For centuries, the Great Wall of China drove marauding nomadic tribes away from Chinese territory. However, it seems that this huge structure, which managed to stop giant armies, was not enough to stop today’s builders. A small section of the Great Wall was severely damaged by construction workers looking for a shortcut in restoring the monument.
Two people were arrested after using machinery to create a breach in a section of the Great Wall near Youyu in central Shanxi province, state-owned China Daily newspaper reported. Local police charged the duo with destruction of a cultural relic after receiving reports of damage on August 24. The suspects were captured by following a trail from the damaged wall into neighboring Horinger County.
The Great Wall of China is the name given to a series of ancient walls and defensive structures spanning more than 20,000 kilometers across northern China. It was built continuously over the centuries, from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD, as part of a military project to defend the Chinese Empire against invasions by nomadic tribes to the north. Considering its great historical and architectural importance, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
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