No one is a hero, a renowned Chinese leader once said, until he
steps onto the Great
Wall. Nowadays too many Chinese want to become "heroes", as
they flood onto the Great Wall and carve their names on its
bricks.
The Great Wall has been suffering this graphic damage for many
years. Now - according to a Xinhua News Agency report, Saturday -
the Great Wall Association and the management of the Great Wall at
Badaling have initiated a joint campaign to curb the graffiti habit
and also invite proposals as to how the wall can best be patched
and repaired so as to better protect this world
heritage site.
In a recent interview with the media, Dong Yaohui, deputy
chairman of the Great Wall Association, spoke in heart-sick tones
of how no brick in the Wall seems to have escaped the graffitists'
hands.
He recalled accompanying a visiting dignitary to the Wall in
1998, and how the leader's daughter curiously touched or pointed at
the graffiti carved on the stones. He was unable to properly
present the grandeur of the Great Wall to these foreign guests, but
instead worried about how he would explain if they asked him about
these remarks on the Wall. He said he felt terribly ashamed of his
Chinese fellows who had carved on the bricks.
It is reported that tourists have carved remarks with knives, or
even painted on the wall with liquid inks and paint, in incisions
up to half a centimeter in depth. The earliest graffiti can be
traced back to the 1950s, but now the phenomena appear to be
becoming less and less apparent.
Chairman Dong has called on the public and tourists to join
hands to protect the Great Wall, the only structure of its kind on
the World Heritage List.
In Beijing, the municipal government has made great efforts in
this regard, proclaiming in August 2003 a local law to strengthen
protective measures for the Great Wall.
The municipality stipulates that all local government bodies and
individuals within the administrative region along the Great Wall,
as well as all tourists, foreign and domestic, are obliged to take
measures to protect the Great Wall.
Also in July 2004, more than eight hundred retired Chinese
generals made a proposal calling on the public to protect the Great
Wall.
They made their call on the 20th anniversary of late leader,
Deng Xiaoping, who inscribed the words: "Love China and Mend the
Great Wall" in 1984. A wave of protection activities have also been
initiated by Chinese people both at home and abroad.
(CRI November 6, 2005)
