To protect cultural relics has long been a task for Chinese archaeologists. This year will see more protection campaigns across the country.

Early this week, Beijing began repairing a 12.4-kilometre section of the Great Wall in a suburban area, which will cost 12 million yuan (US$1.45 million).

Located 29 kilometres northwest of Chengguan Town in Huairou District, the Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall was first built in the Northern Qi Dynasty (AD 550-577). The existing ruined Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

It has attracted numerous visitors with its original look of the ancient Great Wall, fine architectural features, colorful patterns, steep mountain scenery and surroundings of dense forest and plants.

A major reason behind rebuilding this section of the Great Wall is to ensure the safety of visitors there, according to a source with the city cultural heritage bureau.

The Great Wall is generally considered to start at Jiayuguan Pass in Northwest China's Gansu Province and ends at Shanhaiguan Pass on the shores of Bohai Bay to the east.

The Great Wall stretches for 6,000 kilometres, rising and falling, twisting and turning along the ridges of the Yanshan and Yinshan mountain chains, traversing Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing and Liaoning. Construction of the wall first began in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

Chinese archaeologists claimed that they have found sections of the Great Wall in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest and in Shandong Province in the east in recent years, bringing the total length to 7,200 kilometers.

The current repair project will cover the rebuilding of 13 towers, two gates, 3.3 kilometers of wall work and other facilities on a 4-kilometre stretch of the Huanghuacheng section. The area of the buildings, to be repaired, totals 18,870 square meters.

The repair project is scheduled to be carried out in three phases, according to the city cultural heritage bureau, but they did not give a final completion date.

Investigations by the bureau show that the total length of the Beijing section of the Great Wall is 629 kilometers, less than one-fifth of which is well-preserved and intact.

Currently, only 10 kilometers of the Beijing section of the Great Wall have been developed for tourism.

Beijing issued the measures for protecting the Great Wall in May of last year. Taking effect in August, the measures forbid visitors from climbing sections of the Great Wall that have not been opened to visitors and commercial activities.

The Great Wall has been rebuilt many times through the centuries, and many sections of it have suffered serious damage from wind and water, as well as human destruction. Since the 1980s, the Chinese Government has allocated special funds to restore this national monument, such as the sections at Badaling and Mutianyu in suburban Beijing.

Currently, many sections of the Great Wall, such as the sections at Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai, Shixiaguan Pass, Jiayuguan Pass and Shanhaiguan Pass, are open to tourists.

Relics protection

Meanwhile, in East China's Jiangxi Province, a large-scale protection campaign for cultural relics is going on.

The provincial cultural department has organized three inspection teams in key cities and counties, investigating the collection and protection of cultural relics, according to an official with the provincial cultural relic bureau.

The teams will take action against local governments of areas where cultural relics are not under effective protection and those who refuse to improve protection measures, according to an official who refused to give his name.

Any deed concerning vandalism or duty dereliction in cultural relic protection will be subject to punishment in line with related laws and regulations.

The official said the municipal government hoped that a social environment of cultural relic protection programme could be formed following the campaign, which will last for two weeks. One of China's cultural relic bases, Jiangxi has 95 State-level cultural relics and 258 at the provincial level. Mount Lushan, a world cultural heritage site, is also located in the province.

(China Daily March 19, 2004)