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The Great Wall is a unique 
Tile Improvement of the Han civilization in Civilization VII.
- Effects:
- +2
Culture. - +1 Happiness for each adjacent Great Wall segment.
- Counts as a Fortification and grants units defending on this tile +6 Combat Strength.
- +2
- Restrictions:
- Can only be built in a line and cannot branch or fork.
Strategy[]
The Great Wall stands out as a rare Improvement that offers both robust defensive utility and consistent yield generation, making it a cornerstone of the Han's territorial strategy.
Placement[]
Minimal planning is required — just remember that Great Walls, like all other unique Improvements, must be placed on tiles with existing basic Improvements and must be connected in a line. For these reasons, it is often best to build them along the edges of your empire. This setup not only strengthens your borders defensively but also simplifies placement, as most Districts tend to be concentrated toward the center of your 
Settlements.
When planning for a large, stretching outer wall, aim for a high population and strong 
Food income so your Settlement can expand to the outer tiles, ensuring you have enough space to construct the necessary Great Wall Improvements. Additionally, you can also place smaller, isolated Great Wall sections within your Settlement to gain extra yields without committing to a full border defense, and later replace them by constructing 
Buildings or 
Wonders on top.
Defense[]
The Great Wall is an excellent tool for defending your borders, as each tile provides a 
Combat Strength bonus to any unit stationed on it. This makes it significantly harder for enemy forces to advance into your territory when the wall is properly manned.
Beyond defense, the Great Wall can also be a valuable asset for sustaining prolonged warfare. Extended conflicts can significantly reduce 
Happiness, especially when your 
Influence is too low to adjust War Support. The Great Wall helps mitigate this by securing your borders while simultaneously providing a Happiness boost, helping to counteract potential penalties and maintain stability during long wars.
Happiness[]
Lastly, the Great Wall is one of the rare sources of Ageless Happiness, making it an exceptional Improvement for boosting growth and development at the start of a new Age. Typically, outdated Happiness Buildings from the previous Age cause a sharp drop in overall Happiness, especially in large 
Cities — often dragging it below 0 and significantly reducing yields as a result. However, the Han’s Great Wall Improvements remain unaffected by these transitions, completely stabilizing Happiness during this vulnerable phase. This gives the civilization a major advantage at the start of each Age, with strong snowball potential into future eras.
Civilopedia entry[]
Though its name suggests otherwise, the Great Wall of China is not a single wall. Its earliest sections were built between the seventh and third centuries BCE by warring kingdoms hoping to defend themselves against each other. The victorious Qin dynasty unified these states and destroyed the walls between them, but kept the structures along the northern borders. These segments were connected to defend against northern enemies.
With the rise of the Han dynasty in 202 BCE, diplomatic negotiations with the nomadic Xiongnu in the north soon erupted into war. In response, the Han strengthened and expanded the Qin walls, leveraging them as offensive structures to great success. Dotted with towers and forts, these walls created positions of strength in contested territories, claiming land and providing a defended route for supplies, communication, and trade. The walls were supplied by civilian and military farms and built largely using the rammed earth technique, in which soil is tightly compacted layer by layer between two vertical boards.
Gallery[]
See also[]
- Ming Great Wall (Civ7)
- Great Wall in other games
| Civilization VII Improvements [edit] | |
|---|---|
| Standard | |
| Unique | |
| City-State | |
| 1 Requires DLC | |