Mongolians destroy Great Wall of China

More than 2,000 years after it was built to keep out their ancestors, Mongolians have succeeded in punching a hole through a large section of the Great Wall of China.

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Published: 2:48PM GMT 25 Nov 2009

Around 300 feet of the wall in a remote part of Inner Mongolia has been irreparably damaged by Mongolian gold prospectors.

"We discovered what had happened a couple of months ago, while doing a national survey on the condition of the Great Wall," said Wang Dafang, the head of the regional cultural relics department.

"The place where it happened is remote and uninhabited. We might never have found out if the government had not commissioned the inspection survey," he added.

The damaged section was built by the Qin Dynasty between 220BC and 206BC. Only a tiny segment of the Qin wall remains, which was a reinforced earth barrier unlike the imposing stone structure built by the Ming Dynasty some twelve centuries later.

"Some people think the only part of the Great Wall that needs to be protected is in Beijing," said Mr Wang. "But although the Inner Mongolia wall is more modest, it carries the same significance."

He blamed Hohhot Kekao Mining for the destruction, adding that he had warned the company five times since September to desist. "They ignored us, until we tipped off reporters from the local television network.

Then they promised to stop, but they secretly carried on. It was such a remote place they gambled that no one would check."

Mr Wang said the police in Hohhot are now investigating the matter and he expects there to be a criminal trial. "This was a deliberate offence. The Great Wall should not be sacrificed for commercial interests".

Damaging the wall carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison, or a fine of 500,000 yuan (Pounds44,000). Last year, five miners received jail terms of between one to three years for damaging a portion of the Ming Dynasty wall while using heavy machinery.

The Great Wall, which President Barack Obama visited last week, stretches over 5,500 miles along an arc from east to west that roughly follows the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.