WHERE Was the Great Wall Built?
Now lets see where the Great Wall is located.
Since we know that it was built to help defend against the Turks and the Mongols it is clear that it should defend the north and east borders.
This map shows the Wall as it was built during the Qin Dynasty.
The Gobi Desert helps to protect the eastern border. And a section of wall was placed strategically to help defend from attacks inward.
Here is a map of the wall as it was after being rebuilt during the Han Dynasty.
See the HOW section to see ways that this Wall was different.
The Wall as it is today was completed during the Ming Dynasty.
It covers even more territory.
The vast size of China made it difficult to defend from invaders. The Wall was built to the north and to the east.
But it isn't fair to talk about the idea of the Wall without saying that part of the reason for it was to define the edges of what the Chinese people thought of as real civilization.
So it can be that the Wall exist primarily in the hearts of the Chinese people.
Here are some good sites to use for studying The Great Wall
http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/greatwall/explore.html
http://www.china-guide.com/culture/greatwall.html