Search
  • Home
  • Media center
    • News
    • Biz updates
    • Life
    • Specials
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Government
    • News release
    • Personnel changes
    • Annual reports
    • Officials
    • Bureaus
  • Living
    • Life
    • Dining
    • Shopping
    • Entertainment
    • Arts
      • Craftworks
      • Theater performances
      • Museums
      • Galleries
      • Art zones
    • Transportation
    • Services
    • FAQ
  • Doing business
    • Biz updates
    • Introduction
    • Planning
    • Procedures
    • Policies
    • Industries
    • Industrial parks
    • Enterprises
  • Visiting
    • Travel log
    • Attractions
      • Historical
      • Parks
      • Religious
      • Museums
      • Nature
      • Landmarks
    • Itineraries
    • Maps
    • Transportation
    • Hotels
    • Dining
  • Study
    • Student stories
    • Overview
    • Universities
    • Scholarships
    • Services
    • Learning Chinese
    • Testing
  • About
    • Profiles
    • Maps
    • Districts
    • Special areas
    • Festivals and events
    • History
  • Events
    • Dates
    • Categories
  • Forum
 
Home / People

Fresh bricks in old wall

Updated: 2015-10-20 /By Wang Kaihao (China Daily)
  • printer
  • mail

Fresh bricks in old wall

The Great Wall in Hebei province is facing challenges of time and neglect, but local authorities are trying to change the situation. [Photo by Wang Kaihao/China Daily]

Wang's team receives only 30,000 yuan ($4,700) a year to walk the Wall and gather data.

He wants to establish more county-level offices to supervise parts of the Wall and have institutions such as Li's museum to assist them in taking care of remains of the Wall that fell to natural decay or human interference. But the limited grassroots expertise on cultural heritage protection isn't giving Wang qualified field researchers.

"Yangbian is already much luckier than most other places on the Great Wall because some were lost before we knew of them," Wang says. "The Wall is not always like Beijing's Badaling. Many parts are hidden by farmlands or countryside roads."

China promulgated a national rule to protect the Great Wall in 2006. It set a 500-meter protection zone on both sides, where construction activities are barred.

But Wang says it is impossible to isolate the Wall completely due to its close connection with Chinese people's daily lives.

"Local villagers are sometimes probably even unaware that these stones or earthen fences are part of heritage," he says.

Nevertheless, some places in Hebei now have come up with solutions. In Qinhuangdao, a seaside city about 500 km eastward of Zhangjiakou, a protection network has been set up.

"Some villagers grew grains using the Wall as a fence, and some fed sheep in the fortress," Qiao Guohua, 59, says. "They don't do that anymore."

Qiao's home village is at the base of a section of the Great Wall there. This man is among 22 rural people tasked with looking out for about 140 km of the Wall in Funing district.

They began as volunteers, but now they get paid 1,000 yuan a year for the part-time job.

Previous 1 2 3 Next
Previous 1 2 3 Next

News:
  • Peking Opera thriving in Hawaii
  • Americans go 'Hao' over Jingju
  • Beijing holds Feast of Golf
  • Li Lei brings his visual symphony to Beijing
  • A better Beijing in the Year of the Rooster?
  • 刷脸进站(shuāliǎn jìn zhàn): 'Face ticket' at train stations
Specials:
Tsinghua Holdings Co. Ltd launched “Top 10 Talents” in response to the 13th Five Year Plan goal of building Beijing into a national Technology & Innovation Center with a creative spirit and innovative cultural atmosphere.
Top 10 Talents of Tsinghua Holdings read more
Videos:
Easy Talk: Advocating environment protection through storytelling read more

Turn the page and discover Beijing in all its eclectic delights.

Explore the charm of the city in our promo videos

    • Contact
    • Site Map
    • Disclaimer
Copyright © 2011 China Daily All Rights Reserved Sponsored by Beijing Municipal Government Powered by China Daily              京ICP备10023870号-9