China's Great Wall Damaged 'Irreversibly' by Workers Digging a Convenient Passage
Part of the Great Wall of China has been seriously damaged by construction workers in the Shanxi province. They used an excavator to dig through it, creating a shortcut for their construction work, as reported by ChinaDaily.
Both individuals involved, a 38-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman who were working near the affected section of the Great Wall, have been arrested, and a pre-trial investigation is underway.
Chinese police stated that the suspects confessed to using an excavator to make it easier for themselves to pass through the wall. They are currently accused of destroying a cultural relic.
The police discovered the damage after receiving a report on August 24 and followed leads that led them to the neighbouring Horinger county, where they found the two suspects.
Shanxi's Bureau of Cultural Relics revealed in a social media post on Monday that a man named Zheng and a woman named Wang used an excavator to widen a gap in section 32 of the Great Wall in Yoyu County at the end of August. This section of the wall, dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), has been irreversibly damaged.
The Great Wall of China has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and is one of China's most iconic landmarks, visible even from space. It was constructed and reconstructed continuously from around 220 BC until the Ming Dynasty in the 1600s, becoming the largest military structure in the world.
The best-preserved parts were built during the Ming Dynasty between the 14th and 17th centuries, and one of these sections now features a large new hole.
A 2016 report by the Beijing Times stated that over 30% of the Ming-era Great Wall has completely disappeared, with only 8% considered well-preserved.
The oldest sections, dating back thousands of years, consisted of rammed earth walls and now resemble mounds that are not immediately recognizable as the Great Wall.
Much of the damage to the wall is attributed to ongoing theft by local farmers of bricks or stones for building houses or animal enclosures.
In recent times, the government has made significant efforts to preserve the Great Wall.