Renovation of key section of Great Wall begins thanks to crowdfunding

SHIJIAZHUANG - With the support of online crowdfunding, the renovation of a key section of Great Wall in Hebei province has started, local authorities said Tuesday.

In the first stage, workers will repair a 132-meter-long section of Panjiakou Great Wall without altering the original appearance, according to the government of Kuancheng Manchu autonomous county.

Liu Yunquan, head of the county's cultural relics protection institute, said that the renovation was funded by an online crowdfunding campaign launched by China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2016.

More than 174,000 people contributed to the fund, which raised 2.81 million yuan ($440,000) for the first stage of the renovation which is expected to complete in October, Liu said.

Measuring around 1,500 meters in length, the Panjiakou section of the Great Wall was built in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is in poor condition due to damage caused by rain and wind, and years of disrepair.

Liu said the next stage of the renovation will start after a new round of crowdfunding is launched.