Published on : Wednesday, July 1, 2015
If you heard that the Great Wall of China will disappear, what would your urge be? To book a ticket to China and carry back home an eyeful of this monumental feat before its extinction.
The Ming era Great Wall has already disappeared by 30 per cent due to adverse natural conditions and reckless human activities. The bricks have been stolen from this UNESCO World Heritage site by people to build their houses.
The single unbroken structure stretches to a total length from 5,600 to 13,000 miles (9,000 to 21,000 kilometers). But due to its dilapidation the estimated total length has been varied. Now the structure is not even visible from space as it claimed earlier.
The construction has been weathered over the years. Built in the third century BC nearly 6,300 kilometers were built in the Ming Dynasty of 1368-1644, including the much-visited sectors north of the capital Beijing. Plants have grown on the Wall, continuous exposure to sun, rain and wind has all added to the deterioration of the structure. Some towers have grown shaky and have chances of collapsing during rain and thunderstorms. Local tourism activities have added to damaging the Wall.
The bricks were used by poor villagers from Lulong County in the northern province of Hebei to construct homes and also sold as souvenirs for 30 yuan (£3) by locals. Even though the Chinese had imposed regulations with a fine of 5,000 yuan on whoever tampered with the bricks of the Great Wall of China there is no specific organisation that enforces these rules so the damages cannot be reported to higher authorities. Some sections where more tourists arrive are getting damaged rapidly.
Tags: Lulong County, Ming Dynasty, The Great Wall of China, UNESCO World Heritage
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