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[[Image:Great_wall.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The Great Wall Of China.  Image by [http://philip.greenspun.com/ Philip Greenspun]]]

[[Image:Great_wall.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The Great Wall Of China.  Image by [http://philip.greenspun.com/ Philip Greenspun]]]

The '''Great Wall of China''' is a long wall located in [[China]], constructed in ancient times to act as a barrier against invading armies.  This purpose, however, was unsuccessful as many invaders, notably the Mongols, simply bribed the guards for passage.<ref>Hucker, Charles O.  China's Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture.  Stanford UP, 1997.</ref>  It is about 4,000 miles long and at several points it is more than 20 feet tall.  

The '''Great Wall of China''' is a long wall located in [[China]], constructed in ancient times to act as a barrier against invading armies.  This purpose, however, was unsuccessful as many invaders, notably the Mongols, simply bribed the guards for passage.<ref>Hucker, Charles O.  ''China's Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture.'' Stanford UP, 1997.</ref>  It is about 4,000 miles long and at several points it is more than 20 feet tall.  

Work on the wall started in 500 BC during the rule of the first Chinese emperor, [[Qin Shi Huang]], connecting many older walls which were constructed by individual pre-unified Chinese states to keep out northern barbarians. Most of the work was done during the [[Ming Dynasty]]. <ref>Susan Wise Bauer, ''The History of the Ancient World''</ref>At regular intervals towers were built; they originally functioned purely as watchtowers, but later on they were modified to include [[cannon]]s.<ref>http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=27&catid=2&subcatid=1</ref>

Work on the wall started in 500 BC during the rule of the first Chinese emperor, [[Qin Shi Huang]], connecting many older walls which were constructed by individual pre-unified Chinese states to keep out northern barbarians. Most of the work was done during the [[Ming Dynasty]]. <ref>Susan Wise Bauer, ''The History of the Ancient World''</ref>At regular intervals towers were built; they originally functioned purely as watchtowers, but later on they were modified to include [[cannon]]s.<ref>http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=27&catid=2&subcatid=1</ref>