On March 17, Badaling Great Wall special district office received
an unexpected special gift: a piece of the Great Wall and a letter
of apology from a young boy from abroad.
The extremely special delivery came in a posted parcel on which
there was nearly illegible Chinese. According to Zhao Xinzhong, the
clerk of the office who received the package, he was surprised when
opening it and found it contained something like an old brick. He
read the attached letter: a Chinese Canadian boy (his father's
family was from Hong Kong) had traveled to China with a group of
Chinese Canadians who went to find their family roots. He had never
been to China before and was excited when he came to the Great
Wall. There he found a piece of the wall and decided to bring it
back to Canada as souvenir from his trip. In time though his father
discovered what he had done, and furious, told him to return it
with an apology.
Last autumn there was a similar situation when a young Japanese boy
traveled to the Badaling Great Wall and being excited, couldn't
help carving his name on it. After returning home he told his
father about it. To his surprise, his father was very angry, and
got in touch with the Badaling Great Wall special district office
to show his willingness to erase the words with a generous
donation. He sent a letter of apology too.
Of
these events, a reporter with the Beijing Star Daily made an
interview with a principal of Beijing Historical Relics Institute.
The principal pointed out that the Great Wall not only belongs to
China, but also belongs to the world because it is a world heritage
site that gives evidence of the antiquities of man. However, the
Great Wall is first and foremost a Chinese heirloom and needs the
love and respect of all of who visit it.
(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, March 20, 2003)