Why Was the wall built?
The great wall was built to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Mongolian attacks during the rule of successive dynasties.The most famous is the wall built between 220–200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang while little of it remains. The current wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.
How Long is the Great Wall?
4,000 miles from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west
Is it just a wall?
The Great Wall is not just a wall. Other defensive works such as forts, passes and beacon towers were built along the Wall to house auxiliary soldiers, store grain and weapons, and transmit military information.
What is it made with?
Based on the technology available at different dynasties, the Great Wall was usually built with local materials, mostly earth and stones. Natural terrain such as mountain ridges was often taken advantage of to form part of the wall. West Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 25 A.D.), for example, used sand and crushed stones filled with layers of reeds or tamarisk twigs to build the wall in grasslands and desert areas that are subject to strong wind erosion.
Who and How many people made the wall?
It was built by over a million people who happened to be peasants, prisoners and soldiers and thousands of them died in the process.
http://www.chinahighlights.com/greatwall/fact/
