Great Wall of China Timeline

Boasting a history spanning more than 2,700 years, the Great Wall of China traces its origins to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC) and saw continuous construction and renovation efforts all the way through the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912). Spanning over ten imperial dynasties and lasting more than two millennia, it stands as one of the most ambitious architectural feats in human history. Below is a structured timeline outlining the pivotal milestones and key events in the evolution of the Great Wall.

The majestic Badaling — The Majestic Great Wall

Pre-Qin Period (Before 221 BC)

The Pre-Qin era was defined by the fragmentation of ancient China into dozens of competing vassal states. Amid relentless territorial annexations and power struggles, seven major powers emerged as dominant forces: Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei. To fortify their territorial borders and defend against rival states, each major polity constructed discrete sections of defensive walls within its domain. The northern frontier states of Yan, Zhao and Qin additionally built extensive border ramparts to repel incursions by nomadic tribes including the Huns and Donghu. Smaller polities such as the Zhongshan State also erected their own defensive wall systems during this era.

656 BC: The State of Chu constructed the Chu Fangcheng, a fortified perimeter wall to enclose and secure its core territory.

555 BC: The State of Qi initiated the construction of its Great Wall, which stretched eastward from present-day Jinan to the coastal region of Qingdao.

369 BC: The Zhongshan State completed the construction of its defensive wall system.

361 BC: The State of Wei built a defensive wall west of the Yellow River to deter military advances from the neighboring State of Qin.

351 BC: The State of Qi carried out a comprehensive renovation and expansion of its existing Great Wall fortifications.

333 BC: The State of Zhao erected a defensive wall at the border of modern-day Henan and Hebei provinces.

328 BC: Following the State of Qin’s conquest of Shang County (present-day northern Shaanxi) from the State of Wei, Prime Minister Zhang Yi oversaw the construction of new border defensive walls.

319 BC: The State of Qi built additional wall fortifications to counter military threats from the powerful State of Chu.

306 BC: During the reign of King Zhao of Qin, the state seized vast territories west of the Yellow River and constructed a continuous defensive wall along the new northern border.

305 BC: King Wuling of Zhao commissioned a massive wall system across present-day Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Hebei provinces.

284 BC: The State of Yan built an extensive defensive wall spanning modern-day Hebei Province, Beijing’s Miyun District and Shenyang in Liaoning Province, with the core strategic goal of repelling raids by the Donghu nomadic confederation.

The Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC- 220 AD)

The Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 207 BC) marked the founding of China’s first unified imperial regime, succeeded by the long-ruling Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), the most enduring dynasty of the early imperial era. Only a centralized, unified empire possessed the administrative capacity and national resources to mobilize mass labor and construct a monumental, cross-regional Great Wall stretching thousands of miles across the northern frontier.

221 BC: Qin Shi Huang conquered the six rival vassal states and unified China, establishing the first unified centralized dynasty in Chinese history.

215 BC: Qin general Meng Tian achieved a decisive military victory over the northern Huns tribes, recapturing the fertile Hetao region (present-day Inner Mongolia), and launched a large-scale, empire-wide construction project to link and expand existing pre-Qin walls. The completed Qin Great Wall extended westward from Lintao to Liaodong in the east, forming a continuous defensive barrier stretching over ten thousand miles.

210 BC: Following the death of Qin Shi Huang, large-scale construction of the Great Wall was temporarily halted amid nationwide political instability.

205 BC: Emperor Gaozu - Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty, ordered the repair and reinforcement of the rammed-earth Great Wall fortifications built under the Qin Dynasty.

127 BC: The Han court relocated 100,000 civilian settlers to Shuofang Prefecture (present-day central Mongolia) to rebuild and garrison the northern sections of the Qin Great Wall.

121 BC: The Han Dynasty constructed a new defensive wall stretching from Yongdeng to Jiuquan in present-day Gansu Province.

119 BC: Generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing each led 50,000 elite troops on a dual-pronged expedition against the Huns: Wei Qing’s army departed from Dingxiang (present-day western Inner Mongolia), while Huo Qubing’s forces set out from Dai Prefecture (present-day Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province). The two armies inflicted a crushing defeat on the Huns in the northern Gobi Desert, forcing the nomadic confederation to retreat far to the north. Known historically as the Battle of Mobei, this landmark victory paved the way for Emperor Wu of Han to launch a full-scale restoration and expansion of the Qin Great Wall.

111 BC: The Han court established Zhangye and Dunhuang prefectures in the Western Regions, and constructed a defensive wall extending from Jiuquan to Yumen Pass.

101 BC: A further section of the Great Wall was built from Yumen Pass westward to the Lop Nur region, extending imperial defensive control deep into the Western Regions.

Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties (220 AD - 589 AD)

This era of political division and fragmentation redefined the strategic function of the Great Wall, which evolved beyond a purely defensive bulwark for agrarian Chinese dynasties. The wall systems and military garrisons built by the Northern Wei Dynasty - established by a nomadic ethnic group that adopted a sedentary imperial rule - formed a multi-layered defensive network that separated the dynastic heartland from the nomadic grasslands of the far north.

Han Great Wall Ruins in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia

423 AD: Emperor Mingyuan of the Northern Wei ordered the construction of a continuous defensive wall stretching from Chicheng County, Hebei Province to Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia, to deter frequent border raids by the Rouran nomadic confederation.

429 AD: Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei led an imperial expedition that decisively defeated the Rouran. Following the victory, he established six major frontier garrisons west to east north of the imperial capital Pingcheng (present-day Datong, Shanxi Province): Woye, Huaishuo, Wuchuan, Fumin, Huaihuang and Rouxuan Garrisons, forming a forward military defense line.

446 AD: Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei mobilized 100,000 laborers to build two parallel northern and southern defensive perimeters encircling Pingcheng and its surrounding administrative regions, fortifying the imperial capital’s northern defenses.

474 AD: The Rouran launched repeated large-scale raids on Dunhuang, but were repelled and defeated by the Northern Wei military.

552 AD: The Northern Qi Dynasty built a section of the Great Wall from Fenyang City to Wuzhai County in present-day Shanxi Province.

555 AD: The Northern Qi court mobilized 1.8 million laborers to construct a massive defensive wall stretching from Youzhou (present-day Changping District, Beijing) to Hengzhou (present-day Datong, Shanxi Province).

564 AD: A 100,000-strong Turkic army invaded Youzhou, breached the Northern Qi Great Wall, carried out widespread looting across the border region, and subsequently withdrew.

The Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (581 AD - 960 AD)

Though the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618) was a short-lived unified regime, both of its emperors prioritized northern frontier defense, as reflected in the frequent, large-scale Great Wall construction and renovation projects throughout the dynasty. In contrast, the powerful, militarily dominant Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) maintained long-term frontier security through active military campaigns and vassal state alliances, resulting in minimal large-scale construction or maintenance of the traditional Great Wall.

581 - 587 AD: Emperor Wen of Sui launched five separate Great Wall construction projects to counter the growing southern incursions by the northern Turkic nomadic confederation.

607 - 608 AD: Emperor Yang of Sui oversaw two massive, empire-wide renovations of the Great Wall, mobilizing more than one million laborers.

617 AD: Emperor Yang of Sui conscripted men, women and children from all prefectures to complete the final sections of the Sui-era Great Wall, marking the full completion of Sui Dynasty frontier wall fortifications.

631 AD: The Goguryeo regime initiated a decade-long Great Wall construction project to defend against potential Tang Dynasty military expeditions. Despite the massive fortification effort, Goguryeo could not repel the joint offensive of the Tang Dynasty and its ally Silla, and was conquered in 668 AD. To safeguard the security and trade of the Silk Road, the Tang Dynasty constructed a dense network of military beacon towers across the northern and southern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, rather than traditional continuous wall fortifications.

The Song, Liao, Jin and Western Xia Periods (960 AD - 1279 AD)

The Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127) was founded in 960 AD, gradually unifying most of the Chinese heartland and ending the decades of warlord chaos and fragmentation that followed the collapse of the Tang Dynasty.

During the coexistence of the Liao, Western Xia, Jin and Southern Song dynasties, northern China - traditionally defined by the Great Wall as a natural frontier - was ruled successively by the nomadic Liao, Western Xia and Jin regimes. Under these nomadic-origin dynasties, free cross-border movement across the old Great Wall was common, and the structure lost its traditional defensive function between dynastic powers. However, after the Jin Dynasty settled in the Central Plains and adopted an agrarian imperial system, it faced a new existential threat: the rising Mongol tribes on the northern grasslands.

The Chu Great Wall Ruins in Ye County, Henan Province — The Jin Great Wall Ruins

988 AD: The Northern Song Dynasty excavated and constructed the Water Great Wall to deter and repel southward raids by the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty (907 - 1125).

1076 AD: Mongol cavalry breached Juyong Pass and carried out large-scale looting in Changping District, northern Beijing.

1135 AD: The Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234) began constructing a system of border ditches and earthen ramparts to defend against Mongol raids, with the full defensive network largely completed by 1200 AD.

1213 AD: Genghis Khan launched his third southern military campaign against the Jin Dynasty. Jin forces retreated to Juyong Pass, where they were encircled, besieged and forced to surrender by the Mongol army, which then advanced to besiege the Jin imperial capital.

1234 AD: The Jin Dynasty was conquered and destroyed by the allied forces of the Mongol Empire and the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279).

Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)

In the early Ming Dynasty, imperial authorities renovated and expanded the existing Great Wall ruins from the Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Sui dynasties, adding fortified garrisons, beacon towers, defensive moats and auxiliary military facilities, and reconstructing large sections of rammed-earth walls with durable stone and brick masonry. Following the catastrophic Tumu Crisis of 1449, in which the Ming emperor was captured by Mongol forces, the dynasty launched an unprecedented, century-long large-scale construction and fortification program to defend against the resurgent Northern Yuan Mongol forces and rising Jurchen tribes in the northeast.

The Great Wall of China — Ming Great Wall

1373 - 1544 AD: The Ming court successively built and garrisoned eight major frontier defense sectors of the Great Wall: Ji Garrison, Liaodong Garrison, Xuanfu Garrison, Datong Garrison, Yulin Garrison, Ningxia Garrison, Guyuan Garrison and Taiyuan Garrison, forming a fully integrated northern defensive system.

1550 AD: After the Ming court rejected repeated requests for formal border trade and tributary relations, Mongol leader Altan Khan launched a large-scale invasion of Datong, Gubeikou, Huairou and surrounding regions, forcing the Ming court to agree to border trade treaties before withdrawing his forces.

1571 AD: The Ming Dynasty and Mongol tribes signed a formal border trade and peace agreement, ushering in a prolonged period of relative stability along the northern frontier.
1572 AD: Construction began on the Gansu Commandery section of the Ming Great Wall, extending the defensive line deep into the northwest.

1619 AD: The Ming court carried out a full-scale reconstruction of the entire Great Wall spanning from Shanhaiguan Pass in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west, and installed hundreds of hollow watchtowers along the entire length for improved defense, observation and garrisoning.

1644 AD: The Manchus defeated the the Ming Dynasty and seized control of China, establishing a new imperial regime and founding the Qing Dynasty.

Jiayuguan Pass - Gansu Great Wall — Jiayuguan Pass

Shanhaiguan Pass, Qinhuangdao, Hebei — Shanhaiguan Pass

The Qing Dynasty and Later Periods (After 1644)

Following the founding of the Qing Dynasty in 1644, the empire expanded to encompass an unprecedentedly vast territory, extending imperial control deep into the Mongolian grasslands, Central Asia and northeastern Manchuria. As a result, the traditional defensive strategic function of the Great Wall was completely eliminated. For the duration of the Qing Dynasty, almost no new sections of the Great Wall were constructed; only limited, local repairs and reinforcements were carried out on small, strategically vital sections in subsequent centuries.

- Last updated on Oct. 22, 2026 by Sherry Xia -