Great Wall of China is not just about a series of ancient walls and forts with a total length of 21,196 km in northern China. In fact, this building is stated as the most noticeable symbol of the country along with its history. Great Wall is one of the favorite destinations for many tourists, both local and foreign tourists visiting this bamboo curtain country.
Not only because it is a favorite destination for people, but because its name often appears in history books as a member of Seven Wonders of the World, according to UNESCO’s version. For you who were in elementary school around the 1990s to early 2000s, you must have often seen its pictures in the history books.
Unfortunately, most books only mention this place as a member of Seven Wonders without any detailed explanation. In fact, the Great Wall has many interesting facts to know, what are they? Let’s check them out.
Invisible from the Moon
The popular myth circulating around the Great Wall of China is that it is visible from space, even from the Moon. Well, for a historical building, it is truly extraordinary. Unfortunately, this wall of pride for Chinese people is not visible from space or the moon.
One of the reasons is that this building tends to blend with the surrounding landscape. Coupled with the very far distance between the Earth’s surface and the Space Station, the Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space
The Great Wall is not the Original Name
We know this building as The Great Wall of China. Meanwhile, some Western countries call it The Chinese Wall. However, in China itself, people have other names. Instead of calling Great Wall China, they called this historic wall Wànlǐ Chángchéng. In Chinese, this name means the 1000 Mile Long Wall.
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Longer than the Nile
The other reason why this wall is so important is because of its length. No half-hearted, with a height of 6 meters, this Great Wall has a length of 21,196 km. With this length, it is even longer than the three longest rivers in the world, namely the Nile, Amazon, and the Yangtze combined.
Killed About 400 Lives
During the Qin Dynasty, convicts and prisoners of war were also forcibly employed in construction projects. To distinguish the prisoners from the real workers, the officers shaved off the prisoners’ hair and blackened their faces.
It didn’t stop there. Some parts of prisoners’ bodies were also tied with chains to ensure they didn’t run away. In addition, just like the construction of other large buildings in the past, the construction of the Great Wall China also claimed at least 400 thousand people who died while working.
One-Third of the Wall was Gone
Believe it or not, this wall used to be much longer. It is estimated 1,200 miles or 1/3 of the building has been lost due to erosion, and the damage done to some parts of the wall. This was exacerbated by the Cultural Revolution that took place from 1966 to 1976. Under Mao Zedong’s rule, thousands of people stripped the bricks of this wall and used them to build houses.
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Rice Flour was Used
Yes, you didn’t read it wrong. The Great Wall was built using rice flour as one of the main ingredients. Of course, not all parts were built using rice flour, but some of them that were built during the Qin Dynasty.
When Emperor Qin Shi Huang was in power in 220-206 BC, he used glutinous rice flour as a substitute for cement, while the bricks themselves come from a mixture of soil, stone, and wood.
Genghis Khan Broke in Once
Great Wall China was not built without any reason. Besides making it a barrier between countries, this wall is also used as a fortress against enemy attacks. Unfortunately, these efforts are not always successful.
In fact, several armies have broken into the Great Wall of China in the past, including Genghis Khan’s troops who managed to control some parts of the wall, as well as the Manchurian troops who managed to pass through the wall and overthrow the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century.
Those are some interesting facts about the Great Wall of China. It is not just the length that makes the calves sore, but it turns out that the wall in Great China also holds facts we never expected. The spring and autumn seasons are perfect for a vacation, plus there are not too many visitors. You will enjoy your vacation there. You may not have enough time to explore the entire structure of this wall.
Therefore, it is better to visit one point of the Great Wall of China, such as Juyongguan, Mutianyu, Badaling, Jinshanling, or Simatai. It is time for you to plan a vacation there. Go to the Airpaz.com site or Airpaz apps, then start choosing tickets and accommodations that suit your budget to prepare yourself to go to Great Wall China.
