Gansu Province, where the Great Wall ends its lengthy journey, has begun
preservation and restoration work on its section of the Wall after
years of damage at the hands of both man and nature.
The province launched a thorough investigation of its section of
the Wall in June, which amounts for 4,400-kilometres of the
50,000-kilometer Great Wall.
"We have found that the Wall is severely damaged and is in need
of urgent rescue," Zheng Lansheng, director of the Gansu Provincial
Administration of Cultural Heritage's cultural relics protection
department, told China Daily yesterday.
Experts investigating Gansu's section of the Wall have
discovered that, in some sparsely populated areas, villagers have
used bricks from the ancient structure to build their own houses.
In one extreme case, a road had been cut through the Wall.
Zheng said the province already had its own provincial- and
village-level Wall protection systems.
Every village near the ancient structure is required to set up a
protection group for the architectural marvel.
Weather damage caused by rain, flooding and wind and burrowing
by ants and mice are the major natural factors undermining the
Wall's structural integrity.
Human activities like the removal of bricks and earth for
construction have added to the damage.
The Great Wall was built over more than two millennia, ranging
from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) to the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911), covering more than 20 dynasties.
"The investigation into conditions around the Great Wall in
Gansu is ongoing," Zheng said.?"We will make a complete
protection plan once the investigation is completed. We will put
the plan into effect after it is approved by the central government
next year."?
(China Daily December 13, 2006)