How to make up for the lost sheep?, The Ming Great Wall was "Excavated" Technology | The Great Wall | The Ming Great Wall

Recently, Shanxi's "provincial protected" cultural relics and the famous Ming Dynasty's 32 Great Wall were irreversibly and severely damaged, with a gap dug by an excavator. Two suspect have been detained according to law and the case is under further investigation.

The Great Wall is an important symbol of the spirit of the Chinese nation and a highly iconic and recognizable world cultural heritage. However, the protection of the Great Wall is not optimistic due to long-term natural factors and human destruction. In recent years, incidents surrounding the protection of the Great Wall have been frequently reported. In 2016, the renovation project of the "Most Beautiful Wild Great Wall" in Liaoning Province raised widespread doubts about its existence. In 2021, the ancient Great Wall of Zijingguan and its surrounding environment were destroyed. In 2022, the Song Great Wall, located nearly 100 meters away from Wangjiacha Village in Kelan County, Shanxi Province, was destroyed. In addition, according to media reports, some residents along the Great Wall have also been stealing wall bricks, and they even sell them to tourists as souvenirs at a low price of 20-30 yuan per piece.

The data from authoritative departments provides more comprehensive and objective evidence. In 2012, the National Cutural Heritage Administration released the results of the Great Wall resource survey, which showed that the total length of the Ming Great Wall was 8851.8 kilometers, of which 6259.6 kilometers of artificial walls, less than 10% were well preserved, about 20% were generally preserved, about 40% were poorly preserved, and 30% were lost. The Ming Great Wall, which has a relatively short history and is well preserved, is still like this. The protection status of the Great Wall built in other dynasties can be imagined.

The current status of the protection of the Great Wall actually reflects the common "sweet troubles" faced by the entire field of cultural relics protection - China has a long history, brilliant culture, and abundant cultural relics resources, which is undoubtedly a unique advantage. However, the rich cultural relics resources often face relatively insufficient financial investment, talent team, professional strength, and social attention, making it difficult to obtain complete protection. Especially for some cultural relics resources that are geographically remote, not well-known, and have low market development value, they may not receive sufficient attention and attention for a long time.

How can we make up for the tragic incident of the Great Wall being "excavated" and better protect the Great Wall and a wider range of cultural relics resources? In this regard, relevant departments and specific practices in different regions have accumulated many effective practices and experiences. Summarizing and refining them, promoting their application, can help improve the level and effectiveness of cultural relic protection, and reduce the risk of similar incidents.

Firstly, improving legal norms and perfecting technical standards are important foundations for achieving the rule of law, standardization, and normalization of cultural relics protection. Taking the protection of the Great Wall as an example, the "Hebei Province Great Wall Protection Measures" implemented by Hebei Province, a major resource province of the Great Wall, have made clear provisions on the responsible parties and specific protection work for the protection of the Great Wall. The implementation of the Punishment Measures for the Destruction of Cultural Relics in the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area has provided a legal basis for the punishment of engraving and graffiti on the walls of the Great Wall. By analyzing the actual needs of cultural relics protection projects, researching, formulating, and revising relevant standards and specifications, we can provide standard basis for the maintenance and protection work of the Great Wall, and guarantee the quality of maintenance and protection projects.

Secondly, adopting new technological means can greatly enhance the protection of cultural relics. At present, in the protection work of the Great Wall, some areas have adopted digital methods and applied new technologies such as intelligent sensors to monitor the body and surrounding environment of the Great Wall, changing the traditional monitoring method relying on manual inspection. This can not only alleviate the problem of insufficient personnel, but also make monitoring work more comprehensive and accurate. Imagine if similar new technologies were adopted in the 32 Great Wall section, it would help to monitor and warn of destructive behavior in a more timely manner, and more effectively avoid this irreversible and serious destructive event.

Once again, mobilizing the enthusiasm of multiple parties and mobilizing their participation can help form a joint force for the protection of cultural relics. In the national park system for protecting cultural heritage in the United States, funding includes both federal funding and tax incentives to encourage investment and donations from all sectors of society. In China, the current funding for the protection of historical and cultural heritage mainly comes from the government, but some regions have also begun to explore diversification. In 2017, Shanxi, a major province of cultural relics, announced the Implementation Plan for Mobilizing Social Forces to Participate in the "Civilized Watch Project" for the Protection and Utilization of Cultural Relics, encouraging and guiding social organizations, enterprises, or individuals to participate in the protection and utilization of municipal and county-level cultural relics protection units and other immovable cultural relics through funding for repairs, claims, and adoption.

In addition, popularizing knowledge of cultural relics and improving awareness of cultural relic protection are also important ways to expand social participation in cultural relic protection. In this serious damage incident to the Thirty second Great Wall, one of the details reported by the media is intriguing. When two suspect were working near the Thirty second Great Wall, in order to save the journey, they used excavators to excavate the original gap of the ancient Great Wall into a large gap so that the excavator could pass through the gap. It is not difficult to see to what extent their knowledge and awareness of cultural relics protection are lacking. It can also be seen that continuously improving the public's knowledge and awareness of cultural relics through teaching, visits, research, dissemination and other means, attracting them to actively participate in cultural relics protection and inheritance, is of great significance for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of cultural relics protection.