Beijing passes new regulations to protect Great Wall

BEIJING -- Beijing on Friday passed new regulations on Great Wall protection, providing legislative norms for the protection, management, utilization and inheritance of the Great Wall section in Beijing.

The regulations, passed by the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress and set to take effect on March 1, 2026, clearly defined the application scope, which includes the Great Wall itself, related cultural heritage and the surrounding environment.

The regulations also stated that efforts should be made to strengthen the coordinated protection work in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and within the provincial-level regions and cities along the Great Wall.

It is the first dedicated regulation on the protection of the Great Wall in China after a revised Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics took effect on March 1 this year.

The Great Wall in Beijing spans six districts, namely, Pinggu, Miyun, Huairou, Changping, Yanqing and Mentougou. The Great Wall in Beijing is 520.77 kilometers long and consists of 461 sections, dating from the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-557) to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1987, the Badaling section of the Great Wall was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.