 The Great Wall extends from the Jiayu Pass in Western Gansu Province to the Eastern mount of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province. The Great Wall measures more than 6000 km in length. The height of the Wall is approximately 7.8 meters and the width is about 5.8 meters at the top. A strongly build battle fort accompanies each section of the wall, from which the soldiers can protect the wall and stop the attacks of the invaders.
Some sections of the Great Wall are built up only using stones and no mortar at all and some sections are built using the combination of stones and bricks. The Great Wall runs through the mountains portion and even deserts. A battle fort or tower (which was built for the surveillance purpose) was built at the regular distance (about 50 meters) with the Great Wall. The battle forts served the purpose of aiding the soldiers for watching and shooting at the invaders.
Today, the Wall stands at its place even after hundreds of years of its construction. The size, shape and strength of the Wall have not deteriorated too much. The credit of it goes to each dynasty that ruled the states of Qin. Each dynasty that ruled the states of Qin showed high interest in keeping the Great Wall stronger which defended them from the invaders. It is said that the Ming Dynasty which ruled in 13th century, undertook a huge repairing work of the wall and it took nearly two centuries to complete the task. Ming Dynasty also built a huge section of the Great Wall which runs along the mountains northwest of Beijing. |
