Gansu Province, where the Great Wall ends its lengthy journey, has begun preservation and restoration work on its section of the Wall after years of damage at the hands of both man and nature.

The province launched a thorough investigation of its section of the Wall in June, which amounts for 4,400-kilometres of the 50,000-kilometer Great Wall.

"We have found that the Wall is severely damaged and is in need of urgent rescue," Zheng Lansheng, director of the Gansu Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage's cultural relics protection department, told China Daily yesterday.

Experts investigating Gansu's section of the Wall have discovered that, in some sparsely populated areas, villagers have used bricks from the ancient structure to build their own houses. In one extreme case, a road had been cut through the Wall.

Zheng said the province already had its own provincial- and village-level Wall protection systems.

Every village near the ancient structure is required to set up a protection group for the architectural marvel.

Weather damage caused by rain, flooding and wind and burrowing by ants and mice are the major natural factors undermining the Wall's structural integrity.

Human activities like the removal of bricks and earth for construction have added to the damage.

The Great Wall was built over more than two millennia, ranging from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), covering more than 20 dynasties.

"The investigation into conditions around the Great Wall in Gansu is ongoing," Zheng said.?"We will make a complete protection plan once the investigation is completed. We will put the plan into effect after it is approved by the central government next year."?

(China Daily December 13, 2006)