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Few cultures today have lasting landmarks of their rich cultural heritage and powerful past, and even fewer have a landmark so large that it can be seen from outer space. 2000 years ago, the Chinese built a functional landmark that still stands today in all of its splendor. The Great Wall of China was originally built to keep the nomadic xiongnu away from the farming villages on the Chinese boarder, but the walls eventually became areas of great economic prosperity and great beauty. The wall was built by three main dynasties, the Qin, the Han, and the Ming. The different building styles of each dynasty show the adaptability and knowledge this culture possessed, and shows how each dynasty used energy to accomplish a common goal.
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The first dynasty of China was the Qin dynasty, started in 221 BC. The emperor Qin Shi Huang was a cruel, tyrannical emperor who sent scholars, and other thinkers of the time to work on the wall. Most of the wall was composed of loose stone, but when the natural stone in an area wasn’t enough for the wall, the Chinese engineers turned to another method of wall building. The stoneless wall was built by a wooden, rectangular frame filled with loose soil. The soil was tamped down for many hours by a team of workers until it was only four inches thick. This process of filling and tamping was repeated many times until the wall reached the desired height, ascending only four inches each tamping.
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The second dynasty to add to the wall was the Han dynasty. This dynasty rose to power in 209 BC after the fall of the Qin dynasty. The Han dynasty wall is unique because it wanders through the Gobi desert. Because of the lack of building materials, the ingenious Chinese engineers again went to work to discover a solution. Their solution was similar to that of the Qin dynasty, but created a stronger wall. The method included lying down a layer of red willow reeds and twigs first. Then a layer of gravel and water was applied and tamped. After the tamping, a new layer of reeds and gravel was added. This process was repeated many times until the wall reached the desired height. Amazingly, some portions of this wall are still standing, due in part to the dry conditions of the Gobi, and to the fortified walls built by Chinese.
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The last dynasty to add to the wall was the Ming dynasty. This dynasty built the biggest, longest, and most ornate wall ever. These are the walls that we are familiar with today. Their methods of building fused together all that was learned by the two previous dynasties. First, a center of tampered earth was created. Then, around the firm center was applied a shell of bricks. The amazing bricks that the Chinese created are so strong that they compare to those that we make today! This super strong wall was built across some of the most dangerous terrains in China, including steep mountains, sometimes on 70 degree inclines!
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Although the wall was built out of a necessity for protection from the nomads, the wall will always stand as a tribute to the amazing ingenuity of the Chinese, and will continue to amaze the world. It has been said that every foot of the wall took one human life; this treasure must be protected from the elements of time so that future generations can look at the wall with the same wonder and amazement as we do now.
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 Thisonegerl from United States contributed:
this is a great page. YEP!
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Tom from United States contributed:
Benjamin Franklin also invented other things.
For instance, he invented the Urinary Catheter because his brother was having bladder problems. He also invented a stove thatcould heat up a whole room evenly. There are other things too, but I can't remember them at the moment.
Also, at the signing, of the Constitution, Franklin had horrible arthritis. It was so bad, he had to be carried into and out of the courthouse where it was signed.
Ben's idea for the National Bird was the turkey. He felt it was more important to our country than the Bald Eagle.
Franklin didn't really agree with the U.S. seperating from Britain. He thought we would be better off as part of England. But eventually he changed his mind once the constitution had been signed.
there ya go.
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Ashly from American Samoa contributed:
i think the great wall of china is really cool!!
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Ray from Canada contributed:
heyy... great site with good information..
here's some additional information and some facts::
Located 10 kilometers south of the Badaling section of the Great Wall and built in an 18.5-kilometre-long valley, the pass has always been an important gateway northwest of Beijing. The name is believed to have its origin in the workers and slaves conscripted to build the Great Wall in ancient times. Cloud Terrace, built in 1345, was originally the base of a pagoda over looking the main road of the town of the pass. The arched gate of the terrace and the walls inside the arch are decorated with carvings. of elephants, lions, birds, flowers and heavenly kings as well as charms in six languages-Sanskrit, Tibetan, Phats pa (Mongolian), Uygur, West Xia and Han.
Alarm was raised by means of smoke signals, at night by fire. Smoke was produced by burning a mixture of wolf dung, sulfur and saltpeter. Shots were fired at the same time. Thus an alarm could be relayed over 500km within just a few hours.
and her'es the facts::
Facts of Great Wall of China:
At its peak the Ming Wall contained thousands of individual forts and towers and was guarded by more than a million men.
Sentries on the wall burned wood and straw mixed with wolf dung to produce thick black columns of smoke. One column meant a force of less than 500 was attacking; four columns indicated an attack by up to 10,000 men
Using satellite data scientists have rediscovered more than 600 miles of buried Wall in the past decade.
According to historical records, the Qin Dynastry section of the Wall, covering 3,000 miles, was built in 10 years, or about 25 miles a month.
If you took all the bricks from the Ming portion of the Wall alone, they could circle the Earth at the equator in a wall five feet high and three feet thick.
The Great Wall is 4,500 miles long--the distance between Miami and the North Pole.
It's long be rumored that dead were buried in wall. Not true. Decomposing bodies would have weakened structure.
The death toll in the building of the first Great Wall was astounding: More than a million people died building this 3,000 mile section more than 300 people per mile.
Three million people--70 percent of China's population at the time--was involved in building the Qin Wall.
The Great Wall's height averages from 15 to 30 feet high it's width averages from 15 to 25 feet wide with about a 13-foot wide roadway on top.
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Victor Campos from Chile contributed:
I would like to help you with the translations. I am not an expert or something like that but if you like I can correct or modify what you have to give sense on your texts like this:
Albert Einstein nació en Ulm, Alemania la 14 de marzo de 1879. Cinco años más tarde, en 1884, él y su familia se trasladaron a Munich debido al nuevo trabajo de su padre. En 1901 lo naturalizaban como ciudadano suizo. Ocho años más tarde cuando Einstein era suizo a el le agradó el trabajo de su profesor de física teórica en la universidad de Zurich. A partir la 1911 a 1912 él tenía el mismo trabajo que un profesor en Praga. En 1913 lo eligieron para formar parte de la academia de ciencia en Berlín. Einstein recibió el reconocimiento de su pais natal Alemania obteniendo así la nacionalidad alemana en 1914. Él trabajó por 19 años como profesor en Berlín. A partir la 1920 a 1946 Él podía - oficialmente - ser profesor especial en Leiden, Holanda, también, pero debido a su emigración, él no trabajó para la universidad durante mucho tiempo antes de 1946. Debido al movimiento NAZI, Einstein renunció la ciudadanía alemana en 1933. Él se trasladó a los Estados Unidos y trabajó como profesor en Princeton, New Jersey hasta 1945. Él se hizo oficialmente americano en 1941. Albert Einstein murió el 18 de abril de 1955.
VCC
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 | The Great Wall of China.
Copyright © Terms of use. Permission on website on Terms of Use section. |
| The Great Wall of China.
Copyright © Terms of use. Permission on website on Terms of Use section. |
| The Great Wall of China.
Copyright © Terms of use. Permission on website on Terms of Use section. |
| The Great Wall of China.
Copyright © Terms of use. Permission on website on Terms of Use section. |
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