A 13,000 mile dragon of earth and stone winds its way through the countryside of China with a history almost as long and serpentine as the structure. The Great Wall began as multiple walls of rammed earth built by individual feudal states during the Chunqiu period to protect against nomadic raiders north of China and each other. When Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the states in 221 BCE, the Tibetan Plateau and Pacific Ocean became natural barriers, but the mountains in the north remained vulnerable to Mongol, Turkish, and Xiongnu invasions. To defend against them, the Emperor expanded the small walls built by his predecessors, connecting some and fortifying others. As the structures grew from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east, they collectively became known as The Long Wall. To accomplish this task, the Emperor enlisted soldiers and commoners, not always voluntarily. Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the Qin Dynasty, many were forcibly conscripted peasants and others were criminals serving out sentences. Under the Han Dynasty, the wall grew longer still, reaching 3700 miles, and spanning from Dunhuang to the Bohai Sea. Forced labor continued under the Han Emperor Han-Wudi , and the walls reputation grew into a notorious place of suffering. Poems and legends of the time told of laborers buried in nearby mass graves, or even within the wall itself. And while no human remains have been found inside, grave pits do indicate that many workers died from accidents, hunger and exhaustion. The wall was formidable but not invincible. Both Genghis and his son Khublai Khan managed to surmount the wall during the Mongol invasion of the 13th Century. After the Ming dynasty gained control in 1368, they began to refortify and further consolidate the wall using bricks and stones from local kilns. Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the walls 5500 miles were punctuated by watchtowers. When raiders were sighted, fire and smoke signals traveled between towers until reinforcements arrived. Small openings along the wall let archers fire on invaders, while larger ones were used to drop stones and more. But even this new and improved wall was not enough. In 1644, northern Manchu clans overthrew the Ming to establish the Qing dynasty, incorporating Mongolia as well, Thus, for the second time, China was ruled by the very people the wall had tried to keep out. With the empire's borders now extending beyond the Great Wall, the fortifications lost their purpose. And without regular reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair, rammed earth eroded, while brick and stone were plundered for building materials. But its job wasn't finished. During World War II, China used sections for defense against Japanese invasion, and some parts are still rumored to be used for military training. But the Wall's main purpose today is cultural. As one of the largest man-made structures on Earth, it was granted UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1987. Originally built to keep people out of China, the Great Wall now welcomes millions of visitors each year. In fact, the influx of tourists has caused the wall to deteriorate, leading the Chinese government to launch preservation initiatives. It's also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure visible from space. Unfortunately, that's not at all true. In low Earth orbit, all sorts of structures, like bridges, highways and airports are visible, and the Great Wall is only barely discernible. From the moon, it doesn't stand a chance. But regardless, it's the Earth we should be studying it from because new sections are still discovered every few years, branching off from the main body and expanding this remarkable monument to human achievement.
Napravljen od kamena i zemlje, zmaj dug 21 000 km vijuga kroz kineska sela, sa istorijom koja je gotovo jednako duga i složena kao i njegova struktura, Kineski zid je započeo kao više zidova od nabijene zemlje koje su izgradile feudalne države tokom Perioda proleća i jeseni da se zaštite od nomadskih napadača sa severa Kine, kao i jedni od drugih. Kad je car Ćin Ši Huang ujedinio države 221. godine pre n.e. Tibetanska visoravan i Tihi okean postali su prirodne prepreke, ali planine na severu ostale su podložne napadu Mongola, Turaka i plemena Hsiung-nu. Da bi se od njih odbranili, car je proširio male zidove koje su sagradili njegovi prethodnici, pri čemu je neke spojio, a ostale ojačao. Kako se građevina širila od Lintaoao na zapadu do Liaodonga na istoku, svi zidovi dobili su zajednički naziv Dugi zid. Da bi ispunio ovaj zadatak, car je regrutovao vojnike i građane, i to ne uvek dobrovoljno. Od stotina hiljada graditelja zabeleženih tokom dinastije Ćin, mnogi su bili prisilno dovedeni seljaci, dok su ostali bili prestupnici na izdržavanju kazne. Tokom dinastije Han, zid se i dalje produžavao, dostigavši dužinu od 6 000 km. Prostirao se od Dunhuanga do Bohajskog mora. Prisilni rad se nastavio za vreme cara Vua od Hana i zid je stekao reputaciju ozloglašenog mesta stradanja. Poeme i legende tog vremena govorile su o radnicima koji su sahranjivani u obližnjim masovnim grobnicama, pa čak i u samom zidu. Iako unutra ljudski ostaci nisu pronađeni, grobne jame zaista ukazuju na to da je mnogo radnika umrlo zbog nezgoda, gladi i iscrpljenosti. Zid je bio impresivan, ali ne i neuništiv. Džingis-kan, kao i njegov sin Kublaj-kan, uspeli su da pređu preko zida za vreme invazije Mongola u 13. veku. Nakon što je dinastija Ming preuzela kontrolu 1368. godine, počeli su iznova da ojačavaju i još više učvršćuju zid pomoću cigala i kamenja iz obližnjih sušara, Sa prosečnom visinom od oko 7 m i širinom od oko 6,4 m, 8 850 kilometara zida isprekidano je osmatračnicama. Kad bi opazili napadače, vatreni i dimni signali palili bi se od kule do kule dok pojačanje ne bi stiglo. Mali otvori duž zida su omogućavali da strelci ispaljuju strele na napadače, dok su veći otvori služili za bacanje kamenja i još ponečeg. Ipak, čak i ovaj novi ojačan zid nije bio dovoljan. Godine 1644, klanovi severnih Mandžuraca s vlasti su svrgnuli dinastiju Ming da bi postavili dinastiju Ćing, pripojivši i Mongoliju. Tako su, po drugi put, Kinom vladali isti oni koje je zid trebalo da zaustavi. Kako su se granice carstva proširile izvan Kineskog zida, utvrđenja više nisu imala svrhu. Bez redovnog ojačavanja, zid je oronuo, nabijena zemlja je erodirala, a cigla i kamen su ukradeni da bi se koristili u građevinske svrhe. Međutim, nije završio svoj posao. Tokom Drugog svetskog rata, Kina je koristila delove zida da bi se odbranila od invazije Japana, a i sad se priča da se neki odeljci zida koriste za vojnu obuku. Danas je glavna funkcija zida kulturološka. Kao jedna od najvećih građevina na svetu koje je napravio čovek, proglašen je 1987. godine svetskom baštinom Uneska. Prvobitno izgrađen da bi sprečio ljude da uđu u Kinu, danas svake godine Kineski zid posete milioni turista. Zapravo, zbog tolikog priliva turista, zid je počeo da propada, što je navelo vladu Kine da pokrene inicijative za očuvanje zida. Takođe ga često veličaju kao jedinu tvorevinu ljudi koja se vidi iz svemira. Nažalost, to je sasvim netačno. U niskoj Zemljinoj orbiti, vide se razne građevine kao što su mostovi, auto-putevi i aerodromi, a Kineski zid jedva da se nazire. Nema šanse da se može videti s Meseca. Bez obzira na to, treba da ga istražujemo sa Zemlje, jer se i dalje otkrivaju novi odeljci zida svakih nekoliko godina, granajući se od glavnog dela i uvećavaju ovaj neverovatni spomen dostignuću čoveka.