Mining ripping away chunks of Great Wall in rural areas
One of the Seven Great Wonders of the World is being threatened by mining.
Reuters reports that legal and illegal mines operating below the Great Wall of China are tearing chunks of the wall away and allowing the historic landmark to crumble:
About 200 km (124 miles) southwest of Beijing, in rural Laiyuan county in Hebei province, dozens of small mines are threatening the stability of the centuries-old wall as prospectors dig for copper, iron, molybdenum and nickel, state news agency Xinhua reported. Some mines have excavated within 100 meters of the wall.
Conservationists say that since many of the mines have been legally granted permits, there is little that can be done to conserve the wall, which snakes its way 6,400 kilometres across 11 Chinese provinces and draws millions of tourists.
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Comments
Bob
6,400 kilometres long??? Holy cow, that’s a lot of maintenance! Good portions of it are falling apart. Tear down 6,000km, 400km is long enough.