A night of stories beneath the Great Wall

As night fell at the foot of the Badaling section of the Great Wall, a gentle summer breeze blew, providing the group of people gathered for an event about the history and legends of this architectural marvel respite from the heat.

Called Qiyu Changcheng (A Marvelous Journey on the Great Wall), the event was livestreamed by Tencent Foundation and Tencent News on Aug 3, and brought together archaeologist Shang Heng, scholar Liang Hong, and novelist Zhang Yun, who shared their knowledge of this Chinese icon.

Shang, who is an associate research fellow at the Beijing Institute of Archaeology, said that the first iteration of the Great Wall was built over 2,000 years. He explained that in addition to military purposes, it also served an economic function by helping to protect farms.

Liang shared folk tales about the Great Wall, such as the famous story of Meng Jiangnyu, whose husband died of exhaustion while working on construction of the wall during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

Zhang, who is known for a series of books about monsters and demons, introduced the mythology and legends associated with the wall, including the story of ancient military troops who placed an image of a monster known as Bai Ze on one of their flags, in the belief that it would protect them.