Announcing
the experience in using available materials
"To suit local conditions and use locally available materials"
-- this is an experience gained in the course of construction. Since
there are mountains, cliffs, deserts, loess regions, etc. a vast amount
of materials are to be used. To avoid costly transport over long distances,builders
and strategists mainly use earth and stone before using bricks. In places
where stones are found in abundance, such as mountains and areas full
of stones, stone is used. In loess regions rammed earth is used. In
Yumenguan Pass and in Gobi Desert, Xinjiang region where only sand and
pebbles are found but not stone or earth, walls of sandy soil are supported
with layers of tamarisk twigs and reeds. The Great Wall built with just
such materials have been preserved to this day in ruined sites in spite
of the fact that over 2,000 years have elapsed.
- Note:
Blocks of stones faced with bricks are used to build the Ming
Great Wall -- an other example of using local materials. In tablets
on Juyongguan Pass, Badaling and elsewhere we find accounts saying
that bricks and stones are obtained locally by setting up kilns to
make the building materials or from quarry.
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