Wall rangers protect great history
Print Edition
yesterday was the 15th anniversary of China鈥檚 national regulation to protect the Great Wall. With the regulation, the central government and local authorities in 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and cities along the Great Wall reinforced the comprehensive protection of the national treasure.
Under the regulation, a growing number of rangers have been organized to protect the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are currently more than 6,000 of them.
The rangers, usually farmers living near the Great Wall sites, conduct safety inspections of the key wall sections, stop and report harmful behavior, and offer advice on the protection work.
After the first snowfall in early November, Zhang Heshan, 66, immediately patrolled the Great Wall in Chengziyu Village of Qinhuangdao City, north China鈥檚 Hebei Province.
鈥淎fter snowfalls, patrols should occur in time to check whether snow melting is harmful to the ancient wall,鈥 said the veteran Great Wall ranger.
Zhang is also an adept live-streamer narrating his observation during his Great Wall patrol.
He has 370,000 fans on his account at China鈥檚 short-video platform of Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok).
Zhang has involved himself voluntarily in the Great Wall protection since 1978.
On each patrol, he had to walk over 20 kilometers of mountain roads, during which he advised shepherds to keep away from the ancient wall and persuaded people who coveted the wall bricks to leave the relics alone.
Zhang has written notes with a total of 200,000 Chinese characters on the Great Wall protection.
Meandering on mountain ridges across north China, the Great Wall, one of the world鈥檚 great wonders, was built during more than 2,000 years of continuous construction, from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-221 BC) to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The existing sections have a total length of over 21,000 km.
Li Chunjie and 107 other veterans have joined a volunteer group to protect the Great Wall in Qian鈥檃n City, Hebei.
鈥淢y village is at the foot of the Great Wall. I can see it whenever I look up,鈥 Li said.
The 57-year-old veteran said Xuliukou Village used to be an impoverished and backward mountain village. Great Wall tourism has brought fortune to its residents.
Li said many fellow villagers have set up B&B and tourist businesses. Veteran volunteers are enthusiastic about getting involved in the Great Wall protection, picking up garbage, and clearing weeds.
Jin Ruiqing, director of the veteran affairs department in Qian鈥檃n, said the veteran volunteer group has contributed to protecting the Great Wall and cultural and tourism development.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), the building of the national cultural parks with themes including the Great Wall and the Yellow River has been included in the country鈥檚 cultural projects.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has required 15 provinces and cities along the Great Wall to formulate specific plans of building the Great Wall national cultural parks according to local conditions.
As a key construction area of the parks, Hebei Province has made four sections of the Great Wall, including the Shanhaiguan Pass in Qinhuangdao, a top priority.
鈥淲e adhere to the principle of 鈥榤inimum intervention鈥 while protecting the authenticity, integrity, and ancient historical features of the Great Wall,鈥 said Zhang Yong, senior engineer of the Hebei provincial ancient architecture protection research institute.
The school of architecture, Tianjin University, has been building an image and three-dimensional database of the Great Wall. The school has completed digital archives of Great Wall sections stretching 5,500 kilometers since 2018.
Zhang Peng, 34, is a new-generation Great Wall ranger who uses new technologies such as drones and big data to guard the cultural heritage.
Zhang said drones can take 360-degree and 3D images, and he can also remind unruly tourists to refrain from causing damage by using the speaker on the drones.
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