China’s Great Wall began its life during the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 BC) and was 6300 kilometers strong. Portions of the great facade were destroyed and then later rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644 AD) when China wanted to protect its heartland from northern nomadic tribes. Now less than 2500 kilometers (1550 miles) of the original structure remains and now China is about to embark on the most extensive and thorough field survey of the Great Wall in an ambitious plan to protect its behemoth millennium-old fortification. The 2-year project will utilize laser range finders and global positioning systems.
This survey is only one element of their 10-year Great Wall Protection Project which launched last month. Vice director of the Heritage Protection Department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage Chai Xiaoming says, "We will not only have a clear and complete picture of the current conditions of the Great Wall and its landscape, but will also have a basic legal framework for its protection."
Heritage expert Luo Zhewen told China Daily that “Setting up a full and accurate document for the Great Wall is extremely important as it is the fundamental step towards preserving it.”
The plans will help establish more preservation areas and buffer zones so that construction will be limited near the structure. As with the Pyramids in Egypt, this ancient World Wonder suffers with the winds of time, environmental erosion, mass tourism, and vandalism taking its tragic toll day by day.
