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             The wall mainly consists of earth, brick, and stone. On top of the wall is a path paved with bricks and held together with lime, forming a roadway for horsemen to avoid the rugged terrain. The construction of the wall was done entirely by hand and took well over one thousand years to be fully completed (Encyclopedia Britannica).
             The first Ming emperor is given most of the credit for building the wall across the northern border of China. He did this in attempt to hold off invaders from the Mongol tribes in the north. The Mongols were dependent on China for metal, grain, and other goods, and China's refusal to trade led to other conflicts between them. The Mongols seemed to look as if they had the advantage. The Ming emperor could not decide whether or not to negotiate or to attempt to conquer the Mongols. As a result, in the fifteenth century AD, he added sections of walls to connect some of the walls previously built by the Vassal states to create long
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