Great Wall of China

The Size

• The Great Wall of China is the biggest object ever made by humans. No man-made structure comes close to the size of the Great Wall of China. It runs 4,163 miles, or 6,700 km, stretches across mountains, deserts, plains and grasslands of China. It starts in the China Sea town of Shanhaiguan and stretches west to Gansu province roughly along the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. In some areas the Great Wall of China is 26 feet tall and 20 feet thick. The ancient Chinses built the wall to keep invaders from the west out of their country. Today tourists from all over the worldccome and see it.

About the History

• The Great Wall of China actually refers to a series of different walls that were constructed, reconstructed and renovated along the northern border of China. Its purpose was to keep away foreign invaders. Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, began construction of one of the more famous walls in 220 B.C., but it deteriorated with time. Most of the Great Wall we see today was built during the Ming Dynasty starting in 1368. For 200 years, Ming emperors expanded the Great Wall to its current majesty. It is believed that a million men once guarded the Great Wall of China and that up to 3 million people died during its construction.