Shanxi publishes details of Great Wall protection sites

TAIYUAN - The government of North China's Shanxi province has published a circular with details about 4,276 Great Wall sites in the region in an effort to enhance protection.

The circular published earlier this month includes the names, location, dates, and protection areas of the Great Wall sections, as well as areas where construction is strictly controlled. The sites are spread across 40 counties and districts in eight cities in the province.

Government authorities said the protection areas and construction control areas, extending both above and below ground, were jointly designated by the Shanxi Culture Relics Bureau and the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department of Shanxi.

Within the protection areas, no dismantling or reconstruction of the Great Wall is allowed, no construction projects are allowed, and no underground mining is allowed.

Within the construction control areas, construction projects should not affect the historical style of the Great Wall, and construction blueprints should be approved before projects begin.

The Great Wall was built between the third century BC and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The existing sections mostly date from the Ming era, with the Ming wall measuring over 8,800 kilometers.

Shanxi boasts a 1,400-km stretch of the Great Wall, 900 kilometers of which is Ming-era wall.

In 2006, a national regulation on Great Wall protection was released, but the sheer size of the structure has posed a challenge to enforcement. Statistics show that less than 10 percent of the wall is considered well-preserved, while about 30 percent has disappeared.

Dong Yaohui, vice head of the China Great Wall Society, said the circular is a step to implement China's cultural relics preservation law and the Great Wall protection regulation. The published information will help heighten awareness and improve efficiency of protection.