Great Wall guardians put their faith in local efforts
Print Edition
Zhang Jun and his teammates spend almost all their weekends on matters related to the Great Wall, though they rarely go to the famous Badaling section in northern Beijing where tourists and foreign heads of state visit.
Zhang’s team prefers sections with steep cliffs, broken walls, and huge piles of rubble that most people ignore.
“Totally shocked,” said Zhang, who was born in south China but became concerned about the man-made marvel stretching across north China, when he saw photographs of dilapidated sections.
In 1999, a dozen Great Wall enthusiasts like Zhang set up a volunteer team to promote and protect the Great Wall. They also launched a website www.thegreatwall.com.cn to share information they gathered.
In the years since, the team has attracted more than 200 members from all walks of life, including an accountant, a chemical engineer, a newspaper editor and civil servants.
They started as hikers, walking along the Great Wall in many provinces to enjoy the outdoors. Now, they have become guardians, protecting and preserving the world wonder.
“The Great Wall” club values the power of images. They always carry old photos, taken decades or a century ago, to find the spots photographed and see the scenery as it appears today.
Unfortunately, through the lenses of today’s advanced cameras, the great structure appears as deserted walls, ramshackle towers without roofs, or renovated buildings with modern facades.
They organize volunteers to collect garbage and plant trees along the wall. But to their surprise, most damage comes from people living nearby.
“We can’t be the savior of the Great Wall,” said Zhang, who realized that local people must be involved in its protection.
They organized a campaign, “Home alongside the Great Wall,” inviting local people to take photos in front of the Great Wall, and told them that the man-made wonder was not far from their everyday lives.
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