Defensive wall

Defensive walls were used to enclose settlements from prehistory into the modern period. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China and the Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose vast regions.

China

• Great Wall of China
• Chinese cities occasionally have remnants of city walls that were built in the Ming Dynasty and designed to withstand artillery bombardment. Chinese cities generally outgrew their walls, which fell into disrepair in the Qing dynasty. The city of Xi'an has well-preserved walls with a water filled moat that is a tourist attraction incorporating small parks surrounding a busy and modern area of the city.
• The walls of Beijing were demolished during the 1960s to open large streets around the city. A metro line also follows the location of the former city walls.
• Jingzhou
• Walled villages can still be found in Mainland China and Hong Kong.