WALLS

in Ancient China

Most towns and cities in ancient China had a wall around them. Rich people’s homes also had walls around them, and even towers to keep watch. People wanted to protect themselves – from bandits, barbarians and even Chinese armies.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall runs for about 5000km across the north of China. It’s name in Chinese is Chang Cheng which means ‘long wall’. It was meant to protect the whole Han empire from attacks by the non-Chinese people in the north. 

China’s first emperor built the Great Wall. It was built by linking up many older sections of wall into one long one. (The Great Wall you see in photos today was mostly built in the Ming Dynasty, about 600 years ago.)

The completed Wall was four to ten metres high and wide enough for several horses to ride on top. Its outside was coated with clay to make it smooth and harder for enemies to climb up. Look-outs were built into the top of the Wall, with narrow wooden windows just big enough to shoot arrows through.

Nobody liked being sent to the Great Wall. Many of the Wall’s builders were criminals – hard labour on the Wall was their punishment. Life wasn’t much better for Han Dynasty soldiers either. Winter was freezing; summer was hot. Food supplies sent out to the Great Wall often got stolen along the way. And of course, the barbarians could attack at any time, so it makes a great setting for a story…