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The Great Wall of China The world’s largest military structure!- and the world’s “longest cemetery”…. • Can you imagine carrying a heavy humongous stone half the size of Shaq (7’4’’ tall, 325, lbs) AND the weight of 100 to 300 pounds!? • Well, the Great Wall is made out of millions of these stones and other types of materials. • Each one of the stones had to be cut exactly to size. An old Chinese saying: “ Each stone in the wall represents a life lost in the construction.” Construction •Work began on the wall before the birth of Christ, continuing through Columbus’s journey to North America!!! Construction • The Great Wall is made mostly out of granite and bricks. • Bricks were used most often because its light weight made the construction much quicker. • In the Gobi Desert, the workers would create pounded earth to continue building the wall. However, these parts were destroyed much easier than other parts of the wall. Construction • The Great Wall was constructed with natural materials such as stone and compacted soil. • Before the use of bricks, workers would use stone, compacted soil, and rarely wood because it could catch on fire very easily. • The Great Wall took up 3 million cubic meters of earth work. Beliefs of the Great Wall • Common belief: the Chinese made the Great Wall twist and turn not only to protect China but to make it represent the long back of the mighty dragon! • By making the Great Wall like the dragon’s back, it would be a good omen and lead the Chinese to victory! Purpose of the Great Wall • The main reason why the Chinese built the Great Wall was to prevent troops from the north invading Chinese territory. • It was also built as a defense against ferocious nomadic tribes. • The Great Wall also provided great deal of protection during a battle. Purpose of the Great Wall • The Great Wall even helped safeguard the Silk Road so nothing would go wrong. • An important purpose of the Great Wall was to house troops. • Housing troops was important because, if the Great Wall was under attack, soldiers could just come out and defend China. Parts of the Great Wall • A part of the wall is the watch tower. • Watch towers were at regular intervals of 180 meters on the wall. • Watch towers hold weapons, house troops, and can also create fire signals to warn China of an attack being held. • Most signal towers were built on hilly areas for visibility. Parts of the Great Wall • Beacon towers were spaced at intervals of 15 to 30 miles along the wall. • Beacon towers could send messages faster than horse riding. • Signal towers contained approximately 3 people to create a fire. • Some parts of the wall were connected and made tougher for further attacks. Construction During the Qin Dynasty • The Qin dynasty first constructed the wall with just loose stone. • Then the wall was constructed by a wooden rectangular frame filled with loose soil. • After the frame was filled, workers would arrive and stomp on the soil until it was four inches thick. • This unusual process had to be repeated many times, because it would only ascend 4 inches each time it was done. History • An important part to this process was detritus. • Detritus was added to the loose soil because it wasn’t solid. • By adding detritus to the loose soil, it would become more solid and sturdy. • In this period of time, the wall was only created by compacted soil. History • The Han dynasty extended the wall and made it more durable. • They even constructed the wall in the Gobi Desert. • The Han’s role in the wall’s construction started in 206 B.C. Construction During the Han Dynasty • First, workers would lye down red willows followed by reeds and twigs. • Next, a layer of water and gravel was added and stomped. • Once the stomping was finished, more reeds and gravel would be added. • This process would then be repeated many times until the proper height was reached. • This process of the Han’s was much quicker and faster than the way of the Qin. History • The Ming dynasty added the most modifications to the Great Wall. • The Ming dynasty also added major adjustments to the wall. • Workers even made little holes in the watch towers for look out. • The Ming dynasty added the two ways of the Qin and the Han dynasty’s process to construct the Great Wall. Construction During the Ming Dynasty • First, the workers would add tampered earth. • Next, around the tampered earth, they would add a layer of bricks. • This genius method of making the wall was such a success that it could even be built on steep mountains and sometimes on inclines of up to seventy degrees! • It took over 1,700 years to reach completion • It is about 3,700 miles long • About 6 million people visit the section near Beijing. (What is Beijing also called?)