Info Center \ Culture \ Great Wall of China \ Facts \

Great Wall of China FAQs

Where was the Great Wall?

Answer: The wall is a huge construction which starts from Hushan, Liaoning in the east and ends at Jiayuguan Pass, Gansu in the west, across Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai Provinces.

It is often said that many ancient people were buried under the root of the wall. Is that true and why?

Answer: Many people died of building the wall, and it is the common understanding of most people that they were simply buried in the wall. It is thought that the ancient people did so mainly for the following reasons: first, to save funeral expenses; second, to save building materials, for bones are good, natural material friendly to environment; third, to deep fertilize the wall to make the roots of plants go deep so to protect the foundations; the last and the strangest, the wall can intimidate the avenging spirits of those who died for the building it.

How long does it take to get all the way across the Great Wall?

Answer: It depends on your routes and speed. The first man to finish trekking the most length spent two years from Shanhaiguan Pass to Jiayuguan Pass.

How many people worked and died while building the wall?

Answer: Countless, there is no accurate number on how many people died building the Wall.

Can the Great Wall be seen from space?

Answer: It is definitely impossible to see it from space. It measures less than 11 yards wide on average, and is easy to be covered by the surrounding landscape. Merely to the naked eye, it is hardly recognizable from 65,617 feet high. It is totally invisible at a height of 196,850 feet, not to mention from a space ship whose orbital altitude is on average 1,312,333 feet high. To say an astronaut can see the wall is obviously an exaggeration.

How tall is the Great Wall?

Answer: The main body of the Ming wall measures 21 feet tall on average.

What makes the Great Wall great?

Answer: The wall is the biggest national military defense project built in the cold steel age of human history. Like a giant dragon wriggling in the northern China, it stands for the spirit of Chinese people.

How many bricks were used to build the Great Wall?

Answer: The accurate number is unknown. But roughly estimated, the length of a 1 yard wide and 16 feet tall wall built from the bricks and earthworks is equal to the circumference of the earth.

What happens if fall off the Great Wall?

Answer: It's no joke. The wall can be dangerous! Especially in the wild sections, the walls are built in the steep mountains and the bricks are loose. It is frequently the case that tourists fall off and lose their lives. So watch your step and raise your self-protection awareness when you travel on it.