An illustrative and detailed map showing the greater geographical extents and ground points of the Great Wall of China, including the Great Wall Traces, Forts, Watchtower and Beacons, identified through various times of the Chinese Dynasties, started from the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), continued through Han, Liao, and Jin Dynasties, and finally entering the Ming Dynasty (1368-1664 CE).
Data Source: The KMZ files of the Great Wall of China is freely available to download at the site researchgate.net.
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is the most extraordinary feature of engineering in history and one of the most iconic man-made structures on the planet. It is the ultimate wonder of the world. It took more time, more people, and more material to build this mega structure than any other man-made features on this planet. The world’s longest wall is the biggest and an awe-inspiring feat of ancient Chinese defensive architecture. The Chinese great wall winds its way across west to east breadths of China, generally built along the historical northern borders of China, scaling all kind of terrains: deserts, rocky mountain peaks, valleys and deep gorges, till it reaches the sea in the far east. Some sources claim that a trace of the Great Wall of China is visible from the space as well.But why did the Chinese go to that staggering length to build it. Well, as I read somewhere, the wall was the result of immense blood, sweet and fear the ancient Chinese people faced. The ancient northern borders of China were battle grounds of frequent invasions from the fearsome horse-riding archers - the Xiongnu. This forced the Chinese emperors to adopt a radical strategy; they decided to build a wall - a linear complex fortress. It was built to keep out the raiding parties of nomadic tribes of the Eurasian Steppe, including the Mongols, Turic and Xiongnu, of modern-day Mongolia and Manchuria and to protect the Chinese states, empires, and the Han people from these invaders. With the wall height raising up to 20 feet, the wall distinctively changed the landscape across the territories, blocking strategic week points and passing through various terrains, and evolved over 400 years and 6000 miles.
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials. Millions of the people were involved in construction of the Great Wall over various times of the Chinese Dynasties, started in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), continued through Han, Liao, and Jin Dynasties, and finally took advanced shape during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1664 CE). The labour force used to build the Great Wall were not very skilled craftsmen or engineers, but were common workers, soldiers, forcibly recruited farmers, slaves, convicts and war prisoners. Even then the Great Wall of China carries a simple yet sophisticated and wonderful design; simple enough to be built quickly and with locally available materials and sophisticated enough that still stand upright after centuries.
How I created this map
The KML file that I downloaded from the above-mentioned source was suitable for opening in Google Earth Pro desktop application, but was not suitable for opening on top of online Google Map. So, I studied the content and structure of the KML, made some changes using normal code editors, like Notepad++, SciTE Text Editor, and made changes so that all layers open in Google Map. I have edited the KML files to remove the folder view and converted the data for normal layered view. And then I have added generalised lines to show the extents of the great walls. The KML file was containing various point locations of the of the great walls, like pillar or post locations, fort positions, location of beacons or watchtowers. I interpreted these point locations on top of satellite image in Google Map and tried to draw the traces of the great walls in various dynasties as shown in the map.Seeing the vastness of the Great Walls of China, it is difficult to draw the exact extents of the walls with precise orientations and alignments. But I have tried to use my best judgment, with whatever time available, to compare the KML data with the impressions seen in the background Satellite image and decide on the positioning of the wall. Somewhere it could be correct, somewhere it might not be accurate. I leave it on the viewer to interpret accordingly. After all, this map created just to explain the extents of the Great Walls of China and to show why it is considered as a wonder of the world.
