What is the origin and history of the Great Wall? How many Great Walls are there in China?

Friends who know history probably know that the Great Wall began to be built in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall built by the vassal states during the Warring States Period was connected. Then, after continuous repairs in later dynasties, the Great Wall was built to its current size. The Great Wall is the longest and most complex ancient defense project in China and the world. It is a tall, solid and continuous long wall. The following content will share with you the origin and history of the Great Wall in detail.

Contents of this article

1. The Origin and History of the Great Wall

2. How many Great Walls are there in China?

3. There is a beacon tower every few meters on the Great Wall

The Origin and History of the Great Wall

The Great Wall is the longest and most complex ancient defense project in China and the world. It is a tall, solid and continuous wall. The history of the Great Wall can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Great Wall has been named by many different names. Some of these names were used in the same historical period, while others were only used in a certain historical period or in a certain region.

The history of the construction of the Great Wall can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, when the capital was Haojing, now Xi'an, Shaanxi. The famous story of "playing tricks on the princes by lighting beacons" originated from this.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, various countries vied for hegemony and defended each other. The construction of the Great Wall reached its first climax at that time, but the length of the Great Wall built at that time was relatively short. After Qin conquered the six kingdoms and unified the world, Qin Shihuang began to connect and repair the Warring States Great Wall, and it was then called the Great Wall.

According to historical documents, more than 20 vassal states and feudal dynasties built the Great Wall. If the Great Wall built in different eras is added together, the length is more than 100,000 miles. Among them, the length of the Great Wall built by the Qin, Han and Ming dynasties all exceeded 10,000 miles.

How many Great Walls are there in China?

There is only one Great Wall in China, with a total length of more than 21,000 kilometers, distributed in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in my country. According to different sections, it is divided into Shanhaiguan, Zhenbeitai, Jiayuguan Great Wall, Jinshanling Great Wall, Badaling Great Wall, Huangyaguan Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall, Jiaoshan Great Wall, etc.

The Pre-Qin Great Wall refers to the Great Wall built by Qin Shihuang. According to the defense targets, the Pre-Qin Great Wall can be roughly divided into the Northern Great Wall and the Southern Great Wall.

The Badaling Great Wall is the most representative section of the Ming Dynasty, with an altitude of 1,015 meters and is located in Yanqing District, Beijing.

The Great Wall is one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units in my country and was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in December 1987.

There is a beacon tower every few meters on the Great Wall.

The beacon towers of the Great Wall are usually located every five to ten miles. Beacon towers, also known as beacon fires, are high platforms used to light fireworks to transmit important messages in ancient times and important military defense facilities. They were built to prevent enemy invasions. In case of enemy attacks, smoke was released during the day, called fire fires, and fires were lit at night, called beacons.

Beacon towers are usually built independently, but there are also several of them that form a beacon group. The shape of the beacon towers also varies depending on the terrain.

Beacon towers are usually built on hills where people can observe each other, and they are equipped with equipment for watching over houses and burning smoke and setting fires.

The construction of the Great Wall began in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall built by the vassal states during the Warring States Period was connected. Then, after continuous repairs in later dynasties, the Great Wall was built to its current size.