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Inner Mongolia undertakes Great Wall repair

BEIJING  -- The most extensive preservation project for the "Great Wall" has been launched by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

May 11, 2008
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Fundraisers walk to Beijing on Great Wall

Singer and actress Olivia Newton-John and her partner John Easterling (L) walk along the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall of China in Hebei province, April 7, 2008 at the start of the "Great Walk to Beijing", which she initiated to raise funds to build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. International stars and cancer survivors will walk 228 km along the Great Wall of China for 23 days.

 April 07, 2008
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Japanese delegation climbs the Great Wall

Members of a Japanese youths delegation pose for a group photo on the Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing, March 13, 2008. The 1,000-strong delegation is on a week-long friendly visit to China.

March 14, 2008
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History of The Great Wall

As the new seven wonders of the world (elected in 2007), the Great Wall has been widely recognised and admired by the people all over the world. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built.

History of The Great Wall

The earliest walls can date back to 2500 years ago. Originally the ducal states like Qin, Zhao, Yan, Chu, Wei, Qi and Han constructed the several walls to protect their territories from invasions of other kingdoms and normadic tribes during China's Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). All these walls were finished between 685 -254 B.C. After the whole country was unified in 220 B.C. by the first Emperor Qin Shi-huang, he ordered his general Meng Tian to recruit 300,000 labours to extend and connect the northern parts of these walls to keep away the invasion from Huns tribes.

In history, the longest wall should be the Great Wall built in Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), the total length exceeded more than 10,000 kilometers, from the east of Liaoning Province to Lop Nur in the southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the recent investigations of China's Greal Wall experts. To strengthen the protection, Han emperors even ordered to build other two paralleled walls in the north of Yin Mountain. The Great Wall played a positive role at the moment in defensing the Han territory from the harassment of the Huns, which made part of Huns move to the West Aisa and Europe after they were defeated several times by Han’s Army.

History of The Great Wall

During the following 360 years (Three Kingdoms 220-265, Western and Eastern Jin 265-420, Souther and Northern Dyansty 420-569), China fell into several small states, which can’t organize massive construction work to the defense system anymore. Until Sui Dynasty (581-618), China became a united country once again. The Sui emperors made about 7 times of renovations and constructions to the Great Wall, but the short-lived dynasty couldn’t do more, then it was terminated by Duke Li Yuan – the first emperor of Tang Dynasty.

Tang dynasty (618-907) is in the heyday of China’s feudal society. The surrounding kingdoms submitted themselves to the powerful Tang Empire. So no new wall was constructed during this period. The state only built 3 military towns as the outposts far north to the Great Wall.

During the successive Song Dynasty (960-1279), in the north of China, the normadic tribes set up 3 different powerful kingdoms (Liao, Jin and West Xia), which penetrated into the territory of the Song. Therefore, the Great Wall lost its role as a defense system.

History of The Great Wall

Ming (1368-1644) is the third dynasty, which launched large-scale constructions after short ruling period by Mongols – Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368). The Ming Emperors could never ignore the threat coming from the north at the other side of the Great Wall. The walls and ruins, that can be seen now, are mostly built in Ming Dynasty. Ming Wall streches 6300 km (3915 miles) from Hu Hill (Tiger Hill) by Yalu River (Liaoning Province’s cross-border river with North Korea) to Jiayuguan of Guangsu Province.

There is no more construction and renovation to the Great Wall in Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) as the Machurian rulers came from the other side of the defense work. The Great Wall lost its original functions again after Mongol’s Yuan Dynasty.

On the whole, the Great Wall of China was once successfully built into a united defense system, and kept invading northern nomadic tribes out of China. But as the time went on, its functions were getting weaker and weaker due to the deterioration of the Empire’s political system and invention of firearms. But no one can deny its greatness and historic roles. After all, many thousands of people have dedicated their lives to build and defense this colossal construction.

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Greatwallchina.info is a web-based platform and community for the people who intend to learn, talk and find out more about the Great Wall of China - a construction feat first built 2200 years ago.

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