Here I’m bringing you some of the most fascinating great wall of china facts for kids. All these insights about this medieval grandeur takes us to the time when you were not even born. So, let’s study some interesting facts about the great wall of china. According to the Chinese the great wall should be no less than 10,000 li (5,000 km) in length. It was back in 221 BC when the first emperor of China Qin Shi ordered the building of a great wall and by which the emperor sought to protect the unification he had fought for too long. The great wall had also overshadowed all the shorter walls which were constructed by the smaller kingdoms.

The length of the wall measures around 5,500 miles (8,851.8 km).

The height of the wall varies slightly as we move along with it. Some sections are 20 – 25 feet long whereas others are 28 – 30 feet in height.

It is the longest man-built structure ever made in the history of mankind.

Contrary to popular belief the great wall is not a single continuous wall built under sole dynasty. There are too many wall segments which were added by several dynasties of the time in order to protect the northern boundary of China.

However, the great wall isn’t so great when we see that it costs almost one-million human lives for construction. While the gigantic structure was being built, people started calling it ‘The longest cemetery on earth’.

The wall crosses nine provinces of northern China—it starts from Hushan Liaoning (east) and ends in Gansu (west). Not only have these but the wall also goes through the deserts, mountains, and grassland.

The wall has become the great source of bringing foreign revenues to the country and in 2004 reports said that almost 42 million foreign visitors paid a visit to the wall.

Jiankou is the most dangerous section of the wall. It was built in the Ming Dynasty.

Badaling is the most visited section of the wall. This section was constructed in the Ming Dynasty. This wall is close to Beijing.

Heita Mountain is the highest peak of the wall with the length measuring at 5,033 feet. Laolongtou is however the lowest point.

The great wall is also included in the ‘Seven Wonders of the Medieval World’.

The wheelbarrow was very famous at that time which was invented by Chinese primarily for the construction of the great wall.

After regular intervals of the Great Wall, there are watchtowers which are almost 40 feet tall. In the medieval times, these towers were employed to give signals in the form of beacons. They were also used to observe the enemy movements.

There are defensive moats in the wall most of which are filled with water; however, some are left empty as ditches.

The section of the wall which is characterized by its exquisite structure design is located in Zhangjiakou city.

The wall has three inner side passes; Zijingguan pass, Juyongguan pass, and Daomaguan pass.

From the historical perspective, the great wall was primarily used to protect people from a continuous threat by nomadic tribes.

It goes without saying that wall has become the symbol of national pride for China but the fact of the case is that

China alone cannot look after this mega project and she cannot handle mass-market development by herself. Therefore, two organizations specifically made to preserve the structure; the China Great Wall Society and the International Friends of Great Wall.

We are not still sure as to whether the great wall of China can be seen from the moon with the naked eye. Some say that it can be seen with the help of any advanced equipment but still it’s a myth. The myth appears to have triggered by the American published magazine ‘The Century’ in 1893 which had claimed that one can see the wall from the moon with an unaided eye though the conquest of moon was decades away.

The Great Wall of China also brings around many myths with itself some of which are that the mortar was used to bind stones and the mortar was prepared from human bones; and that humans are buried under the wall to make it sturdier. It’s true that mortar was used to bind the stones but it was not made from human bones—in fact mortar came from the rice flour and not a single bone ever found in the wall.