The Great Wall of China (traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; simplified Chinese: 万里长城; pinyin: Wànlǐ Chángchéng, meaning "ten thousand li long wall") is a series of walls built in China. These walls were constructed along the northern borders of ancient Chinese states and the imperial kingdom to protect against groups of people who moved around in the Eurasian Steppe. The earliest walls were built in the 7th century BC and later connected during the Qin dynasty. Over time, many dynasties added to the wall system. The most famous parts of the wall were built during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

To help with defense, the Great Wall included watchtowers, places for soldiers to stay, military bases, and a way to send signals using smoke or fire. It also served as a path for transportation. Other uses of the wall included controlling borders, managing the movement of people, and collecting taxes on goods that traveled along the Silk Road. It also helped control trade.

The walls that make up the Great Wall stretch from Liaodong in the east to Lop Lake in the west, and from the current Sino–Russian border in the north to the Tao River in the south. This path roughly marks the edge of the Mongolian steppe and covers a total distance of 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi). The Great Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007. Today, the wall is recognized as one of the most impressive architectural achievements in history.

Names

The Great Wall of China has been called many different names in Chinese and English throughout history.

In ancient Chinese records, the term "Long Wall" (Chángchéng) first appeared in a book written by Sima Qian called Records of the Grand Historian. This name referred to both the separate walls built by different states and the larger wall built by the First Emperor. The Chinese character chéng, which means "city" or "fortress," is made from two parts: one showing the idea of "earth" and another showing the sound. The word originally described the walls around cities but now more often means "city."

A longer name, "Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall" (Wànlǐ Chángchéng), came from Sima Qian's description. However, he did not use this name for the walls themselves. A later book from the year 493 AD mentioned a "long wall of 10,000 miles," which is closer to the modern name. The traditional Chinese unit of distance called a lǐ (li) was not always the same length but was usually about one-third of a mile (540 meters). The word "ten-thousand" in this name does not mean an exact number but instead means "innumerable" or "immeasurable," similar to the Greek and English word "myriad."

After the Qin dynasty, Chinese rulers often avoided using the term "Long Wall" for their own additions to the wall because of its association with the First Emperor's harsh rule. Instead, medieval records used terms like "frontier," "rampart," "barrier," "outer fortresses," and "border wall." Poetic names included "Purple Frontier" and "Earth Dragon." Only during the Qing dynasty did "Long Wall" become the general term for all border walls, regardless of where they were built or which dynasty built them. This is similar to the English name "Great Wall."

The English name "Great Wall of China" came from descriptions by early European travelers who called it "the Chinese wall." By the 1800s, this name became standard in English and French. However, other languages like German still use "the Chinese wall."

Some parts of the wall in the southern Gobi Desert and Mongolian steppe are sometimes called "Wall of Genghis Khan." However, Genghis Khan did not build any walls or permanent defense lines himself.

History

During the Spring and Autumn period (8th to 5th centuries BC), the Chinese already knew how to build walls. During this time and the later Warring States period, many states, including Zheng, Chu, Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Lu, Han, Yan, Zhongshan, and Zhou, built long walls to protect their borders. These walls were made mostly of stone or packed earth and gravel between wooden frames. They were designed to stop attacks from weapons like swords and spears.

In 221 BC, the state of Qin won control of China. Its ruler, the First Emperor of a united China, wanted to have one ruler for all of China and stop powerful lords from regaining power. He ordered the destruction of parts of the walls that had divided the land. However, to protect against the Xiongnu people from the north, he also ordered the building of new walls to connect the remaining fortifications along the northern border. The idea of "build and move on" showed that the Chinese were not making a permanent, fixed border.

Building the walls was difficult because of the large amount of materials needed. Workers used local resources to make it easier. Stone was used in mountain areas, while packed earth was used in flat areas. No records from ancient times tell the exact length or path of the Qin walls, as most of them have eroded over time. Few parts of these walls remain today.

Later, the Han, Northern dynasties, and Sui dynasties repaired, rebuilt, or expanded parts of the Great Wall to defend against northern invaders. The Tang and Song dynasties did not make major changes to the wall. Some dynasties ruled by non-Han ethnic groups, such as the Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, and Tangut, also built walls further north, reaching areas near modern Mongolia.

The Ming dynasty made major improvements to the Great Wall after losing a battle to the Oirats in 1449. This loss happened during long-lasting conflicts with Mongol tribes. The Ming built walls along China’s northern border to protect against Mongol attacks. The wall followed the southern edge of the Ordos Desert instead of following the bend of the Yellow River.

Unlike earlier walls, the Ming walls were stronger and more detailed because they used bricks and stone instead of packed earth. It is estimated that up to 25,000 watchtowers were built on the wall. The Ming spent a lot of resources repairing and reinforcing the walls, especially near Beijing. Between 1567 and 1570, General Qi Jiguang oversaw the construction of 1,200 watchtowers between Shanhaiguan Pass and Changping, and parts of the packed-earth wall were covered with bricks.

In the mid-15th century, the Ming also built the "Liaodong Wall" to protect the farming area of Liaodong province from attacks by groups like the Jurchen-Mongol Oriyanghan and the Jianzhou Jurchens. This wall was mostly made of earth with ditches on both sides, though sometimes stones and tiles were used.

At the end of the Ming dynasty, the Great Wall helped defend China against Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Even after losing Liaodong, the Ming army held the heavily fortified Shanhai Pass, preventing the Manchus from conquering the central part of China. In 1644, the Manchus crossed the Great Wall after Beijing had already fallen to Li Zicheng’s short-lived Shun dynasty. A Ming general named Wu Sangui opened the gates at Shanhai Pass to the Manchus, hoping to use them to fight Li Zicheng. Instead, the Manchus took control of Beijing and eventually defeated both the Shun dynasty and the remaining Ming forces, leading to the Qing dynasty ruling all of China.

Under Qing rule, China’s borders expanded beyond the Great Wall, and work on it for defense stopped. However, the Qing built the Willow Palisade, a project similar to the Ming’s Liaodong Wall, to stop Han Chinese from moving into Manchuria.

No European travelers who visited China or Mongolia in the 13th and 14th centuries, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, William of Rubruck, Marco Polo, Odoric of Pordenone, or Giovanni de’ Marignolli, wrote about the Great Wall.

The North African traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited China during the Yuan dynasty around 1346, mentioned the Great Wall in his writings. He said it was "sixty days’ travel" from Quanzhou and linked it to a legend in the Qur’an about a wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn (often associated with Alexander the Great) to protect people from the savages of Gog and Magog. However, Ibn Battuta could not find anyone who had seen the wall, suggesting that only small parts of it remained at that time.

European descriptions of the Great Wall began appearing in the early 16th century, even though no Europeans saw it for many years. One of the earliest European accounts was in João de Barros’s 1563 book Asia, which described the wall as a defense against the "Tartars" (Mongols). Other early accounts include those by Gaspar da Cruz, Bento de Goes, Matteo Ricci, and Bishop Juan González de Mendoza, who called it a "superbious and mightie work" of architecture, though he had not seen it. In 1605, the Portuguese Jesuit Bento de Góis became one of the first Europeans to enter China through the Great Wall, reaching the Jiayu Pass from India.

After China opened its borders to foreign visitors following the First and Second Opium Wars, the Great Wall became a popular tourist attraction. Travelogues from the late 19th century helped spread the Great Wall’s reputation and myths, including the mistaken belief that the Ming walls were the same ones built by the first emperor in the 3rd century BC.

Course

There is no official definition of what makes a "Great Wall," so it is hard to describe the entire structure. The defensive lines include many sections of walls, trenches, ditches, and separate forts.

In 2012, after research and mapping, China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration reported that remaining Great Wall sites include 10,051 wall sections, 1,764 ramparts or trenches, 29,510 buildings, and 2,211 forts or passes. The walls and trenches together cover 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi). They also found the Ming Great Wall is 8,850 km (5,500 mi) long. This includes 6,259 km (3,889 mi) of walls, 359 km (223 mi) of trenches, and 2,232 km (1,387 mi) of natural barriers like hills and rivers. Earlier walls built during the Qin, Han, and other dynasties total 3,080 km (1,914 mi). Walls from the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) measure 4,010 km (2,492 mi). Other sections date back to the Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Liao, and Xixia periods. About half of all sites are in Inner Mongolia and Hebei (31% and 19%, respectively).

Han dynasty fortifications begin at Yumen Pass and Yang Pass, southwest of Dunhuang in Gansu province. The farthest Han border posts are near Yumen Pass at a place called Mamitu, meaning "horses losing their way."

Jiayu Pass in Gansu is the western end of the Ming Great Wall. From there, the wall runs in parts through the Hexi Corridor and into Ningxia’s deserts, reaching the Yellow River near Yinchuan. Here, Ming walls crossed the Ordos Desert to the eastern edge of the Yellow River. At Piantou Pass in Shanxi, the Great Wall splits into two parts: the "Outer Great Wall" follows the Inner Mongolia border into Hebei, while the "Inner Great Wall" travels southeast for about 400 km (250 mi), passing through passes like Pingxing and Yanmen before joining the Outer Great Wall near Sihaiye in Beijing’s Yanqing County.

Sections of the Great Wall near Beijing were often repaired and are now popular with tourists. The Badaling section near Zhangjiakou is the most famous part of the wall, as it was the first opened to the public in China’s People’s Republic. It welcomed nearly 10 million visitors in 2018, and in 2019, daily visitor limits were set at 65,000. South of Badaling is Juyong Pass, which protected Beijing’s capital. This section is made of stone and bricks from nearby hills and is 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in) high and 5 m (16 ft 5 in) wide.

A striking part of the Ming Great Wall is Jinshanling, where it climbs steep slopes. This section is 11 km (7 mi) long, 5 to 8 m (16 ft 5 in to 26 ft 3 in) high, and 6 m (19 ft 8 in) wide at the bottom, narrowing to 5 m (16 ft 5 in) at the top. Wangjing Lou, one of Jinshanling’s 67 watchtowers, is 980 m (3,220 ft) above sea level. Southeast of Jinshanling is Mutianyu, a 2.25 km (1.40 mi) stretch that winds through high, rocky mountains. It connects to Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to the east. This section was among the first restored after the Cultural Revolution.

Shanhai Pass, at the edge of the Bohai Gulf, is considered the traditional end of the Great Wall and called the "First Pass Under Heaven." The part of the wall inside Shanhai Pass that meets the sea is named "Old Dragon Head." Three km (2 mi) north of Shanhai Pass is Jiaoshan Great Wall, the site of the first mountain wall. Fifteen km (9 mi) northeast of Shanhaiguan is Jiumenkou, the only section of the wall built as a bridge.

In 2009, 180 km of previously unknown Ming wall sections hidden by hills, trenches, and rivers were discovered using infrared range finders and GPS. In March and April 2015, nine sections totaling over 10 km (6 mi) were found along the border of Ningxia and Gansu provinces.

Characteristics

Before bricks were used, the Great Wall was mostly made of rammed earth, stones, and wood. During the Ming Dynasty, however, bricks were used a lot in many parts of the wall, along with materials like tiles, lime, and stone. Bricks were easier to work with than earth and stone because of their size and weight, which helped speed up construction. Bricks could also hold more weight and last longer than rammed earth. Stone is better at holding its own weight than brick, but it is harder to use. Because of this, stones cut into rectangular shapes were used for the wall's foundation, inner and outer edges, and gateways. Battlements, which are the top parts of the wall, have defensive gaps that are about 30 cm (12 in) tall and 23 cm (9.1 in) wide. Guards could stand on the parapets to look out over the land.

Sticky rice mortar, made by mixing sticky rice soup with slaked lime, was used widely to hold bricks together. Human bones or body parts were never used in the mortar or any part of the wall, even though some stories say otherwise. Communication between army groups along the Great Wall was very important, as it allowed soldiers to call for help and warn others about enemy movements. Signal towers were built on high ground, like hills, to make them visible from far away. Wooden gates could be used to trap people trying to pass through. Barracks, stables, and storage areas for weapons were built near the inner side of the wall.

Condition

Parts of the Great Wall north of Beijing and near popular tourist areas have been kept in good condition and even restored. However, in many other places, the wall is damaged or falling apart. In some areas, stones from the wall were used to build homes and roads. Some sections of the wall have been covered in graffiti or broken by people who intentionally damage it. Bricks with writing on them were also stolen and sold for up to 50 renminbi. In some cases, parts of the wall were destroyed to allow construction or mining to happen.

A 2012 report from the National Cultural Heritage Administration said that 22% of the Ming Great Wall, or 1,961 km (1,219 mi), has been lost. In 2007, it was estimated that more than 60 km (37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province could disappear in the next 20 years because of damage from sandstorms. In some areas, the wall’s height has dropped from more than 5 m (16 ft 5 in) to less than 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Many of the square towers that are often seen in pictures of the wall have disappeared. Some parts of the wall in the west are made of mud instead of bricks or stone, which makes them more likely to erode. In 2014, a section of the wall near the border of Liaoning and Hebei provinces was repaired using concrete. This repair has faced a lot of criticism.

In 2023, a part of the wall in Shanxi province was seriously damaged when construction workers widened a gap in the wall to create a shortcut for an excavator. Police said this action caused "permanent damage to the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of cultural relics."

Visibility from space

Some statements in popular culture suggest that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space with the naked eye, but these claims are not always accurate.

The Great Wall cannot be seen from the Moon, which is about 384,399 kilometers (238,854 miles) away from Earth. Even though this idea has been proven false, it remains widely believed. From the Moon, the Great Wall would appear as thin as a human hair viewed from 3 kilometers (2 miles) away.

One of the earliest mentions of this myth was in a letter from 1754 by William Stukeley, an English historian. He wrote that the Great Wall of China is so large it might be visible from the Moon. A similar claim was made by Henry Norman in 1895, who said the Wall is the only human-made structure visible from the Moon. This idea also appeared in a 1932 comic strip titled Ripley's Believe It or Not!

The Great Wall has also been said to be visible from low Earth orbit, which is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) above Earth. NASA explains that it is barely visible, only under very clear conditions, and not more noticeable than other human-made structures.

Some astronauts, such as Gene Cernan and Ed Lu, have said they could see the Wall from space. However, China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, stated he could not see it. The European Space Agency (ESA) later reported that the Wall is visible from 160 and 320 kilometers (100 and 200 miles) above Earth, but the image they shared actually showed a river in Beijing.

In 2004, astronaut Leroy Chiao took a photo of the Wall from the International Space Station. The image was unclear, and Chiao was unsure if it showed the Wall. Later, the China Daily reported that the Wall can be seen from space with the naked eye under ideal conditions, but only if someone knows exactly where to look.

Gallery

• The Great Wall at Badaling
• The Great Wall at sunrise
• The Juyongguan area of the Great Wall has many visitors every day.
• Remains of a Beacon tower near Yumenguan, 2011
• "The First Mound" – located at Jiayu Pass, the western end of the Ming Wall
• The Great Wall near Jiayu Pass, with the Qilian Mountains in the background
• A part of the Ming Great Wall near Yinchuan
• The Great Wall remnant at Yulin
• The entrance to Gubeikou Fortress
• An environmental protection sign near the Great Wall, 2011
• The Ming Great Wall at Simatai, overlooking a valley
• The Mutianyu Great Wall. This section is on a part of the wall that has not been repaired.
• The Old Dragon Head, where the Great Wall meets the sea near Shanhai Pass
• Inside a watchtower
• Inside another watchtower
• The Badaling Great Wall during winter
• The Great Wall in Yanqing, Beijing during winter
• Tourists at the Great Wall in Yanqing, Beijing during the Spring Festival
• Tourists at the Great Wall
• A sign warning against climbing near an unrestored section in Huaibei