The Great Wall of China is famous for being the largest man-made structure in the world stretching thousands of miles.

Despite surviving more than 2,000 years, it is now in danger of being destroyed by farmers.

Nearly two-thirds of the wall has now been damaged or ruined, according to Li Lin of the China Great Wall Society.

It was built by the Qin Dynasty about 2,200 years ago and was rebuilt by the Ming Dynasty 700 years later.

Despite surviving for more than 2,000 years, it is now being destroyed by farmers living around the structure who has been turning it into pathways, shelters and even fertilisers for crops.

In 2006, the government published the Great Wall Protection Regulations and a 10-year protection project.

But the regulations have not been properly enforced in rural areas.

 

Sections of the Wall north of Beijing and near tourist centres have been preserved and even extensively renovated.

In poorer parts of the country the Wall is sometimes used as a village playground or is used as a source of stones for rebuilding houses and roads.

More than 37 miles in the Gansu province may disappear in the next two decades.

The wall goes from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, an area that loosely represents the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.

 

Tags: China’, Great Wall