that the ancient Chinese builders had some kind of secret, thanks to which they created such a unique structure, historians do not have a logical answer to the most important question: “Why did the Chinese build a stone wall with such tenacity for 2000 years? Who did they want to protect themselves from? - historians answer: “The wall was built along the entire border of the Chinese empire to protect against the attacks of nomads...”
Such a wall, as much as 3 meters thick, was not needed against the nomads. Russians and Europeans began to build similar structures only when cannons and siege weapons appeared on the battlefields, that is, in the 15th century.
But the point is not even in its thickness, but in its length. The wall, stretching for several thousand kilometers, could not protect China from raids.
Firstly, in many places it passes at the foot of mountains and nearby hills. It is quite obvious that the enemy, having climbed onto the neighboring peaks, could easily shoot all the defenders on this section of the wall. From arrows flying from above, the Chinese soldiers would simply have nowhere to hide.
Secondly, along the entire length of the wall, watchtowers were built every 60-100 meters. Large military detachments were constantly supposed to be in these towers and monitor the appearance of the enemy. But back in the 3rd century BC, under Emperor Qin Shihuang Di, when 4,000 km of the wall had already been built, it became clear that if the towers were installed so often, it would not be possible to ensure effective defense of the wall. All the armed forces of the Chinese Empire will not be enough. And if you place a small detachment on each tower, then it will become easy prey for the enemy. A small detachment will be destroyed before neighboring detachments have time to come to its aid. If defensive detachments are made large, but deployed less frequently, then too long and unprotected sections of the wall are formed, through which the enemy can easily penetrate deep into the country.
It is not surprising that the appearance of such a fortification did not protect China from raids. But its construction greatly depleted the state, and the Qin dynasty lost its throne. The new Han dynasty no longer had much hope for the great wall and returned to the system of maneuver warfare, but, according to historians, the construction of the wall, for some reason, continued. Strange story...
It is also interesting that until the end of the 17th century, apart from the Great Wall of China, not a single large stone structure was built in China. But scientists claim that the population of China waged constant wars among themselves. Why didn’t they fence themselves off from each other with walls and build stone kremlins in their cities?
With such experience as the construction of the Great Wall of China, the entire country could be covered with defensive structures. It turns out that the Chinese spent all their resources, strength and talents only on the construction of the, in general, useless from a military point of view - the Great Wall of China.
But there is another historical version of the construction of the Great Wall of China. This version is not as popular among historians as the first, but it is more logical.
The Great Wall was indeed built along the border of China, but not to protect against nomads, but to mark the border between the two states. And its construction began not 2000 years ago, but much later, in the 17th century AD. That is, the famous wall is no more than 300 years old. An interesting historical fact speaks in favor of this version.
According to the official historical version, by the middle of the 17th century, the northern lands of China were severely depopulated and in order to protect these lands from settlement by Russians and Koreans, in 1678, Emperor Kangxi ordered this border of the empire to be surrounded by a special fortified line. Its construction continued until the end of the 80s of the 17th century.
The question immediately arises: why did the emperor need to build some new fortified line, if a huge stone wall had stood on the entire northern border of China for a long time?
Most likely, there was no wall there yet, so in order to protect their lands, the Chinese began building a line of fortifications, because it was at that time that China was fighting border wars with Russia. And only in the 17th century both sides agreed where the border between the two states would be.
In 1689, a treaty was signed in the city of Nerchinsk, which fixed the northern border of China. Probably the Chinese rulers of the 17th century attached great importance to the Treaty of Nerchinsk, which is why they decided to mark the border not only on paper, but also on the ground. So a border wall appeared along the entire border with Russia.
On the map of Asia of the 18th century, made by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam, two states are clearly visible, China and Tartary. China's northern border runs approximately along the 40th parallel, and the Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border. Moreover, it is highlighted with a bold line and the inscription: “Muraille de la Chine” - which translated from French means: “Wall of China”. The same thing can be seen in many other maps produced after the 17th century.
Of course, one can assume that the ancient Chinese foresaw 2000 years ago where the Russian-Chinese border would be, and in 1689, the two states simply drew the border along the wall that stood here, but in this case, this would definitely have been indicated in the treaty, but in the Nerchinsk Treaty there is no mention of the wall.
For several decades now, scientists around the world have been sounding the alarm. One of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China, is rapidly collapsing! And indeed, in some places, the height of the wall has decreased to two meters, in some places the observation towers have completely disappeared, several tens of kilometers of the wall have been completely lost, and hundreds of kilometers continue to rapidly collapse. And this despite the fact that over the past few centuries, the wall has been repaired and restored several times, why was it not destroyed at such a rate before? Why, after standing for more than two thousand years, did the wall quickly begin to turn into ruins?
Scientists blame climate, ecology, Agriculture and, of course, tourists. Every year 10 million people visit the wall. They go where they can and where they can’t. They want to see even those parts of the wall that are closed to the public. But the matter is most likely something else...
The Great Wall of China is being destroyed in a completely natural way, just like all similar structures were destroyed. 300 years is a very respectable age for a stone building, and the version that the great Chinese long-term construction is as long as 2000 years old is a MYTH. As is much of Chinese history itself.
P.S. There is also another version circulating on the Internet that the Great Wall of China was not built by the Chinese at all. In those days, in China, practically nothing was built of stone except this wall. Moreover, the loopholes on the old, unrestored sections of the wall are located only on the south side. Unfortunately, I have not been to China and cannot say with certainty whether this is actually true. Photographs that determine the south side based on the sun's shadow cannot be taken as evidence. As you know, the wall does not go in a straight line, the directions are completely different, the sun can shine from both the southern and northern sides of the wall, roughly speaking.
