The immense fortifications are a triumph of engineering and stretch far across northern China.
Intrigued to know more?
Photo:Stock Photosfrom Georgios Kollidas/Shutterstock
Its not one continuous wall.
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Many of these walls actually run parallel to each other.
And, not all of these fortifications include actual walls.
Trenches and natural barriers like rivers and hills are often also considered part of the Great Wall of China.
Map of the construction of the Great Wall of China. (Photo: Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa),CC BY-SA 2.5,via Wikimedia Commons)
(Photo:National Archives)
What we see now is relatively new.
Construction on the Great Wall began in the 7th century BCE and was started by differentancient Chinesestates.
But, virtually all of these early walls have disappeared over time.
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Ruling from 13681644, they built up the fortification to keep out the nomadic Mongolian tribes to the north.
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Convicts were sometimes forced to work on the wall.
Over 1,000,000 people worked on the wall, including civilians, prisoners of war, soldiers, and convicts.
President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon visit the Badaling portion of the Great Wall of China in 1972. (Photo:National Archives)
The soldiers would shave the heads of convicts and force them to wear iron rings.
Their responsibilities included keeping watch during the day and building at night.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom Songquan Deng/Shutterstock
Its slowly disappearing.
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Unfortunately, its not just the natural elements that the Great Wall of China needs to contend with.
Humans also continue to inflict negative damage.
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Builders used rice to help build.
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It is no secret that sticky rice is, well, sticky.
They added the rice to the mortar recipe in hopes of making it stronger.
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It cant be seen from space.
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NASA states that the urban legend goes back to at least 1938.
It only continued to gain momentum, until the Apollo astronauts landed on the moon.
Actual astronauts have confirmed multiple times that its simply not the case.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom Rui Serra Maia/Shutterstock
The Great Wall of China isnt visible to the eye, even in low Earth orbit.
One thing that prohibits its visibility is the materials it was made from.
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The Wall has inspired countless stories and legends.
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It is easy to imagine how such an impressive structure built by so many people might influence culture.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom Peter Wollinga/Shutterstock
New sections are still being discovered.
In 2009, new sections of the Ming Dynasty wall were uncovered using infrared range finders and GPS.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom Peter Wollinga/Shutterstock
The 180-mile section of wall had been covered by hills, trenches, and rivers.
It’s believed that the ruins are of sections built during the Qin dynasty.
It’s one of the New 7 Wonders.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom Songquan Deng/Shutterstock
In 2007, the Great Wall of China was voted one of theNew 7 Wonders of the World.
This placed it in the esteemed company of other iconic monuments likeMachu Picchu, theTaj Mahal, and theColosseum.
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