Editing Fortification (section)

===China===
{{See also|Chinese city wall|List of castles in China}}
[[File:20090529 Great Wall 8185.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Wall of China]] near [[Jinshanling]]. The Great Wall was a series of fortifications built across the historical northern borders of China. ]]

Large tempered earth (i.e. [[rammed earth]]) walls were built in [[ancient China]] since the [[Shang dynasty]] ({{Circa|1600}}–1050 BC); the capital at ancient Ao had enormous walls built in this fashion (see [[siege]] for more info). Although stone walls were built in China during the [[Warring States]] (481–221 BC), mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907 AD). The [[Great Wall of China]] had been built since the [[Qin dynasty]] (221–207 BC), although its present form was mostly an engineering feat and remodeling of the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644 AD).

In addition to the Great Wall, a number of Chinese cities also employed the use of [[defensive wall]]s to defend their cities. Notable [[Chinese city wall]]s include the city walls of [[Hangzhou City Walls|Hangzhou]], [[City Wall of Nanjing|Nanking]], the [[Old City (Shanghai)|Old City of Shanghai]], [[City Wall of Suzhou|Suzhou]], [[Fortifications of Xi'an|Xi'an]] and the [[walled villages of Hong Kong]]. The famous walls of the [[Forbidden City]] in [[Beijing]] were established in the early 15th century by the [[Yongle Emperor]]. The Forbidden City made up the inner portion of the [[Beijing city fortifications]].