What Is the Great Wall Made Out of

What is the Great Wall of China made of?

The construction materials of the Great Wall of China were mainly earth, wood, stones, sand, and bricks, used depending on construction era and construction site with different climate and local materials.

Due to the large quantity of materials required to construct the wall, the builders usually obtained materials from local sources. When building over mountain ranges, the stones of the mountain were used, while in the plains, earth rammed into solid blocks was used in construction. In the desert, even the branches of reeds and red willows were layered with sand. Wooden planks were used as the flank wall in some sections. With the development of brick-making techniques, bricks were used from the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) onwards.

Earth, Woods, Branches, Sand and Stones
– Construction Materials of Great Wall before Sui (7 Cen. BC – 618 AD)

As earthen buildings could withstand the strength of cold weapons like swords and spears, and as earth suited the low technology of productivity before the Sui Dynasty (518 – 618 AD), most Great Wall sections of that time were built by ramming earth between board frames. Some of the walls were rammed with earth, lime, sand and small stones. In the desert, some walls were rammed with reeds and red willows and sand layer by layer. At sites around Dunhuang City in Gansu Province, Yulin City in Shaanxi Province and Baotou City in Inner Mongolia, the Great Wall of Qin, Han and Zhao dynasties can be found. The Wall of Zhao was built during the Warring States Period using board frames, and the earth layers can still be clearly seen.

Some sections were built with sun-dried mud brick covered with yellow clay as protection. This kind of construction was usually used in areas with a dry climate. The Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province is an example of this.

Earth, Bricks and Stones
– Construction Materials of Great Wall during Tang and Song (618 – 1279 AD)

Brick-making techniques developed greatly during Tang and Song Dynasties. However, bricks were quite expensive to produce and distribute at that time, therefore construction could not use them solely. Therefore, passes and the wall around the passes were built with the bricks on the exterior and yellow mud filling the body of the wall. Some places also used stones to build the wall during that period. This kind of Great Wall was more solid than walls built with sun-dried mud brick or rammed earth.

Bricks and Stones
– Construction Materials of Great Wall of Ming (1368 – 1644 AD)

During the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD), brick-making techniques had a great progress and both quantity and quality of production improved markedly. Since then, Great Wall sections were widely built with bricks, with lime mortar and sticky rice used to reinforce the bricks. The wall in this period not only resisted the invasions of nomadic tribes, but also protected the terrain and people from cold weapons and some firearms.

In addition, some walls were built along the mountains where there were plenty of stones available. Therefore locally available stones were used to build the wall. The stone walls were quite firm to defend against enemies and withstand natural erosion. There is a wall near Badaling section made of huge stones with lime mortar and sticky rice in its crevices to reinforce the wall.

Stone, cut in rectangular shapes was mostly used to build the foundation, inner and outer brims, and gateways of the wall. Bricks were more advanced materials than earth and stone as their small size and lightweight made them convenient to carry and thus quickened the speed of construction. Bricks are also the ideal material to bear weight. Therefore, bricks were used as the upper layers of the walls to resist attack from various weapons. For further ease of construction, different shapes of brick were also fired and made to fit into different locations.

How many bricks were used to construct the Great Wall?

There might to be approximately 3,873,000,000 individual bricks used to build the Great Wall of China, though the precise number remains unresolved. Generally speaking, most bricks of the wall measure 0.37 meters (1.2 feet) long, 0.15 meters (0.5 feet) wide and 0.09 meters (0.3 feet) thick. As a rough estimate - if all the bricks are place end to end, the bricks would loop 36 times around the equator.

- Last modified on Apr. 15, 2021 -

Questions & Answers on What is the Great Wall of China made of?

Asked by Shelly from USA | Jul. 12, 2021 00:15 Reply

Was the east end of the wall built into the ocean or was there dry land there at that point ?

I'm curious if the east end was purposly built into the sea water or was it dry land at that time and the sea level has risen sinve then?

Answers (1)

Answered by Emily | Jul. 19, 2021 00:39

0 0 Reply

It was purposly built into the sea water.

Asked by Melisa from CANADA | Apr. 05, 2016 14:53 Reply

How was the design and function of the Great Wall of china related to the lifestyle

and culture of the builders?

Answers (3)

Answered by Will from ITALY | Apr. 06, 2016 23:00

13 16 Reply

As far as I know, the function of the Wall in different dynasties is always the same – defending the intrusion of the northern tribes. The constructional styles reflect the features in different times. You can see the differences through carvings and patterns on towers and surrounding barracks and temples.

Answered by Melisa from CANADA | Apr. 07, 2016 12:47

12 16 Reply

What were the materials that they used to keep the wall together in the dynasties?

Answered by Chan from CHINA | Apr. 07, 2016 20:03

14 11 Reply

Before the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279), slurry was largely used to bond the bricks. Since Song, lime mortar replaced the slurry to be the binder. In the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), people added sticky rice juice into the mortar to enhance the viscidity.

Asked by Sue lee yang from CHINA | Apr. 03, 2015 13:36 Reply

How did Great Wall stay in shape for so long?

Answers (1)

Answered by Kelly from INDIA | Apr. 03, 2015 21:36

25 16 Reply

You know, the wall we see today were almost built during the Ming Dynasty. The walls built in Qin and Han dynasties almost became ruins. During the Ming Dynasty, bricks were used. More importantly, sticky rice, lime and othe ingredients were used to bond the bricks. It still works today. That's why the wall is still in shape so long.

Asked by Bryan from USA | Feb. 12, 2015 14:05 Reply

how did the rice paste thing last for so long? isn't rice like very soft and fragile?

i eat rice at home so yeah

Answers (5)

Answered by Betty from INDONESIA | Feb. 13, 2015 00:41

29 21 Reply

Bryan, it's sticky and resistant to water. By the way, it was not the only thing used. Hydrated lime and sands were also added. They worked together to make the wall stand.

Answered by Bryan from USA | Feb. 14, 2015 10:00

20 23 Reply

ok thx.

Answered by Bryan from USA | Feb. 14, 2015 10:06

17 24 Reply

what does hydrated lime and sand do? it doesn't sound sticky :D D:

Answered by Betty | Feb. 16, 2015 02:11

28 17 Reply

Bryan, hydrated lime and sand could make the wall much firmer. You know, hydrated lime can turn into lime carbonate, which is very solid. By the way, it is dampproof.

Answered by Max from AUSTRALIA | Oct. 28, 2019 12:46

0 0 Reply

Thx, I know this is late. But It really helped :)

What Is the Great Wall Made Out of

Source: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/construction/material.htm

Share this post