NEWS
Workers Detained After Bulldozing Through Great Wall Of China
Courtesy of Youyu County Police Department
A section of the Great Wall of China was destroyed last month by a pair of workers who used an excavator to dig a shortcut, police said.
The Great Wall was built in sections along China’s northern border over the course of nearly two millennia, from the 3rd century B.C. all the way until the 17th century, and can be seen from space.
Youyu County police in the northern province of Shanxi received a report on Aug. 24 that a section of the wall known as the 32nd Great Wall, dating to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), had been severely damaged.
Investigators determined that an existing gap in the wall was widened by “large-scale mechanical excavation.” Police patrolled the are and found two suspects with an excavator. According to police, the pair widened the gap in the wall in order to fit the excavator through, saving travel distance.
A 38-year-old male identified as Zheng and a 55-year-old female identified as Wang, both from Inner Mongolia, were detained in connection to the incident.
Police said the pair did “irreversible damage” to that section of the wall, which, along with the 32nd Beacon Tower, forms part of a cultural relic site under provincial protection.
Along with attracting tourists, the Great Wall remains a site of research, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Many sections of the wall have been destroyed in recent decades, however, leading authorities to ramp up efforts to protect what remains of the ancient fortifications.
TMX contributed to this article.
