The Great Wall of China
Well, at least not all yet, but there are reports saying that portions of China’s famous landmark, its 4,000-mile-long (6400 km) Great Wall, is starting to crumble due to poor maintenance and the unabated exploration and exploitation of China’s mineral resources by both legal and illegal mining.
The enormity of the structure – its distance, thickness, width, and height – the last three varying depending on terrain and other factors – is such that its upkeep and preservation seems to take place only on the most visited segments near Beijing.
Needless to say that most of its segments are neglected and left to fall into disrepair, blaming it to government’s limited resources. In fact many segments of the wall are said to be inspected only once a year.
“There was a regulation to protect the wall in 2006, but the wall is so long it is hard to enforce… And the general awareness of the wall’s problems is low,” Dong Waohui, the vice-chairman of the Great Wall Association told The Telegraph. “People just think of the famous sections and assume that the rest of the wall is in the same condition.”
What is, however, threatening most the Great Wall, which is considered one of the greatest wonders in the world, are the unscrupulous mining companies operating within 100 meters of the famous structure.
China is the world’s major producer of coal, lead, zinc, tin and rare earth minerals and also ranks high in output of iron ore, gold, bauxite and other minerals.
“The Great Wall of China may have survived the Huns and Mongol hordes, but widespread neglect, underfunding, and mining means that it is now falling down,” The Telegraph reported earlier this month, citing photographs that show “huge holes…punched through the wall in some areas” and entire sections up to 100 miles long in ruins.
Winding through deserts, grasslands, mountains, and plateaus, the Great Wall stretches from a seaport in the east coast of China to Xinjiang in the North West. Carrying with itself a past of more than 2000 years old, its architectural splendor and historical significance has made the Great Wall of China the most alluring attraction of the world.
Indeed, what a pity if it continues to fall apart.
