During the 4th century BC several Chinese kingdoms have built stretches of wall to protect themselves against nomads raiding from the north. Now, after unifying China for the first time in 221 BC, the emperor Shi Huangdi also unifies these isolated stretches of fortification - to create the Great Wall of China.
It is by far the largest work of construction ever undertaken by man. Built of earth and stone, with its eastern sections faced in brick, it stretches 1500 miles (2400 km) from Korea in the east to Dunhuang in the west. It has been much restored and added to by subsequent dynasties.
During the 4th century BC several Chinese kingdoms have built stretches of wall to protect themselves against nomads raiding from the north. Now, after unifying China for the first time in 221 BC, the emperor Shi Huangdi also unifies these isolated stretches of fortification - to create the Great Wall of China.
It is by far the largest work of construction ever undertaken by man. Built of earth and stone, with its eastern sections faced in brick, it stretches 1500 miles (2400 km) from Korea in the east to Dunhuang in the west. It has been much restored and added to by subsequent dynasties.
The Great Wall of China
During the 4th century BC several Chinese kingdoms have built stretches of wall to protect themselves against nomads raiding from the north. Now, after unifying China for the first time in 221 BC, the emperor Shi Huangdi also unifies these isolated stretches of fortification - to create the Great Wall of China.
It is by far the largest work of construction ever undertaken by man. Built of earth and stone, with its eastern sections faced in brick, it stretches 1500 miles (2400 km) from Korea in the east to Dunhuang in the west. It has been much restored and added to by subsequent dynasties.