A Brief History
Your Home for everything Ancient China
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China, one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World, was finished construction in 206 BC. It was originally multiple walls, used during the Warring States period to defend from Mongolian invasions along the Eurasia Steppe. But later, after the states unified (during Qin's reign), all of the walls were also joined. The wall starts at Dandong, along Lop Lake then ends in Inner Mongolia. The Great Wall measures at 8,850 km.
Early Walls
During the Warring States period, the Chinese had already known about wall building, as most of the states had built borders. Then, once all of the states were unified under Qin, the Emperor at the time ordered for the most northen states build a wall to protect from Mongolian attacks. They had to use local resources as travel to deliver them would take large amounts of time. Unfortunateley, most of the original walls have eroded away, so the exact length is unknown.
Ming Dynasty
It wasn't until Ming's reign, shortly after a battle loss too Oirats (Mongolian origin), that The Great Wall was rebuilt, this time using brick and stone and 25,000 watchtowers. It was considerately stronger (especially around Beijing) and consequently was involved with more wars, and the downfall of the Ming dynasty. The Manchu were at war with China, and had stormed the Great Wall many times. But in 1644, after the Ming Cammanding General struck a deal with the Manchu, he opened the gates and the Manchu took over Beijing.
Modern Day
Today, The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest and most magnificent construction known to mankind. You can take a tour showing all of the historical sites along the way, or simply walk along it yourself and take in the beautiful landscape that surronds it. Speaking of tours, I have many reccomended. But it doesn't really matter which one you choose, as the experience is really, all you need.
Recommended Tours
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The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the imperial palace for dynasties from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty (or from 1420 to 1912). It was constructed in 1406, to house the future dynasties. The complex consists of 980 rooms and it is currently the largest Palace Museum. In 1987, it was added to the World Heritage list and is currently the worlds largest collection of ancient wooden architecture.
Modern Day
Similar to The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City is one of the greatest examples of ancient architecture, and really is a site to see. It's open to tours, and open to free roaming. It is a registered Palace Museum and one of the to-do things in China.
History
When Hongwu Emperor's son Zhu Di became the Yongle Emperor, he moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Construction began in 1406, and took 14 years and more than one million workers. From 1420 to 1644 (224 years), it housed the Ming dynasty, but then it was overthrown by the rebel forces, Li Zicheng. This started off the Shun dynasty, which was extremely shortlived, as later the Manchu came and invaded (setting fire to parts of The Forbidden City). This started the Qing dynasty, the young Shunzhi Emperor ruling over China. At last, after 492 years and 24 rulers (14 Ming dynasty, 10 Qing dynasty), The Forbidden City stopped being the home of the political leaders of China in 1912, with the abdication of Puyi the last emperor of China.
