Workers Cause 'Irreversible Damage' to Great Wall of China by Trying to Drill a Shortcut Through It
The Great Wall of China has been standing for thousands of years and remains a surviving artifact of an era long gone. Still, despite its hallowed place in history, some locals don't have much regard for the ancient brick.
Two engineers working in Shanxi province's Yangqianhe Township found the UNESCO World Heritage Site to be more of an obstacle than a structure to be revered. According to a statement from the Shanxi Cultural Relics Bureau, a 38-year-old man named Zheng and a 55-year-old woman named Wang were arrested after allegedly digging through a hole in the Great Wall and widening an existing gap to create a shortcut that would make their construction work easier.
The "irreversible damage" was done on a section of the wall dating back to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) known as the 32nd Great Wall. The area is also home to a well-preserved watch tower in the wall and is registered as a provincial cultural relic.
"Excavators were used to excavate the original gap of the ancient Great Wall into a large gap so that the excavator could pass through the gap, which caused irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and the safety of cultural relics," authorities said. They were able to quickly track down the culprits after reports emerged that a huge gap had appeared appeared in the wall. The duo has been charged with destroying a cultural relic, per China Daily.
In recent years, protection and preservation of the Great Wall against acts of vandalism has become a bigger priority for Chinese authorities. In 2021, three visitors were detained and fined by police after using a sharp object to carve writing into the famous Badaling section of the wall. That same year, two foreign tourists were banned from the iconic site after they trespassed onto an undeveloped part of the Mutianyu section of the wall.
When it comes to visiting this wonder of the world, just look, but don't touch.
