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The Most Amazing Facts About The Great Wall Of China

Where is the Great Wall of China? What is the Great Wall of China? How long is the Wall of China? Who made the Great Wall of China? The answers to these basic questions are essentially Great Wall of China facts for kids – so, if you don’t know anything else about the famous landmark, you should at least know these Great Wall of China facts.

You don’t need to wonder too long about where is the Great Wall of China – because it’s obviously in China! More specifically, it’s in the entire northeastern area of the country and even spreads into present-day North Korea. At 21,196 kilometers (counting all its branches), it’s the longest wall in the world and fortified the country against invaders as far back as 220 B.C. Several different dynasties contributed to the construction of the wall, so its construction spans eras and centuries.

Keep on reading to discover the most interesting facts about the Great Wall of China!

The Wall Is More Than 2,300 Years Old!

Great Wall of China location
Great Wall Beijing

Of course, it was built throughout the ages, so every section is younger or older.

Most of the wall was built by the Ming Dynasty, between the 14th and 17th centuries.

The Great Wall Of China Is Called One Of The Seven Wonders Of The World

It’s among the most important man-made structures of all time. Some of the other wonders of the world are the pyramids in Egypt and the Temple of Artemis in today’s Turkey.

You Can’t Walk Along The Entire Wall

How long is the Wall of China?
The Wall of China stretches on and on

One of the most interesting Great Wall of China facts is that you can’t really walk along the entire wall.

First of all, the main section of the wall is more than 6,000 kilometers long (3,900 miles), so it’s impossible to overcome this distance in a short period of time. A skilled walker can walk 45 kilometers a day, which means he would need 134 days to walk this entire section of the wall.

The Great Wall of China’s location is not limited to a specific city or area of China – it is spread all over the northern part of the country! So it would take a long time to walk along it.

Secondly, some parts of the wall are closed (they are too dangerous for pedestrians and are occupied by the military).

The wall is not one uniform construction. The difficult terrain of the Great Wall of China’s location made it difficult to construct one continuous wall. Also, several dynasties took up different construction projects, so the wall is divided into sections.

The Wall Is Situated In A Mountainous Area

Great Wall of China Beijing
The Great Wall of China location is beautiful

Another fact about the Great Wall of China is that its main purpose, when built, was to protect the country from invaders.

When it was time to build the Great Wall Chinese people took advantage of the topographies of particular areas (rivers, mountains, etc.) and used them as natural defensive barriers.

That’s why all the watchtowers are situated on the hills: the guards were able to see foreign troops from afar.

Badaling Is The Most Visited Section Of The Great Wall Of China

It gets almost 10,000 millions of visitors annually!

In the high season, the number of tourists at the Badaling section can reach as much as 80,000 people daily.

The Badaling section has been visited by many famous people including Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, or Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Wall Is Not Visible From Space

The Great Wall Chinese border

In contrary to what you may have heard, it’s not the only manmade structure visible from the space (read more interesting facts about China).

Neil Armstrong, the famous astronaut, said:

I do not believe that, at least with my eyes, there would be any man-made object that I could see. I have not yet found somebody who has told me they’ve seen the Wall of China from Earth orbit… I’ve asked various people, particularly Shuttle guys, that have been many orbits around China in the daytime, and the ones I’ve talked to didn’t see it.

The Great Wall Of China Is World’s Longest Wall

One of the interesting facts about the Great Wall of China is that it has half of the length of the Equator: (21,196.18 km/ 13,170.70 miles).

The Great Wall of China is also the largest ancient structure in the world.

Trekking at The Great Wall Is One Of The Best Things To Do In China

Chinese Great Wall
The Great Wall used to protect the northern Chinese borders

As you already know, you can’t go along the entire wall. However, it’s really popular to trek along one part of this amazing structure.

When it comes to visiting the Great Wall of China, Beijing is the best major city to stay in as a base. Many companies are organizing day trips to the Great Wall. When we were in China, we chose Trekclub and it was great.

It’s Called The Longest Cemetry In The World

The Great Wall of China was mainly built by the slaves. It’s estimated that nearly half a million of them died during work which makes the Wall the longest cemetery in the world.

Great Wall China Trekking May Be Pretty Challenging!

Chinese Great Wall trekking
Photo from a station on the Chinese Great Wall

You will have to walk for a long time, so you shouldn’t arrive at the wall in flip-flops. At some points, the question you will be asking yourself is not “how long is the Wall of China?” but rather “how long is THIS section of the Great Wall Beijing?” so trekking or running shoes are your best bets.

For example, the trek at the Jinshanling section of the wall takes 3,5 – 4,5 hours. It’s worth knowing that you will be walking alternately up and down. It may not be for everyone!

There are many other difficult hikes in China though, for example, The World’s Most Dangerous Hike in Huashan, China.

The Great Wall Of China Is A UNESCO Site

What’s interesting, there are 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China. 

It’s the highest number in the world!

There Is A Hollywood Movie Only About The Great Wall of China

The movie is called The Great Wall and the main character is played by Matt Damon. Some say it’s the most expensive movie ever filmed in China.

Great Wall of China In Numbers

  • it’s 21,196.18 km/ 13,170.70 miles long
  • the widest part of the Great Wall is 16.7m/ 54.8ft wide
  • the narrowest part of the Great Wall is 70cm/ 2.3ft narrow
  • the highest point of the Great Wall is Huanglouyuan and it’s 1,439.3 meters/ 4,722 ft high
  • the lowest point of the Great Wall is Laolongtou and it’s just above the sea level
  • it’s estimated that around 800,000 people were involved in the construction of the wall
  • it’s estimated that more than 100,000 million tourists are visiting the Great Wall of China annually
  • the Great Wall crosses 9 Chinese provinces
  • you will need about 18 months to walk along all the available parts of the Great Wall of China
  • the Great Wall has opened up for tourists in 1957

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Do you know more fun facts about the Great Wall of China? Let us know in the comments below!

One Response

  1. Ha. Found your post on G+
    Laughed when I read “you can’t walk the whole wall”
    here was my funny and adventurous trip there awhile ago

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