Many people have heard about the Great Wall, the longest man-made structure in the world. However, there are some interesting facts that not everyone knows.
1. People think the length of the Great Wall is about 6276 km but in fact this whole construction up to 8851 km. The 6276 km is the length of the part which was built by man, but this Wall also includes the natural trenches and walls.
2. The construction of the Great Wall lasted more than 2,000 years. The first part of the Great Wall was built in the early 8th century BC.
3. Previously, the Great Wall has had many different names such as the “Barrier”, the “Fortress” or the “Dragon Earth” … By the 19th century, this construction was officially named the “Great Wall”.
4. Though the Great Wall has existed for more than two millennia, the first European came here is the Portuguese explorer named Bento de Gois in 1605.
5. The rumor that the mortar which was used to build the Great Wall was mixed with human bones is completely bogus. The mortar was used to build the world’s longest construction includes many different materials depending on different periods. By clay, stone, rubble, wood or limestone …,
6. Several parts of the Great Wall have been preserved and restored, but most of it were abandoned. People used to remove the Great Wall bricks to build houses.
7. The construction of the Great Wall was officially ended in 1644 when the last emperor of the Ming dynasty was deposed. Since then Chinese didn’t build Great Wall anymore. Only restoration activities remained.
8. The widest bottom of the Wall is 30m. The highest (peak of Watchtower) is 7.9 m.
9. The estimated numbers of the participants in this construction are up to 800,000 people.
10. Many people believe that they can see the Great Wall from the moon, but as a hair from a distance of 3 km, it is just impossible. In fact, people cannot see it even in the Earth, at an altitude of 160,000 meters.
11. The Great Wall is not only to fight against the invaders but also a boundary line, where the implementation of rules on trade and migration were enforced.
12. According to the legend, a dragon had guided the Chinese the direction for building the Great Wall. Many people believe that the Great Wall itself has the shape of a dragon lying on the mountains.
13. The Great Wall is also known as ” World’s Longest Cemetery” because hundreds thousands of people had died during the construction. Some people are buried just under the foundation of the Wall.
14. As an important part of the Chinese culture, around the Great Wall has a lot of myths. One of the most famous stories is about the Lady Meng Jiang, a scholar’s wife was taken to build the Great Wall in the Qin Dynasty. At winter, Lady Meng Jiang knitted clothes and had a hard time to give to her husband. Lady Meng Jiang traveled across the length of the Great Wall, asked many people and finally received the news that her husband was dead and the body was buried under the Great Wall. Meng Jiang had grieved and wept bitterly for three days and three nights, tears mixed with blood. The cry of Meng Jiang was so sonorous that a part of the Wall was collapsed, revealed her husband’s corpse. After the funeral for her husband, she jumped into the sea to commit suicide. Today, at Shanhaiguan County, Hebei Province has a shrine of Lady Meng Jiang.
15. The Great Wall is the famous sightseeing destination which is the most attractive and also the most crowded place in China, with tens millions of tourists each year.
16. This is also the destination where many sporting challenges take place. For example, in 1987, a long-distance athlete Englishman, William Lindesay, has run more than 2,400 km on the Great Wall.