Great Wall of China
Is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces.
Several walls were being built
as early as the 7th century BC; these later joined together and made bigger and
stronger, are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous
is the wall built between 220-206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi
Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off
been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the majority of the existing wall is
from the Ming Dynasty.