This Day, That Year

ItemfromAug26,1993,in ChinaDaily:Workersare repairinga30-metersection oftheGreatWallthatcollapsedonAug14becauseof torrentialrainsandhundredsofyearsofneglect,say officialsattheBeijingrelics bureau.

Thesectionofthewallat Simatai,about150kilometersnortheastofBeijing,is scheduledtoreopentothe publiconSept30.

“A content rating system would pose a threat to freedom of speech. Teaching children how to use the internet wisely is the real solution.”

The Great Wall, one of the world’s ancient wonders, is under attack from both man and nature.

It stretches more than 21,000 km from the northwestern province of Gansu to North China’s Hebei province.

But nearly 30 percent of a 6,200-km section of the wall built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) has disappeared, according to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The agency says less than 10 percent of that section is considered well-preserved.

In 2006, China issued a regulation to protect the wall, setting up 500-meterwide buffer zones on both sides, where construction activities are banned.

Last month, the cultural heritage agency launched a campaign against vandalism and theft of bricks from the wall. Stolen bricks are being sold as souvenirs in many parts of the country.

The campaign involves regular inspections and random checks by authorities in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

Since 2009, more than 20 cases of illegal activity have been reported, but the protection of the wall is not an easy task.

The government is drawing up new plans to better protect the national treasure.

student at Pace University in New York