"The Great Wall is a representative symbol of the Chinese nation and an important symbol of Chinese civilization, which embodies the Chinese nation's spirit of self-improvement and patriotism of unity and perseverance." On May 14, General Secretary Xi Jinping wrote back to the villagers in Shixia Village, Badaling Town, Yanqing District, Beijing, profoundly explaining the unique value of the Great Wall and the great significance of protecting it, Encourage everyone to "pass on the precious wealth left by our ancestors from generation to generation".

The Great Wall is the largest existing cultural heritage in China, distributed in 15 provinces. In recent years, various regions have vigorously promoted the protection, inheritance and research of the Great Wall, carefully guarded this unique treasure, and made the historical and cultural heritage of the Great Wall shine with new era glory.

Protection

All sectors of society participated in donation to help repair the Great Wall

In early summer, the Badaling Great Wall in Beijing is full of tourists. Standing on the winding Great Wall and looking into the distance, Su Wenyang, 67, said with emotion, "The Badaling Great Wall has changed a lot, which was unimaginable in the past."

In the early 1980s, Su Wenyang was a reporter from the News Department of the Beijing Evening News and interviewed the Great Wall in Badaling for many times. At that time, only four enemy towers in the north and south of the Badaling Great Wall were open to tourists, and many other sites were in long-term disrepair.

On July 5 and 6, 1984, the Beijing Evening News and the Beijing Daily respectively published news - in order to protect historical relics and accelerate the repair of key sections of the Great Wall, a social sponsorship activity of "Love Me, Build My Great Wall" was held. Immediately after the news was released, it received the attention of the central leadership and relevant departments. Deng Xiaoping, Xi Zhongxun and other leading comrades wrote inscriptions for the "Love Me, China, Build My Great Wall" activity launched by some units in the capital, which inspired the enthusiasm of Chinese people at home and abroad to protect the Great Wall.

After the news was published, a continuous stream of people came to donate. Thousands of calligraphers and painters, singers and doctors from all over the country have held free paintings, free performances and free clinics to do their part in repairing the Great Wall. The event was also reported by dozens of foreign newspapers and television stations, which stimulated the enthusiasm of Chinese people at home and abroad to protect the Great Wall. International friends from more than 30 countries and regions also participated in the donation.

On July 28, 1984, the Badaling Great Wall restoration project sponsored by the society started; After the completion of the project on September 17, visitors can climb to the highest point of Badaling and overlook the beautiful scenery of the Great Wall.

By 1994, the whole country had received more than 60 million yuan of sponsorship for the repair of the Great Wall at home and abroad. The relevant departments used the sponsorship to repair 14 key sections of the Great Wall, including the Badaling North 8 to North 10 Chengtai, Mutianyu 3 enemy towers, Simatai Great Wall, and Yanhe City Great Wall.

Inheritance

Generations of Great Wall protectors have been watching and gathering solid strength

With a climbing stick in hand and a backpack on his back, Li Haiquan, the head of the Great Wall Cultural Relics Management Section of the Badaling Great Wall Management Office, strode up the mountain, stopping occasionally to check whether the wall was cracked or flickering. Li Haiquan is a native of Dongguan Village, Yanqing District, Beijing. He has walked this mountain road to protect the Great Wall for more than 30 years.

Protecting and inheriting historical and cultural heritage can not be separated from human power. In recent years, the strength of Great Wall protection and research is growing. Generations of Great Wall protectors have been keeping watch and actively innovating, gathering a solid force to protect the Great Wall and inherit culture.

In the early morning of May 13, Zhang Peng, leader of the Shanhaiguan Great Wall Protection Volunteer Service Team in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, opened the weather forecast software, checked the wind direction and wind force, confirmed that the weather was conducive to the launch of UAVs, and began the Great Wall protection patrol.

The Shanhaiguan Great Wall Protection Volunteer Service Team is composed of 10 members, including village cadres and Great Wall researchers, who grew up at the foot of the Great Wall and have strong feelings for the Great Wall. As a new generation of Great Wall protectors, they use drones, big data, professional software and other scientific and technological means to guard the ancient Great Wall, becoming a new landscape for the Great Wall patrol.

Han Genzhu, a 61 year old Great Wall protector, is carrying out daily patrol work at the site of the Great Wall of Qin and Han Dynasties in Xiaohetai Town, Wulateqian Banner, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Bayannur City is an area with abundant types of existing Great Wall in Inner Mongolia. There are four kinds of Great Wall, namely, Zhaobei Great Wall in the Warring States Period, Qin Han Great Wall, and Han Wai Great Wall, totaling 1007 kilometers.

With the construction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park advancing, various places have continuously innovated the way to protect the Great Wall, and the protection of the Great Wall has continued to improve. In 2021, the Great Wall National Cultural Park Construction and Protection Plan issued by the National Cultural Park Construction Leading Group proposed to build the Great Wall National Cultural Park as an important symbol of carrying forward the national spirit and inheriting the Chinese civilization.

On April 26, Jiumenkou Great Wall Museum, located at the foot of Jiumenkou Great Wall on the water and Suizhong County, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, opened to the public. Its completion marks that the Great Wall National Cultural Park (Liaoning Section) has made significant progress.

Activation

Digital technology enables the Great Wall to "travel" and experience

In the Urban Big Data Application Research Center of Beijing University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, two computers display the weather and vibration information of 8 Great Wall points, including Juyongguan and Huanghuacheng, in real time.

"By monitoring the deformation and damage of the Great Wall, we can timely find and assess the extent of damage to the wall and provide strong support for the protection work." Liu Fei, associate professor of the Urban Big Data Application Research Center of Beijing University of Architecture and Construction, said that the monitoring data can also be used to develop preventive measures.

For thousands of years, many sites of the Great Wall have been damaged, some are on the verge of collapse, and some parts of the ground have disappeared due to multiple factors such as natural erosion and weathering, human production and life, and changes in historical environment.

To cure "disease", first look for "cause". In the past four years, Liu Fei led the team to carry out the Great Wall environmental vibration disaster monitoring project in Huairou District and Changping District of Beijing, and the wall research repair project - digital information collection project in Dazhuangke Great Wall of Yanqing. "More and more scientific and technological means have been used to prolong the life of the Great Wall." Liu Fei said that the team is improving the database. It is expected that all the masonry Great Wall in Beijing will complete aerial monitoring and digital 3D modeling this year.

The full use of digital technology enables the protection of the Great Wall, making the protection of the Great Wall change from "passive rescue protection" to "active preventive protection", and also creating more possibilities for tourists to "travel around" the Great Wall.

Relying on the "National Engineering Technology Research Center for the Protection of Ancient Murals and Earth Relics" established by the Dunhuang Research Institute and others, Gansu has broken through and mastered a series of key technologies for the protection of the Great Wall, including anchor grouting reinforcement technology and jacking reinforcement technology, becoming an important technical support for the protection of the Great Wall. The team of Zhang Yukun, professor of the School of Architecture of Tianjin University, carried out the acquisition project of "3D images of the whole line of the Great Wall" in 2018. It took four years to carry out 3D measurement of the whole line of the Ming Great Wall, collected more than 2 million real pictures, and established a 3D database of the whole line of the Great Wall. At the beginning of 2022, the team will organize the 3D aerial survey results into an exhibition, which will be displayed in Tianjin Museum.

(Reporter Shi Fang, Shi Ziqiang, Liu Hongchao, Gong Xiangjuan, Song Chaojun, Zhai Qinqi)

Share to let more people see