The 21st century has been called "the century of Asia", and China is now leading the way for emerging Asian powers. Indeed, the economic weight that China already exerts on the international market, along with that of Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and others, is reshaping the global economy and everything indicates that these trends will continue for the foreseeable future. Although all countries in Asia have a rich, proud, long and colorful history, China stands out for one particular reason: its Great Wall. Despite its antiquity, the Great Wall of China remains a powerful influence on modern Chinese thought and culture, while providing a valuable destination for tourists from around the world who want to experience this defining aspect of China for themselves. Taken together, these questions suggest that the Great Wall of China merits further analysis to identify these effects and what they mean for the Western world as well as for the people of Asia in general and the Chinese people in particular. This article provides a review of relevant literature to identify the historical effects of the Great Wall of China, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion. When most people think of the Great Wall of China, it is largely limited. at one of the few iconic viewpoints regularly presented to the Western world by the mainstream press. Such a view, illustrated in Figure 1, hardly does justice to the Great Wall, for a number of important reasons which are discussed further below. Figure 1. Representative iconic view of the Great Wall of China Source: medievalnews.blogspot.com This neat view and A tidy segment of the Great Wall with its... middle of paper ... united the people of China over the centuries in a way that no other architectural structure, regardless of its size, could accomplish. Brief description of the Great Wall of China. 2011. UNESCO. [online] available: http://whc.unesco.org/fr/list/438. “Great Wall of China”. 2011. TravelChina.com. [online] available: http://www.travelchina guide.com/china_great_wall/.Silverberg, Robert. The Great Wall of China. Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965. Squire, Gary. 2007. “What I learned about teaching at the Great Wall of China: You wouldn't think a veteran teacher with more than three decades of experience would need to reinvent himself and his methods, but to on the other side of the world, Mr. Squire has just done it. That.” Phi Delta Kappan 88(7): 530-531. Worth, Cristopher. 2007, March. “China’s true wonder of the world.” The world and me 22(3): 37.