Volunteer passes on torch of guardianship

At 81, Mei Jingtian's legs can still handle the steep slopes of the Great Wall of Shixia village in Beijing's Yanqing district. As he looks up toward the ridgeline he's reassured, his 45-year-old niece, Liu Hongyan, carries on a more than 40-year family mission to protect the unrestored section of the wall.

In the 1980s, after working away for many years, Mei returned to his village to find the local section of the wall had been damaged.

"The Great Wall back when I was a child was intact, in its original form. But later, bricks were taken to build houses and barns," Mei said.

"The Great Wall is our national treasure, built with immense hardship and wisdom. Those inscribed bricks are especially precious. I had to bring them back," he said.

Unable to stand by, he started weekly patrols up the rugged slopes. Armed with a sickle, he single-handedly carved out dozens of kilometers of mountain paths to access remote wall sections. Week after week, he cleared weeds, picked up trash and explained Great Wall history to adventurous tourists. His most arduous feat was retrieving a 34.5-kilogram stone tablet, pushing and dragging it down the mountain for over two days to deliver it to the authorities.

His commitment was entirely voluntary for years. He even traded cement with villagers for the Great Wall bricks embedded in their courtyard walls. Mei's efforts gradually shifted local attitudes. In 2007, he helped establish the Shixia Village Great Wall Protection Association, turning a personal endeavor into a community-wide effort.

Recognition followed. In 2015, Mei was honored as a "Beijing Role Model". But his greatest achievement is perhaps the successors he has inspired, including his daughter and his niece.

In 2019, Great Wall protectors were officially included in the government budget. The same year, his niece Liu passed an exam to become one of Shixia village's first six protectors, formally taking the baton from her uncle. "Following him on patrols as a kid, I just remember it being tiring. He showed us all the routes," she said.

Now, Liu patrols the same ridges, monitors the wall's condition and shares its stories with visitors. For Liu, this is more than a job; it's custodianship of her home.

"Guarding the Great Wall is like guarding my family," she said. "My uncle showed us what true commitment looks like. He did this purely out of love, without any reward. That's the spirit we have to carry forward."

Despite the physical demands and dangers — long hikes, steep terrain, occasional encounters with wildlife such as snakes and wild boars — she finds profound value in her work, influenced deeply by her uncle's selfless example.

Yet, the guardian looks to the future with a mix of hope and concern. "Currently, most protectors are elderly, in their 60s and 70s. Many young people have left the village. But when I retire, I believe there will still be people willing to take on the responsibility of protecting the Great Wall. We hope more young people will join our protection team. We are all guardians of the Great Wall, working together to protect our home," Liu said.

lihongyang@chinadaily.com.cn