The Great Wall of China was constructed over 2200 years, from the 5th century BCE to the 17th century, for the purpose of protecting the different dynasties from raids by nomadic tribes from present-day Mongolia and Manchuria. Although the wall was started by the Qin dynasty (221 - 206 BCE) most of what remains today was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).
Covering an impressive 6,352 km (3,948 miles) the Great Wall is the longest human-made structure in the world. A popular misconception is that the Great Wall can bee seen from outer space, which is not exactly true. In fact, although being extremely long, it is only several meters wide, about the same with as a highway. It is also the same color as the earth that surrounds it.
The general consensus is that it may be visible from space with an extremely trained naked under the most favorable of viewing conditions at best. More likely one would need binoculars or a telescope to be certain that what they were looking at was, in fact, the Great Wall.
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