During the Warring States period,on the vast land of China the dukes and princes of the ducal states were contending for hegemony on the one hand,and on the other hand nomadic alliance of the Huns Xiongnu people,the Donghu and others from the north of the Great Wall constantly invaded and plundered the south.The war continued year after year and the people living a miserable life.That was why the ruler then decided to build the Great wall for the purpose of consolidating border defense against outside invaders,strengthening the military defense,meeting the needs of the warring situation.The rulers hoped that the construction of the Great Wall would solve a large number of military problems,and then would get a lasting political stability.

Both the state of Qi and Chu were very powerful in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods,however,the state of Qi enjoyed the privileges of having the emperor under his thumb and ordered the dukes about in his name.But when the state of Qi led several other ducal states to fight against the state of Chu,they did not have the guts to conduct the military operations after intruding into Chu’s territory and seeing the city defense(the tall and sturdy Great Wall)

Moreover,the art and culture value of the Great Wall id enough to be comparable to its historical and strategic importance.Over two thousand years,the continuous exchanges between the peoples of north and south,with the Great Wall as the center,had not only promoted the culture development of all ethnic groups,but also formed a culture zone which was different from other regions.The culture based on the Central Plains,along the Great Wall had a significant impact on the production and lifestyle of the nomads living near the Great Wall area,enabling the culture of the frontier region to show its unique characters.A large number of unearthed culture and historical relics in and out of the Great Wall could prove that the imprint of multi-ethnic cultural integration could be seen everywhere.For example,the Han Dynasty bamboo slips excavated from the southeast of Heicheng in the lower reaches of the Ejina river in today’s Inner Mongolia are hailed as one of “the four great discoveries”of the Chinese academia in this century.The greater majority of the Han Dynasty bamboo slips are the frontier region documents of the Great Wall,recorded the scale of the military installations and the configuration of the buildings in this section of the Great Wall in the Han Dynasty, as well as the organization, equipment, attendance and pass permit system of the guarding officers and men, plus a real account of the neighboring economy, religion and so on. Many famous historical sites have been left in the cultural zone of the Great Wall, such as the murals and the sculptures in the grottoes of Dunhuang, Yungang, Maijishan and Wanfotang.

Today,the Great Wall has already lost its original military value.However,bearing more than two thousand years of the feudal history in China,it is just like an encyclopedia describing to the world about the developments and the achievements made by the ancient Chinese in political,economical,architectural and other fields,having a high scientific,historical and cultural value.