Block 1

What do you know about “Human Wonders”?

Great Wall, China

The Great Wall, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains an

d plateaus, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.

Leaders in Ancient China were always worried about being invaded by their enemies to the north. So around 500 B.C., a few Chinese states started building defensive walls. When these Chinese states were unified in 221 B.C., Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered that the existing walls be joined. That was the beginning of the Great Wall of China.

Building the Great Wall wasn’t easy. It took hundreds of thousands of workers, soldiers, and prisoners more than 2,000 years to build and re-build the wall that stands today. Stretching for about 4,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean at Shanhai Pass to Jiayu Pass in central China, the Great Wall is an average of 33 feet high and 15 feet wide. Some sections were constructed of large limestone and granite blocks. Others were made from bricks. Still others were built from wood and dirt. The workers along the wall’s route used the best materials they could find nearby. They even sometimes used a mixture of sticky rice and egg whites to make the mortar that held the stones and bricks together.

Everything You Need to Know About the Great Wall of China