China's Great Wall Damaged By Workers Looking For Shortcut
They dug a "big gap" by widening an existing cavity of the Great Wall so that their excavator could pass through it. Police say they wanted to reduce the distance they had to travel.
Two people have been detained in China for reportedly damaging a section of the Great Wall using an excavator in the northern Shanxi province, CNN reported. Citing the state broadcaster CCTV, CNN stated that a gap in the wall was created in Yangqianhe Township.
The authorities in Youyu County said that a report regarding the same was received on August 24.
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What happened?
Following an investigation, authorities discovered that a 38-year-old male and a 55-year-old woman had breached the wall with an excavator in order to establish a shortcut to pass through, inflicting "irreversible" damage to the integrity and safety of that piece of the wall, reported CNN citing the state broadcaster.
They dug a "big gap" by widening an existing cavity of the Great Wall so that their excavator could pass through it. Police say they wanted to reduce the distance they had to travel.
The affected section, situated about a six-hour drive west of central Beijing, dates back to China¡¯s Ming dynasty of the 14th through to the 17th centuries. The
best-preserved parts were built during this time, and it is one of these that now has a huge new hole blasted through it.
Youyou county
The duo caused 'irreversible damage'
Police also stressed that the two caused "irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of the cultural relics".
Images on Chinese TV showed the scene where a dusty road had been cut through a long, raised section of ground that appeared to be the remnants of the ancient barrier. "Currently, the two suspects have been criminally detained in accordance with the law, and the case is continuing to be investigated," said CCTV.
It's categorised as a historical and cultural site
Located in Youyu County, the 32nd Great Wall is a section of the Ming Great Wall and is categorised as a historical and cultural site that is protected at the provincial level.
The Great Wall, a Unesco world heritage site since 1987, was built and rebuilt continually from around 220 BC until the Ming Dynasty in the 1600s when it was the world's largest military structure.
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