There even used to be a saying that the Wall is so long you can see it from space, and even from the Moon. Silly, gullible humans. You can barely see it from a plane, let alone the Moon! But enough about this, the wall still holds countless secrets on the ground level, or even underground! It’s a truly fascinating and dare I say it magical structure, so let’s find out a few curious facts about the Great Wall of China!
1. The Walls Of Benin >>> The Great Wall of China
The biggest man-made structure on Earth, you say? Well, it’s only technically the longest one whole thing but when talking about walls, nothing beats the Walls of Benin in Nigeria. This series of walls surrounded the ancient city of Benin, the nearest village, the village after that, and so on, there were 500 villages inside the walls. Adding all these walls together, we get the length of 16,000 kilometers (9,900 mi)!
2. The Wall Is Changing the Local Flora
This ginormous stone structure serves as an artificial divider not only of the land but also plant life. The scientists have discovered that plants age genetically different on both sides of the Wall. This of course, is due to the pollination difficulties presented by the structure, in particular, the wind pollination.
3. The Wall Could Have Been A Highway
Back in 1930s, the Chinese government wanted to turn the Great Wall into a highway, so they could help people who lived deeper in the country. It was supposed to be used for transporting food and military personnel first and foremost. As you may imagine, the Wall Highway never happened.
4. The Wall Was Really Built With Rice
It may sound weird but sticky rice is much better than your usual mortar. It was in fact so good that the Ming emperors would take away every last grain of rice from the farmers to continue building the Wall. The sections of the Rice Wall are still standing to this day, as no plants can penetrate this tough mixture!
5. Tourists Are Destroying The Wall
How many visitors are eager to walk on the Wall, you’ll ask? Well over 10 million every year! Aside from the expected wear-and-tear, there are people who want to take a souvenir, or etch their signatures in the stone. Also, do not get me started on all the litter these dum-dums leave behind. And there’s nothing that the Chinese government can do here because the Wall is just too damn huge.
6. The Wall Did Not Work
After all the centuries of hard work, the China’s war with nomads, barbarians, Mongols, and other parties trying to get over the Great Wall China looked more like a one-handed sailor desperately trying to plug 10 holes in his boat at the same time. To make it more clear, the Wall just didn’t work. There were always people sneaking in or finding a weak/unsecured section and then destroying it. You know what they say “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. But at least the Chinese emperors got what they wanted, not that anyone else cared.
