The Great Wall of China is disappearing due to neglect by Corina Ciubotaru

The Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is slowly fading away. It's the only man made structure that can be seen for space but the wind has eroded it so much that entire miles of it are now gone. In the regions where mud was used as primary building material, made during the Han dynasty, winds carried it away and gave birth to the greatest sandstorms in the country. Lookout towers have disappeared completely too and local authorities can do nothing much about it. The soil has eroded in the region due to massive agricultural exploitation and the only way to stop heavy winds would be to plant trees around the Wall. Large portions of it are being covered in mud, which buys more time for people trying desperately to find a solution. Locals have been using it in non-orthodox ways too; some have taken bits of it to use in pigsties, while a local mining company made a hole through it so the trucks can get through easier and built houses for workers using bricks from the Wall. The Great Wall is being visited by more than 10 million people every year and its loss would be a disaster not only for China, but to the entire cultural world. It's lasted for more than 2,000 years and it would be a shame if it wasn't saved. It's on top of the list of most endangered architectural sites and the Chinese government is just beginning to do something about that, tripling its budget for conservation of monuments.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070829/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_wall;_ylt=AmHHWMaLJbgLUuEkycS0K32s0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Edited by: Katarina Zerzanova