The great wall of china is one of the most famous monuments in the world. It also is the most extensive structure ever created by humans. The massive structure called Chang cheng in chinese( Long wall) is located in the northern part of China. It also is a U.N.E.S.C.O. world heritage site since 1987.
The wall attracts visitors from all over the globe and welcomes about 15 to 16 million visitors every year. The history behind it's construction lasted about two thousand years and began in 215 B C. It was completed between 1368 and 1644. The work started during the reign of the Emperor Qin Shihuang from 221 and 207 BC and continued through the Han and Ming Dynasties. The wall has a defensive role to play such as attacks from nomadic invaders like the Mongols, to control the borders and also immigration and emigration. It also was an important trade route connecting China to other Asian countries and even some African countries. Due to the demands of a considerable labor force required in its construction, it also provided jobs for the civilians. In 2018, the length of the wall was estimated as 8850 kilometers.
The great wall of china is not just a single wall, but different walls built in several locations and in different generations. Its structure also has doors, as well as towers and forts which had strategic purposes. The studies have indicated that there are more than 40,000 towers along the wall. They were used by the soldiers to monitor the approach of enemies and also served as shelter. The distance between the towers are rather huge, so the soldiers staying at different towers used smoke signals and black and white flags in order to communicate with each other about the status of the regions security.
It is believed that at least 2 million workers participated in it, including peasants, soldiers, slaves and also prisoners. Some of these workers also died during the works because of extremely low temperatures and lack of food supplies. Some also believe that the bodies of the dead were buried in the middle of the walls. This wall was successful in defending parts of China from invaders for a long time but failed to stop the Mongols. Jenghis Khan's descendants dominated China. In 1677, the Emperor Kangxi cut off the maintenance of the wall as it made no sense now.
