Hey, I'm interested in Great Wall history. Someone has info about it? Thanks

The Great Wall actually originated from the various walls that were built by several states during the warring states period (around 400-221 BC).

After Qinshihuang (1st Emperor of China) conquered the other 6 states and unified China in 221 BC, he faced military threat from the nomadic tribes in Mongolia and near the frontier of northern China. These nomadic tribes were known in China as 'Xiongnu' (probably also related to what's called "Hun" in Europe). They constantly raided China and pillaged the northern chinese cities resulting in security threats to China.

In order to eliminate threats, Qinshihuang dispatched 300,000 army led by General Meng Tian to attack the Xiongnu. He also decided to link up all the previous walls of past 6 states and constructed new walls in order to prevent the Xiongnu from attacking China. This soon became the early foundation of the Great Wall.

Over the 2000 years of chinese history, the walls were continuously lengthened or reconstructed. In particular, the great wall that we saw today was a result of Ming construction of the great wall from Shanhaiguan till Jiayuguan.

For more info, also refer to
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=14925

General ZhaoYun gave a all-round view

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In particular, the great wall that we saw today was a result of Ming construction of the great wall from Shanhaiguan till Jiayuguan.

Today, most part of great wall was disappeared. Some parts of great wall was distoryed and submersed.

A simple google search could've got your information quicker.

The Great Wall has been an interesting topic in some recent books and papers, and in the process of preparing a research paper on Imperial Frontier Management I sent alot of time dealing with the great wall. In fact the great wall as we know it had nothing to do with Qin Shi Huangdi's wall except for the use of the name which directly translates into Long Wall. Most dynasties built new walls to replace the failed walls of the previous dynasties, and the ruins of these walls can be seen. Most of which occur north of where the present day Ming wall is located due to the fact that these frontier walls were often an integral part of the management of threats on the northern frontier, the ability to control who entered and left gave Imperial agents the ability to track what was going on along the border (though they faced a monumental task), limited the mobility of their enemies and in the case of at least Jin, Qin, Han the walls were meant to deny or control access to certain strategic grazing areas in order to have an advantage against possible threats along this frontier. The effectiveness of such polices is debatable at best.

I would see Julia Lovells book The Great Wall: China Against the World for a mroe in depth argument on this very point.

I like this webboard~ Lalalala~

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Right through the point, the General_Zhaoyun zi was.

But the great wall wasn't build by itself and wasn't finish

in a day.

QinShiHuangDi was recruit more than hundred-thousand

to build it. Many of them were dead. Few survive but they

have scars in thier life. Their children they supposed to take care

were dead during build the great wall of QSHD. The other

came back to thier home and saw no-one. Thier wife(ves) were

dead or make new mariage.

Though the wall was great, they couldn't protect much.

the walls were already there during the Warring States period, each nations has a section,
what Shihuangdi did was connecting them

and like everyone said it has been expanded and repaired through out time.

however, Qing Kangxidi has ordered that the Qing dynasty shall never repair the Great Wall, because it is useless

Let me dispel myths about the Great Wall:

1. You cannot see it from space. The Great Wall has the width of a road so it would be too small to see.

2. It is not one continuous wall, but a collection of walls. It is not only made from brick but incorporated material found near its locality such as stone or mud brick which is found on the more ruggard terrain. The most famous image of the wall is the one near Beijing which gives the false impression to most people that the wall is entirely made from brick.

3. Dead bodies were not buried beneath the wall but on the sides. There is a logical explanation: if the bodies were buried beneath the wall, the wall's stability would crumble as the bodies would contract when it deteriorates. This will lead to the stucture crumbling.

Four threads on the Great Wall are listed in the index to the forum on Chinese Architecture and Fengshui. Roll down the page a little bit: they're in the section called "Individual buildings, structures, and compounds." The threads contain pictures, long explanations, and links to websites that discuss the "Great Walls" and their fascinating history.