The Great Wall of China is being slowly degraded due to several factors. (Photo : Reuters)
The local governments of the Chinese capital Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei will work hand in hand to protect sections of the Great Wall that are bordering the three administrative areas.
According to Beijing's cultural protection authority, the united action also marks further integration of the three cities.
An official told Beijing Times that the capital is set to sign a cooperation framework agreement with the two cities, sealing their joint efforts to safeguard the iconic Chinese wonder.
Shu Xiaofeng, director of the Beijing Department of Cultural Heritage, said that the agreement will be handed to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to ensure synced implementation.
Huge sections of the world's largest human-made structure, which dates as far back as the 7th century B.C., are located in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.
In the past, protecting the wall has raised several issues at its being covered by different administrative areas.
For instance, the Beijing-Hebei border runs along the center section of the Great Wall. Measures aiming to repair and manage the section of the wall are often different in each city, Liu Zhimin of the Hebei Department of Cultural Heritage remarked, adding that this made protecting the said area difficult.
Meanwhile, Dong Yaohui, vice-chairman of the China Great Wall Society, lauded the initiative of the three regions.
"It's nice to see that the integrated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei has pushed governments in the region to protect the relic together. This could serve as an example for the protection of boundary sections elsewhere," Dong said.
The Great Wall spans 15 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, running 21,196 kilometers.
