Great Wall of China Great Wall of China The 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 to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe with an eye to expansion. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC; these, later joined together and made bigger and stronger, are collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built in 220–206
History of the Great Wall of China determined defence of the Great Wall made it a symbol of Chinese patriotism and the resoluteness of the Chinese people. The Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong picked up this symbol in his poetry during his "Long March" escaping from Kuomintang prosecution. Near the end of the trek in 1935, Mao wrote the poem "Mount Liupan" that contains the well-known line that would be carved in stone along the Great Wall in the present day: "Those who fail to reach the Great Wall are not true men" (). Another noteworthy reference to the Great Wall is in the song "The March