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92-644: The first and longest running international marathon whose course is entirely on the Great Wall of China . The course traverses through the Simatai ( simplified Chinese : 司马台 ; traditional Chinese : 司馬臺 ; pinyin : Sīmǎtái ), a section of the Great Wall of China located in the north of Miyun District , 120 km northeast of Beijing , and Jinshanling (simplified Chinese: 金山岭 ; traditional Chinese: 金山嶺 ; pinyin: Jīnshānlǐng ),

184-409: A four-way balance of power emerged between Qin in the west, Jin in the north-center, Chu in the south, and Qi in the east whilst a number of smaller states continued to exist between Jin and Qi. The state of Deng ( 鄧 ) was overthrown by Chu in 678 BCE followed by Qin's annexation of Hua ( 滑 ) in 627 BCE, establishing a pattern that would gradually see all smaller states eliminated. Towards the end of

276-535: A section of the Great Wall of China located in the mountainous area in Luanping County, 125 km northeast of Beijing. Considered as one of the most challenging adventure marathons due to the extreme course conditions. Containing more than 20,000 unrelenting stone steps, many vary in height from a few centimeters to over 40 cm in height, with many of the original sections little more than rubble, and no less than 30 km of running experience on one of

368-704: A series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe . Several walls were built from as early as the 7th century BC, with selective stretches later joined by Qin Shi Huang (220–206 BC), the first emperor of China . Little of the Qin wall remains. Later on, many successive dynasties built and maintained multiple stretches of border walls. The best-known sections of

460-674: A set of ranks amongst them, meet for interstate conferences, build great walls of rammed earth , and absorb one another. As the power of the Zhou kings weakened, the Spring and Autumn period saw the emergence of hegemon-protectors ( 霸 ; Bà ) who protected the royal house and gave tribute to the king's court, while underwriting the remainder of the confederation with their military might. First among equals , they held power over all other states to raise armies and attack mutual enemies, and extracted tribute from their peers. Meetings were held between

552-569: A threat to the ruler. Eventually, during the reign of Emperor Jing (r. 156–141 BCE ), his political advisor Chao Cuo recommended the abolition of all fiefdoms, a policy that led in 154 BCE to the Rebellion of the Seven States . The Prince of Wu Liu Bi (劉濞) revolted first and was followed by the rulers of six further states. The rebellion continued for three months until it was finally quelled. Later, Emperor Wu further weakened

644-476: A total length of more than 10 km (6 mi), believed to be part of the Great Wall, were discovered along the border of Ningxia autonomous region and Gansu province. Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from rammed earth, stones, and wood. During the Ming, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime , and stone. The size and weight of

736-817: Is figurative in a similar manner to the Greek and English myriad and simply means "innumerable" or "immeasurable". Because of the wall's association with the First Emperor's supposed tyranny , the Chinese dynasties after Qin usually avoided referring to their own additions to the wall by the name "Long Wall". Instead, various terms were used in medieval records, including "frontier(s)" ( 塞 , Sài ), "rampart(s)" ( 垣 , Yuán ), "barrier(s)" ( 障 , Zhàng ), "the outer fortresses" ( 外 堡 , Wàibǎo ), and "the border wall(s)" ( t 邊 牆 , s 边 墙 , Biānqiáng ). Poetic and informal names for

828-772: Is "sixty days' travel" from Zeitun (modern Quanzhou ) in his travelogue Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling . He associated it with the legend of the wall mentioned in the Qur'an , which Dhul-Qarnayn (commonly associated with Alexander the Great ) was said to have erected to protect people near the land of the rising sun from the savages of Gog and Magog . However, Ibn Battuta could find no one who had either seen it or knew of anyone who had seen it, suggesting that although there were remnants of

920-563: Is 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in) high and 5 m (16 ft 5 in) wide. One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes in Jinshanling . There it runs 11 km (7 mi) long, ranges from 5 to 8 m (16 ft 5 in to 26 ft 3 in) in height, and 6 m (19 ft 8 in) across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 m (16 ft 5 in) across

1012-582: Is no more conspicuous than many other human-made objects. Veteran US astronaut Gene Cernan has stated: "At Earth orbit of 100 to 200 miles [160 to 320 km] high, the Great Wall of China is, indeed, visible to the naked eye." Ed Lu , Expedition 7 Science Officer aboard the International Space Station , adds that, "It's less visible than a lot of other objects. And you have to know where to look." In October 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei stated that he had not been able to see

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1104-529: Is only exceeded by the Chinese Wall, which makes a considerable figure upon the terrestrial globe , and may be discerned at the Moon." The claim was also mentioned by Henry Norman in 1895 where he states "besides its age it enjoys the reputation of being the only work of human hands on the globe visible from the Moon." The issue of "canals" on Mars was prominent in the late 19th century and may have led to

1196-720: Is the western terminus of the Ming Great Wall. From Jiayu Pass the wall travels discontinuously down the Hexi Corridor and into the deserts of Ningxia , where it enters the western edge of the Yellow River loop at Yinchuan . Here the first major walls erected during the Ming dynasty cut through the Ordos Desert to the eastern edge of the Yellow River loop. There at Piantou Pass ( t 偏 頭 關 , s 偏 头 关 , Piāntóuguān ) in Xinzhou , Shanxi province,

1288-673: The Liaodong province, protecting it against potential incursions by Jurchen-Mongol Oriyanghan from the northwest and the Jianzhou Jurchens from the north. While stones and tiles were used in some parts of the Liaodong Wall, most of it was in fact simply an earth dike with moats on both sides. Towards the end of the Ming, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Even after

1380-630: The Moon . Even though the myth is thoroughly debunked, it is still ingrained in popular culture. The apparent width of the Great Wall from the Moon would be the same as that of a human hair viewed from 3 km (2 mi) away. One of the earliest known references to the myth that the Great Wall can be seen from the moon appears in a letter written in 1754 by the English antiquary William Stukeley . Stukeley wrote that, "This mighty wall [ Hadrian's wall ] of four score miles [130 km] in length

1472-675: The National Cultural Heritage Administration states that 22% of the Ming Great Wall has disappeared, while 1,961 km (1,219 mi) of wall have vanished. In 2007 it was estimated that more than 60 km (37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years, due to erosion from sandstorms . In some places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than 5 m (16 ft 5 in) to less than 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Various square lookout towers that characterize

1564-552: The Qin dynasty ("Qin Shi Huang") in 221 BC. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction of the sections of the walls that divided his empire among the former states. To position the empire against the Xiongnu people from the north, however, he ordered the building of new walls to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's northern frontier. "Build and move on"

1656-468: The Wei River valley, most existing polities submitted to Zhou overlordship, although the state of Yu ( 虞 ) did not, since their rulers belonged to a more senior branch of the lineage group than the Zhou kings. The rulers of the state of Guo ( 虢 ) also belonged to a different branch lineage, but they submitted to royal authority. The relation of the polities in the old Zhou heartland to the royal court

1748-488: The Zhou cultural sphere prior to Qin's wars of unification . They ranged in size from large estates, to city-states to much vaster territories with multiple population centers. Many of these submitted to royal authority, but many did not—even those that shared the same culture and ancestral temple surname as the ruling house. Prior to the Zhou conquest of Shang , the first of these ancient states were already extant as units of

1840-607: The Zhou conquest of Shang (1046 or 1045 BCE), the immediate goal of the nascent dynasty was to consolidate its power over its newly expanded geographical range, especially in light of the Rebellion of the Three Guards following the death of the conquering King Wu of Zhou . To this end, royal relatives were granted lands outside the old Zhou homeland, and given relatively sovereign authority over those spaces. The Zhou government thus had multiple dimensions of relationship with different sorts of powerful men. The lineage elders of

1932-400: The coronavirus pandemic . The 2021 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic . The 2022 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic . Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China ( traditional Chinese : 萬里長城 ; simplified Chinese : 万里长城 ; pinyin : Wànlǐ Chángchéng , literally "ten thousand li long wall") is

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2024-559: The rampart which surrounded traditional Chinese cities and was used by extension for these walls around their respective states ; today, however, it is much more often the Chinese word for "city". The longer Chinese name "Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall" ( t 萬里長城, s 万里长城, Wànlǐ Chángchéng ) came from Sima Qian's description of it in the Records , though he did not name the walls as such. The AD 493 Book of Song quotes

2116-502: The 13th and 14th centuries, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine , William of Rubruck , Marco Polo , Odoric of Pordenone and Giovanni de' Marignolli , mentioned the Great Wall. The North African traveler Ibn Battuta , who also visited China during the Yuan dynasty c.  1346 , had heard about China's Great Wall, possibly before he had arrived in China. He wrote that the wall

2208-657: The Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders. The Tang and Song dynasties did not undertake any significant effort in the region. Dynasties founded by non-Han ethnic groups also built their border walls: the Xianbei -ruled Northern Wei , the Khitan -ruled Liao , Jurchen -led Jin and the Tangut -established Western Xia , who ruled vast territories over Northern China throughout centuries, all constructed defensive walls but those were located much to

2300-494: The Great Wall is highly recommended. There is a 10-hour time limit for all races, start time is approximately 6:00 AM with a 4:00 PM cut-off time. Participants must maintain a pace faster than the course time limits in order to complete the race. Key:     Course record 2003, Albatros Adventure Marathons cancel The Great Wall Marathon due to the SARS epidemic. The winner was Salvador Calvo, whose time of 3:23:10 broke

2392-541: The Great Wall of China. In response, the European Space Agency (ESA) issued a press release reporting that from an orbit between 160 and 320 km (100 and 200 mi), the Great Wall is visible to the naked eye. The image was actually a river in Beijing. Leroy Chiao , a Chinese-American astronaut, took a photograph from the International Space Station that shows the wall. It was so indistinct that

2484-573: The Great Wall splits in two with the "Outer Great Wall" ( t 外 長城 , s 外 长城 , Wài Chǎngchéng ) extending along the Inner Mongolia border with Shanxi into Hebei province, and the "Inner Great Wall" ( t 內 長城 , s 內 长城 , Nèi Chǎngchéng ) running southeast from Piantou Pass for some 400 km (250 mi), passing through important passes like the Pingxing Pass and Yanmen Pass before joining

2576-460: The Great Wall. A formal definition of what constitutes a "Great Wall" has not been agreed upon, making the full course of the Great Wall difficult to describe in its entirety. The defensive lines contain multiple stretches of ramparts, trenches and ditches, as well as individual fortresses. In 2012, based on existing research and the results of a comprehensive mapping survey, the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China concluded that

2668-521: The Great Wall. Perhaps the first recorded instance of a European actually entering China via the Great Wall came in 1605, when the Portuguese Jesuit brother Bento de Góis reached the northwestern Jiayu Pass from India. Early European accounts were mostly modest and empirical, closely mirroring contemporary Chinese understanding of the Wall, although later they slid into hyperbole, including

2760-558: The Outer Great Wall at Sihaiye ( 四海 冶 , Sìhǎiyě ), in Beijing's Yanqing County . The sections of the Great Wall around Beijing municipality are especially famous: they were frequently renovated and are regularly visited by tourists today. The Badaling Great Wall near Zhangjiakou is the most famous stretch of the wall, for this was the first section to be opened to the public in the People's Republic of China, as well as

2852-404: The Spring and Autumn period wars between states became increasingly common. Regional lords had begun the practice of granting lands of their own to powerful ministerial lineages. Over generations, in some places these ministerial lineages had grown more powerful than their lords. Eventually the dukes of Lu, Jin, Zheng, Wey and Qi would all become figureheads to powerful aristocratic families. In

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2944-495: The Zhou dynasty ( c. 1046–256 BCE ), the ties of family between the states attenuated, the power of the central government waned, and the states grew more autonomous. Some regional rulers granted subunits of their own territory to ministerial lineages who eventually eclipsed them in power and in some cases usurped them . Over time generally the smaller polities were absorbed by the larger ones, either by force or willing submission, until only one remained: Qin ( 秦 ), which unified

3036-406: The belief that long, thin objects were visible from space. The claim that the Great Wall is visible from the moon also appears in 1932's Ripley's Believe It or Not! strip. A more controversial question is whether the wall is visible from low Earth orbit (an altitude of as little as 160 km (100 mi)). NASA claims that it is barely visible, and only under nearly perfect conditions; it

3128-404: The bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened. Additionally, bricks could bear more weight and endure better than rammed earth. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use. Consequently, stones cut into rectangular shapes were used for the foundation, inner and outer brims , and gateways of the wall. Battlements line

3220-579: The case of Zhongshan ( 中山 ) in the north, which was established by the nomadic Bai Di (白翟) in the 400s BCE and would last until 295 BCE. Following Qin's wars of unification , the first emperor Qin Shi Huang eliminated noble titles which did not conform to his ideals of governance , emphasizing merit over than the privileges of birth. He forced all the conquered leaders to attend the capital where he seized their states and turned them into administrative districts classified as either commanderies or counties depending on their size. The officials who ran

3312-429: The case of Jin, the shift happened in 588 when the army was split into six independent divisions, each dominated by a separate noble family: Zhi (智), Zhao (趙), Han (韓), Wei (魏), Fan (范), and Zhonghang (中行). The heads of the six families were conferred the titles of viscounts and made ministers, each heading one of the six departments of Zhou dynasty government. From this point on, historians refer to "The Six Ministers" as

3404-567: The commanding Ming general, Wu Sangui , who formed an alliance with the Manchus, hoping to use the Manchus to expel the rebels from Beijing. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing, and eventually defeated both the Shun dynasty and the remaining Ming resistance , consolidating the rule of the Qing dynasty over all of China proper . Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls and Mongolia

3496-535: The current hegemon and the rulers of the states where ritual ceremonies took place that included swearing of oaths of allegiance to the current Zhou king and to each other. The first hegemon was Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643). With the help of his prime minister, Guan Zhong , Duke Huan reformed Qi to centralize its power structure. The state consisted of 15 " townships " ( 縣 ) with the duke and two senior ministers each in charge of five; military functions were also united with civil ones. These and related reforms provided

3588-602: The east. This section was one of the first to be renovated following the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution . At the edge of the Bohai Gulf is Shanhai Pass , considered the traditional end of the Great Wall and the "First Pass Under Heaven ". The part of the wall inside Shanhai Pass that meets the sea is named the "Old Dragon Head". 3 km (2 mi) north of Shanhai Pass is Jiaoshan Great Wall ( t 焦山 長城 , s 焦 山 长城 , Jiāoshān Chángchéng ),

3680-455: The edge of the Mongolian steppe ; spanning 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi) in total. Today, the defensive system of the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history. The collection of fortifications known as the Great Wall of China has historically had a number of different names in both Chinese and English. In Chinese histories ,

3772-464: The erroneous but ubiquitous claim that the Ming walls were the same ones that were built by the first emperor in the 3rd century BC. When China opened its borders to foreign merchants and visitors after its defeat in the First and Second Opium Wars , the Great Wall became a main attraction for tourists. The travelogues of the later 19th century further enhanced the reputation and the mythology of

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3864-556: The exact length and course of the Qin walls. Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. The human cost of the construction is unknown, but it has been estimated by some authors that hundreds of thousands of workers died building the Qin wall. Later, the Han , the Northern dynasties and the Sui all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of

3956-466: The frontier general Tan Daoji referring to "the long wall of 10,000 miles", closer to the modern name, but the name rarely features in pre-modern times otherwise. The traditional Chinese mile ( 里 , lǐ ) was an often irregular distance that was intended to show the length of a standard village and varied with terrain but was usually standardized at distances around a third of an English mile (540 m). However, this use of "ten-thousand" ( wàn )

4048-485: The kings, and eventually a succession crisis brought an end to the Western Zhou period. After an attack by Quanrong nomads allied with several vassal states including Shen ( 申 ) and Zheng ( 鄭 ) in 771 BCE, the Zhou ruler King You was killed in his palace at Haojing . His son fled east and was enthroned by several vassal leaders as King Ping of Zhou . Traditionally, the flight to the east and establishment of

4140-467: The leaders of polities outside the Zhou cultural sphere. Fang States (Chinese: ⽅ ) refer to the various tribes and states during the Shang dynasty in ancient China. Today, scholars' understanding of these states primarily comes from oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the late Shang dynasty Yinxu . In these inscriptions, these tribal states are often referred to as name + "方". In modern style Chinese

4232-519: The long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the nomadic tribes out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the Ordos Desert , the wall followed the desert's southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the Yellow River . Unlike the earlier fortifications, the Ming construction

4324-458: The loss of all of Liaodong , the Ming army held the heavily fortified Shanhai Pass , preventing the Manchus from conquering the Chinese heartland. The Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644, after Beijing had already fallen to Li Zicheng 's short-lived Shun dynasty . Before this time, the Manchus had crossed the Great Wall multiple times to raid, but this time it was for conquest. The gates at Shanhai Pass were opened on May 25 by

4416-399: The means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor. The frontier walls built by different dynasties have multiple courses. Collectively, they stretch from Liaodong in the east to Lop Lake in the west, from the present-day Sino–Russian border in the north to Tao River (Taohe) in the south; along an arc that roughly delineates

4508-466: The mortar or any part of the wall, contrary to what a legend states. Communication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call reinforcements and warn garrisons of enemy movements, was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon hill tops or other high points along the wall for their visibility. Wooden gates could be used as a trap against those going through. Barracks, stables, and armories were built near

4600-508: The most famous images of the wall have disappeared. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud , rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion. In 2014 a portion of the wall near the border of Liaoning and Hebei province was repaired with concrete. The work has been much criticized. A section of the wall in Shanxi province was severely damaged in 2023 by construction workers, who widened an existing gap in

4692-418: The new districts were selected on merit rather than by family connections. In the early years of the Han dynasty , the commanderies established during the Qin dynasty once more became vassal states in all but name. Emperor Gaozu (r. 202–195 BCE ) granted virtually autonomous territories to his relatives and a few generals with military prowess. Over time these vassal states grew powerful and presented

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4784-413: The new king is written as if it proceeded very rapidly, but excavated manuscripts hold clues that a parallel king may have reigned for over twenty years, and there may have been no recognized king for nine years. The scale of the division of loyalties between the regional states, and the effect it had on society is not clear, but archaeology attests significant movement of people around this time. With

4876-468: The nineteenth century, "the Great Wall of China" had become standard in English and French, although other European languages such as German continue to refer to it as "the Chinese wall". The Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn period between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. During this time and the subsequent Warring States period ,

4968-608: The north of the other Great Walls as we know it, within China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia and in modern-day Mongolia itself. The Great Wall concept was revived again under the Ming in the 14th century, and following the Ming army's defeat by the Oirats in the Battle of Tumu . The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper hand over the Mongol tribes after successive battles, and

5060-472: The old homelands were related to the royal house mostly through the pre-existing kinship structure, and not all were politically subservient. The regional lords were established to provide a screen to the royal lands and exert control over culturally distinct polities and were mostly defined by that responsibility, but this was also embedded in the kinship groups. Some few high government ministers had special, non-hereditary titles of nobility. Lastly, there were

5152-409: The oldest and most recognizable structures in the world. Although a small portion of the Great Wall on the course has been restored, much of the Great Wall is still in its original state and in ruins. Runners will encounter loose stones, gravel, missing steps, and crumbling walls along with sections taken over by nature with trees and plant life. Runners must use extreme caution as there are sections of

5244-602: The one contained in João de Barros 's 1563 Asia . Other early accounts in Western sources include those of Gaspar da Cruz , Bento de Goes , Matteo Ricci , and Bishop Juan González de Mendoza , the latter in 1585 describing it as a "superbious and mightie work" of architecture, though he had not seen it. In 1559, in his work "A Treatise of China and the Adjoyning Regions", Gaspar da Cruz offers an early discussion of

5336-460: The other states and raids by nomadic tribes like the Quanrong and Xiongnu . Smaller states like Zheng and Song were absorbed by their more powerful neighbors. The non-Zhou states of Ba ( 巴 ) and Shu ( 蜀 ) were both conquered by Qin by 316 BCE. All the other states gradually followed suit until Zhou rule finally collapsed in 256 BCE. Against this backdrop, polities also continued to emerge, as in

5428-526: The photographer was not certain he had actually captured it. Based on the photograph, the China Daily later reported that the Great Wall can be seen from 'space' with the naked eye, under favorable viewing conditions, if one knows exactly where to look. Ancient Chinese states Ancient Chinese states ( traditional Chinese : 諸侯國 ; simplified Chinese : 诸侯国 ; pinyin : Zhūhóu guó ) were dynastic polities of China within and without

5520-612: The powerful states absorbed more of their neighbours, so too did they centralize their internal power, increasing bureaucratization and reducing the power of the local aristocracy. A new class of gentlemen-scholars, distantly related to the aristocracy but part of the elite culture nonetheless, formed the basis of this extended bureaucracy, their goal of upward social mobility expressed through participation in officialdom. By about 300 BCE, only seven main states remained: Chu, Han, Qi, Qin, Yan, Wei and Zhao. Some of these built rammed earth walls along their frontiers to protect themselves both from

5612-402: The preceding Shang dynasty , Predynastic Zhou , or polities of other cultural groups. Once the Zhou had established themselves, they made grants of land and relative local autonomy to kinfolk in return for military support and tributes, under a system known as fengjian . The rulers of the states were collectively the zhuhou ( 諸侯 ; 诸侯 ; zhūhóu ; 'many lords'). Over the course of

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5704-499: The previous course record by four minutes. Saturday May 17, 2008: Again, the previous race record was broken, this time by Great Wall Marathon first-timer Romualdo Sanchez Garita from Mexico. His finish time was 3:18:48. The fastest woman in the field was South African Leanne Juul, who finished in 4:09:10. Saturday May 16, 2009: There were 1,363 runners in the four distances. More than 40 countries were represented. Saturday May 15, 2010: A record number of 1,748 participants from around

5796-455: The primary capital moved from Haojing to Luoyi, after a succession crisis of indeterminate severity, the royal house had lost its power and almost all of its land. The prestige of the king, as Heaven's eldest son , was not significantly diminished, and he retained his ritual authority within the Ji lineage , but he and his family were much more reliant on the regional states. Conversely, the rulers of

5888-444: The race course where you must exit the Great Wall and run on the trail alongside the wall to avoid extreme hazards. Runners should be physically fit and in shape as this marathon can be extremely strenuous. Each section of the course will offer different challenges. It is suggested to train to help condition your body to prepare for the race. The Great Wall of China Marathon course varies in height by around 200m (about 650 feet) between

5980-433: The realm in 221 BCE and became China's first imperial dynasty . The Zhou dynasty grew out of a predynastic polity with its own existing power structure, primarily organized as a set of culturally affiliated kinship groups. The defining characteristics of a noble were their ancestral temple surname ( 姓 ; xíng ), their lineage line within that ancestral surname, and seniority within that lineage line. Shortly after

6072-757: The remainder date back to Northern Wei , Northern Qi , Sui , Tang , the Five Dynasties , Song , Liao and Xixia . About half of the sites are located in Inner Mongolia (31%) and Hebei (19%). Han fortifications starts from Yumen Pass and Yang Pass , southwest of Dunhuang , in Gansu province. Ruins of the remotest Han border posts are found in Mamitu ( t 馬 迷途 , s 马 迷途 , Mǎmítú , l "horses losing their way" ) near Yumen Pass. The Jiayu Pass , located in Gansu province,

6164-845: The remaining Great Wall associated sites include 10,051 wall sections, 1,764 ramparts or trenches, 29,510 individual buildings, and 2,211 fortifications or passes, with the walls and trenches spanning a total length of 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi). Incorporating advanced technologies, the study has concluded that the Ming Great Wall measures 8,850 km (5,500 mi). This consists of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) of wall sections, 359 km (223 mi) of trenches and 2,232 km (1,387 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. In addition, Qin , Han and earlier Great Wall sites are 3,080 km (1,914 mi) long in total; Jin dynasty (1115–1234) border fortifications are 4,010 km (2,492 mi) in length;

6256-472: The showpiece stretch for foreign dignitaries. The Badaling Great Wall saw nearly 10 million visitors in 2018, and in 2019, a daily limit of 65,000 visitors was instated. South of Badaling is the Juyong Pass ; when it was used by the Chinese to protect their land, this section of the wall had many guards to defend the capital Beijing. Made of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall

6348-474: The site of the first mountain of the Great Wall. 15 km (9 mi) northeast from Shanhaiguan is Jiumenkou ( t 九 門 口 , s 九 门 口 , Jiǔménkǒu ), which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge. In 2009, 180 km of previously unknown sections of the Ming wall concealed by hills, trenches and rivers were discovered with the help of infrared range finders and GPS devices. In March and April 2015, nine sections with

6440-561: The southeast, the Zhou confederation was bordered by the peoples of Wu ( 吳 ) and Yue ( 越 ). These polities and cultural outgroups in the Yangtze River valley were not fully incorporated into a centralised political domain until the imperial era . Around the borders of the Central States ( 中國 ) lived " barbarians ", fenced off from the Zhou heartlands by their enfeoffed regional lords. Apart from their responsibilities to

6532-450: The start line and the highest point at East Tower 20. Stone guard towers are spread along the length of the wall, each some 200m to 300m apart. Stone steps and walkways, following the up and down contours of the ground, connect the towers. The effect this creates for runners is similar to interval training, with an effort required to climb up, followed by a recovery period coming down. Regular training on steps as part of your preparations for

6624-408: The state of Cai ( 蔡 ) was founded following a grant of land by the conquering King Wu of Zhou to a younger brother. Other states established at this time included Cao ( 曹 ), Yan ( 燕 ), Jin ( 晉 ), and Chen ( 陳 ). The state of Song ( 宋 ) was permitted to be retained by the nobility of the defeated Shang dynasty, in what would become a custom known as Er Wang San Ke . In the Zhou heartland of

6716-497: The state, already powerful from control of trade crossroads, with a greater ability to mobilize resources than the more loosely organized states. By 667, Qi had clearly shown its economic and military predominance, and Duke Huan assembled the leaders of Lu , Song , Chen , and Zheng , who elected him as their leader. Soon after, King Hui of Zhou conferred the title of bà (hegemon), giving Duke Huan royal authority in military ventures. Between c. 600 BCE and c. 500 BCE

6808-430: The states had much less use for the king and his court. Whole lineage groups had moved around under socioeconomic stress, border groups not associated with the Zhou culture gained in power and sophistication, and the geopolitical situation demanded increased contact and communication. The regional states, now operating more autonomously than ever, had to invent ways to interact diplomatically, and they began to systematize

6900-470: The states of Qin , Wei , Zhao , Qi , Han , Yan , and Zhongshan all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly of stone or by stamping earth and gravel between board frames. King Zheng of Qin conquered the last of his opponents and unified China as the First Emperor of

6992-709: The term "Long Wall(s)" ( t 長城, s 长城, Chángchéng ) appears in Sima Qian 's Records of the Grand Historian , where it referred both to the separate great walls built between and north of the Warring States and to the more unified construction of the First Emperor . The Chinese character 城 , meaning city or fortress, is a phono-semantic compound of the "earth" radical 土 and phonetic 成 , whose Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as * deŋ . It originally referred to

7084-418: The term can be duplicated to Fang Guo (Traditional Chinese:⽅國). Following the overthrow of the Shang dynasty in 1046 BCE, the early kings made hereditary land grants to various relatives and descendants. Along with the land and title came a responsibility to support the Zhou king during an emergency and to pay ritual homage to the Zhou ancestors. In the Yellow River valley, of the earliest vassal states,

7176-491: The throne, the regional lords were responsible for their families, their people, and the altars of soil and grain outside their cities, where annual sacrifices were performed. Over time the parcels of land the royal court was able to grant became increasingly small, and population growth and associated socioeconomic pressures strained the Zhou confederation and the power of the central government. Canny clans formed alliances through marriage, powerful ministers began to overshadow

7268-472: The top. Wangjing Lou ( t 望 京 樓 , s 望 京 楼 , Wàngjīng Lóu ) is one of Jinshanling's 67 watchtowers , 980 m (3,220 ft) above sea level. Southeast of Jinshanling is the Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along lofty, cragged mountains from the southeast to the northwest for 2.25 km (1.40 mi). It is connected with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to

7360-543: The true power brokers of Jin. The same happened to Lu in 562, when the Three Huan divided the army into three parts and established their own separate spheres of influence. The heads of the three families were always among the department heads of Lu. In Jin, a full-scale civil war between 497 and 453 BCE ended with the elimination of most noble lines; the remaining aristocratic families divided Jin into three successor states: Han ( 韓 ), Wei ( 魏 ), and Zhao ( 趙 ). As

7452-411: The uppermost portion of the vast majority of the wall, with defensive gaps a little over 30 cm (12 in) tall, and about 23 cm (9.1 in) wide. From the parapets, guards could survey the surrounding land. Sticky rice mortar , consisting of sticky rice soup mixed with slaked lime , was extensively used to hold bricks together; no human bones or body parts were ever incorporated into

7544-462: The wall at that time, they were not significant. Soon after Europeans reached Ming China by ship in the early 16th century, accounts of the Great Wall started to circulate in Europe, even though no European was to see it for another century. Possibly one of the earliest European descriptions of the wall and of its significance for the defense of the country against the " Tartars " (i.e. Mongols) may be

7636-793: The wall included "the Purple Frontier" ( 紫 塞 , Zǐsài ) and "the Earth Dragon" ( t 土 龍 , s 土 龙 , Tǔlóng ). Only during the Qing period did "Long Wall" become the catch-all term to refer to the many border walls regardless of their location or dynastic origin, equivalent to the English "Great Wall". Sections of the wall in south Gobi Desert and Mongolian steppe are sometimes referred to as "Wall of Genghis Khan", even though Genghis Khan did not construct any walls or permanent defense lines himself. The current English name evolved from accounts of "the Chinese wall" from early modern European travelers. By

7728-421: The wall to make a shortcut for an excavator to pass through. Police described the act as causing "irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of the cultural relics". Various factoids in popular culture claim that the Great Wall can be seen (with the naked eye) from space, with questionable degrees of veracity. The Great Wall of China cannot be seen by the naked human eye from

7820-540: The wall were built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Apart from defense, other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls , allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road , regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watchtowers , troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through

7912-504: The wall's inner surface. While portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively renovated, in many other locations the wall is in disrepair. The wall sometimes provided a source of stones to build houses and roads. Sections of the wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism , while inscribed bricks were pilfered and sold on the market for up to 50 renminbi . Parts have been destroyed to make way for construction or mining. A 2012 report by

8004-406: The wall, faced sections of the ram-earth wall with bricks and constructed 1,200 watchtowers from Shanhaiguan Pass to Changping to warn of approaching Mongol raiders. During the 1440s–1460s, the Ming also built a so-called "Liaodong Wall". Similar in function to the Great Wall (whose extension, in a sense, it was), but more basic in construction, the Liaodong Wall enclosed the agricultural heartland of

8096-415: The world ran the four distances. Saturday May 21, 2011 Saturday May 18, 2012 Saturday May 18, 2013: The fastest runners in the marathon were: The half-marathon was won by Geoffrey de Bilderling with a time of 1 hour 38 minutes 56 seconds. Saturday May 17, 2014 The 2015 race was held on Saturday, 16 May. The 2019 race was held on Saturday, 18 May. The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to

8188-441: Was a central guiding principle in constructing the wall, implying that the Chinese were not erecting a permanently fixed border. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. There are no surviving historical records indicating

8280-635: Was annexed into the empire, so constructions on the Great Wall were discontinued. On the other hand, the so-called Willow Palisade , following a line similar to that of the Ming Liaodong Wall, was constructed by the Qing rulers in Manchuria. Its purpose, however, was not defense but rather to prevent Han Chinese migration into Manchuria. None of the Europeans who visited China or Mongolia in

8372-402: Was informed by the preexisting kinship structures amongst them, whereas the relationship between the newly established regional states and the royal court was more directly political. On the periphery, the states of Yan , Qi ( 齊 ), and Jin in the north and northeast had more room to expand and grew into large states. In the southwest the non-Zhou state of Chu ( 楚 ) demanded attention. In

8464-432: Was stronger and more elaborate due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. Up to 25,000 watchtowers are estimated to have been constructed on the wall. As Mongol raids continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strong. Qi Jiguang between 1567 and 1570 also repaired and reinforced

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