Chinese authorities are cracking down on criminal damage along Beijing’s Great Wall following reports of the site disappearing brick by brick.
State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) Officials have announced that regular random inspections and checks will be carried out along the wall, which is an estimated 13,000 miles long, ensuring that local municipalities are following the national protection measures that date back 10 years.
According to reports, the decade-old laws have done little to preserve the wall, which is considered one of the world’s manmade wonders. A third of the Ming-era wall has suffered damage from adverse environmental conditions. Nonetheless, officials have cited reckless human behaviour for some of its destruction.
According to China’s Great Wall Society, local villagers who live near the wall have been reported to stealing bricks from the wall to use as building materials or to sell. Dong Yaohui, the society’s vice-chairman, said that repairing the wall will be costly,
“It doesn’t have large-scale damage, but if you accumulate the different damaged parts, it is very serious. The problem is we spend a lot of money on repairing the Great Wall instead of preserving the Great Wall.”
Dong blames the lack of resources and oversight in municipalties across the 15 provinces that the wall passes through for the worsening condition of the wall.
Sections of the Great Wall dates back to the 3rd century BC, but at least 4000 miles of it was built during the Ming Dynasty (1358-1644). SACH considers less than 10% of the wall to be well preserved.
It has been reported that villagers have been selling bricks and slabs from thewall for 30 yuan.