When was the Great Wall of China built?

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BC), the state of Chu started to build the first wall to protect itself from invaders from other states about 2,700 years ago. The Qi, Yan, Wei, Zhao and Qin states later joined the effort.

After defeating other states and setting up China's first unified dynasty, Qin Dynasty (221 - 207 BC), Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered General Mengtian to connect the separate walls, and thus the continuous Great Wall of China was formed. It was about 2,200 years ago.

The Great Wall of China

During subsequent dynasties, the wall was extended, repaired or modified. The Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) and Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD) are two time periods when the Great Wall was extensively built or restored.

With the end of the cold weapons (no fire or explosives) era, the Great Wall gradually became less important as a military defense system. As a result, the construction also stopped. The final construction was in 1878 during the late Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD).

The best-known and most visited sections, including Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai, and Jinshanling, were built during the Ming Dynasty about 600 years ago.
 

It took more than 2,500 years to finish the construction of the Great Wall. The wall was not built in a single time period but through the combined effort of many states and dynasties in history.

See more How old is Great Wall of China?
 

Amidst the mutual annexation among vassal states, several major ones emerged, such as Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei. Each vassal state constructed the Great Wall within its own territory for self-defense. Additionally, Yan, Zhao, and Qin built sections along their border regions to fend off northern nomadic tribes. Even some smaller states, like the State of Zhongshan, contributed to the construction.
 In 214 BC, after Emperor Qin Shi Huang conquered the vassal states and unified the Central Plains, in order to consolidate his rule and strengthen the northern border defense, he ordered the connection of the Great Walls of various states, thus forming the initial Great Wall system. During this period, the construction of the Great Wall was on a grand scale, involving a large amount of manpower and material resources.
 

Qin Great Wall

Han Great Wall

 The section built in the Han Dynasty was the longest. In 201 BC, the second year of Han's establishment, Liu Bang, the emperor at that time, ordered the Great Wall that King Zhao of the Qin State had previously built to be repaired. In addition, there were also four periods of repair and construction during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The first and second times were both in 121 BC to prepare for war with the northern Huns and to guarantee the safety of the Silk Road. The third time was during 111 - 110 BC, and the last time was 104 - 101 BC.
 To repel invasions from northern nomadic tribes like the Rouran, the Northern Wei Dynasty constructed a Great Wall stretching from Chicheng in the east to Wuyuan in the west, with a total length of around a thousand kilometers (600 miles).
 

Qi Great Wall

The founding emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty initiated the construction of the Northern Qi Great Wall to strengthen the northern border defense and defend against the Northern Zhou in the west. The Northern Qi Great Wall was mainly composed of three sections and underwent six construction phases. Its scale was second only to that of the Qin and Han Great Walls.
 Despite its relatively short existence in Chinese history, the Sui Dynasty's two emperors placed great emphasis on northern border defense, undertaking the construction of the Great Wall seven times in total.
 In 1135, to counter the threat from the Mongols, the Jin Dynasty began building the Jin Frontier Trenches and border walls. Stretching approximately 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles), this construction project spanned several decades.
 The Ming Dynasty spent over 200 years repairing and building the walls, which was primarily divided into 3 stages. From 1368 to 1447, in the early Ming Dynasty, the walls of the Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui and other dynasties were mainly repaired and connected. From 1448 to 1566, during the middle Ming Dynasty, the construction of the Great Wall in the north became quite urgent, since the Tartar, a northern nomadic nation, invaded the border constantly. The last stage was during 1567 to 1620, in the late Ming Dynasty. It focused on rebuilding and re-routing the wall to defend against the Jurchen, a minority nation in the northeast area at that time.

Ming Great Wall

 During the Qing Dynasty, given its vast territory and relatively stable northern border, large-scale construction of the Great Wall by the government largely ceased. Nevertheless, some crucial passes and sections were still repaired and maintained. During this period, only a small amount of the Great Wall was built and some important passes and sections were repaired.