The Majestic Great Wall of China: A Journey Through Time

Here are key points that illuminate its historical importance. While the Great Wall's beginnings can be traced to the fifth century B.C., many of its fortifications date from hundreds of years earlier, when China was divided into a number of individual kingdoms during the so-called Warring States Period. Around 220 B.C., Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China under the Qin Dynasty, ordered that earlier fortifications between states be removed and a number of existing walls along the northern border be joined into a single system that would extend for more than 10,000 li (about one-third of a mile) and protect China against attacks from the north.