What did the Great Wall look like before the famous brick towers near Beijing? How did Qin and Han soldiers defend roads, desert forts, border gates, and the early Silk Roads?

The Great Wall and the First Chinese Empires for Kids explores the earliest frontier walls of ancient China through 20 illustrated, evidence-based stories. Readers follow the Warring States, Qin Shi Huang, Meng Tian, Han expansion into the Hexi Corridor, Yumen Pass, beacon towers, military farms, horses, messengers, traders, and archaeological discoveries preserved in the desert.

The book shows that the Great Wall was never only a wall. It worked as part of a larger system of roads, forts, gates, food supplies, families, warning signals, and trade.

Inside:

• Detailed black-and-white illustrations, maps, and visual guides
• Evidence Close-Up pages based on archaeology and surviving records
• Clear explanations of what historians know-and what remains uncertain
• Two short Think About It questions at the end of each chapter

Written for readers ages 9-14, this middle-grade nonfiction book is suitable for independent reading, homeschool history, world history study, and families interested in ancient China, archaeology, engineering, and the Silk Roads.

Book 1 in The Great Wall and the Story of China for Kids series. Each volume can be read independently.