Study every day丨Recipients at the foot of the Great Wall

Tiantianxue Shixia Village is located in the southwest of Badaling Town, Yanqing, Beijing. It is at the foot of the Badaling Ancient Great Wall and the Shixiaguan Great Wall, and is surrounded by the Great Wall on three sides. On May 14, the folks in this small village received a reply letter from General Secretary Xi Jinping.

"I hope that everyone will continue to work hard and make contributions over a long period of time, protect the Great Wall like you protect your home, promote the culture of the Great Wall, tell the stories of the Great Wall well, drive more people to understand the Great Wall, protect the Great Wall, and pass on this precious wealth left by our ancestors from generation to generation. Go down." In the reply, the general secretary wrote.

In the 1980s, due to multiple factors such as historical environmental changes, natural erosion and weathering, and human production and life, many sections of the Shixiaguan Great Wall cracked or were even seriously damaged. Mei Jingtian, a villager in Shixia Village, was heartbroken when he saw this scene.

"The Great Wall is unique. If it is not protected, it will disappear." Mei Jingtian began a voluntary inspection around the ancient Great Wall around Shixia Village, protecting damaged components of the Great Wall, picking up garbage, and discouraging tourists from climbing the wild Great Wall. This walk lasted 40 hours. for many years.

"In the early years, there were not many tourists. Weeds grew wildly and shrubs sprouted from the ground." At that time, in addition to farming, the most common thing Mei Jingtian did was patrol the ancient Great Wall, cutting weeds, thorns, and shrubs. At least 20 times a month, I break out seven or eight pairs of shoes a year.

Mei Jingtian also had a conflict with six or seven young men because he stopped private carvings of graffiti. "It's fine for you to care about the Great Wall, but don't make random carvings when you come here." Mei Jingtian stared at the young man grabbing his collar until he let go.

As he grew older, Mei Jingtian began to consider looking for a successor. He also felt that more people needed to be involved in the protection of the Great Wall. On October 29, 2007, Mei Jingtian recruited villager volunteers on-site at the village fire prevention meeting to establish the Shixia Village Great Wall Protection Association. Mei Jingtian said to everyone: "Whoever wants to participate can sign up. There is no reward. It is purely voluntary." On that day, at the meeting of fifty or sixty people, 34 villagers registered. Mei Jingtian was very pleased.

Since then, more and more villagers have participated, and the Shixia Village Great Wall Protection Association has continued to grow.

Mei Jingtian tells the story of the Great Wall to his niece Liu Hongyan.

In 2019, in addition to the volunteers who volunteered to protect the Great Wall, there were also "regular troops" in the village. That year, the Yanqing District Cultural Relics Management Office recruited Great Wall conservators. Influenced by her uncle Mei Jingtian, Liu Hongyan signed up as soon as possible. After passing the written test, interview and physical test, she finally became one of the first six Great Wall protectors in the village.

Since then, Liu Hongyan has followed in her uncle's footsteps and walked this rugged mountain road five times a week, rain or shine.

Growing up at the foot of the Great Wall, the villagers of Shixia Village have deep feelings for the Great Wall. "Protecting the Great Wall" has long been the consensus of the whole village.

They guard the Great Wall and love the Great Wall, and the Great Wall also gives gifts to Shixia Village.

In recent years, Shixia Village has deeply explored the cultural value of the Great Wall and integrated it into rural tourism. The villagers have eaten ecological food and embarked on the road to wealth.

Nowadays, when you come to Shixia Village, you can hear the "Great Wall Interpretation Team" composed of the original elders of Shixia Village telling the stories of the Great Wall and Shixia Village; you can also experience measuring city bricks, firing city bricks, and building city walls. You can experience the wisdom of the builders of the Great Wall through the whole process including the crenels; you can also join the "offensive and defensive battle" designed based on Li Zicheng's attack on Shixia Pass... The carefully designed tourism projects have won the name of "Great Wall Culture" and also enhanced the villagers' their sense of belonging and honor.

The culture of the Great Wall is like a source of living water, driving Shixia Village to become rich. In 2022, Shixia Village officially took off the "hat" of a village with a weak collective economy.

From remote mountain villages that no one cares about to famous Great Wall cultural villages, people here have written wonderful stories at the foot of the Great Wall.

As the villagers of Shixia Village said in a letter to the General Secretary: "The Great Wall has given us a beautiful home, which we guard with heart. The Great Wall has also given us a beautiful life, and we are full of happiness."