The Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China was built by the ancient Chinese to keep out invaders from other parts of Asia. Emperor Shi Huangdi, Chinas's first Emperor, ordered that the building begin more than 2000 years ago. He wanted all the smaller walls that had been built earlier to be joined together to form one Great Wall.
Hundreds of thousands of men slaved to build it, and it took about 300 years to complete. The workers used stones and packed earth to construct the wall. It was dangerous work and more than a million men are said to have died during the construction.
In
the 13th century, Genghis Khan invaded China and after breaking
through the Great Wall the Yuan dynasty was established by his
grandson. The Mongols ruled China from 1271 - 1368
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was made larger, to stretch for 6 400 kilometres, and over a 200 year period the whole wall was repaired. The watch-towers and cannons were added too. Millions of men were needed to guard the Wall during the time of the Ming Dynasty.
Much of the Wall is now in ruins but some parts of the the Great Wall of China have been repaired and are popular tourist attractions. Thousands and thousands of people visit each year.
Read more about the Great Wall here
http://www.enchantedlearning.
com/subjects/greatwall/Allabout.
html
You can see a map of the wall here. http://www.enchantedlearning.
com/subjects/greatwall/Map.html
Acknowledge this
source in your bibliography like this:
China
(2007). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
updated October 2007
