<P> 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 . 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 220 -- 206 BC by Qin Shi Huang , the first Emperor of China . Little of that wall remains . The Great Wall has been rebuilt , maintained , and enhanced ; the majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty ( 1368 -- 1644 ) . </P>
<P> 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 . 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 220 -- 206 BC by Qin Shi Huang , the first Emperor of China . Little of that wall remains . The Great Wall has been rebuilt , maintained , and enhanced ; the majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty ( 1368 -- 1644 ) . </P>
when was the great wall of chins built
when was the great wall of chins built
220 -- 206 BC
220 -- 206 BC