The Great Wall

We know it as the Great Wall; however, in China it is called the Long Wall. The wall’s construction was ordered the Emperor Qin Shi Huang around 221BC to keep invading Mongolian forces out of Beijing. It took more than 1 million soldiers to guard the wall. The original wall has long since eroded but a reinforced wall was built during the Ming Dynasty around 1449 to 1644. I read a report that 2 to 3 million forced laborers died during the construction of the wall. Eventually, the Ming Dynasty went bankrupt, some say, due to the construction and maintenance of the wall. By 1644 the Manchu’s were finally able to cross the long wall and invade and occupied Beijing to establish the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Today, the wall is in good repair mainly near the tourist centers of Beijing but is in various stages of deterioration elsewhere along its 4000 mile (6400 km) span. It has been said that the Great Wall is the only man-made structure that can be seen from the moon. However, that claim was made in 1932; long before anyone had gone to the moon. Astronauts who have actually been to the moon have not reported sighting any man-made structures on the face of the Earth. While in Beijing I spoke to several Chinese who think the long wall, because of it costs in human life and treasure, was the stupidest project in China’s history. But it is one of the best known projects in Chinese history.