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The Great Wall of China was severely damaged recently as two workers decided to dig a giant hole through the wall. They wanted to build a shortcut for construction work near the 32nd Great Wall. The Youyu County police have detained a 38-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman and the case is under investigation.
The wall was built in 220 BC and reconstructed continually up until the Ming Dynasty in the 1600s, as per BBC.
According to Tutor ABC Chinese, the wall was effective and kept semi-nomadic invaders out. This was the main concern for the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, who had just founded the Qin Dynasty at the time.
The Great Wall of China served to help Chinese soldiers identify threats
The Great Wall of China consists of a number of fortifications built across the Chinese states and Imperial China in 220 BC. The walls were first constructed as early as the 7th century and then the first emperor Qin Shi Huang joined the process in 220-206 BC.
The border fortifications were built to keep away invaders from northern territories, which would be Mongolia and Russia in the modern day, as per Britannica. The whole architecture basically acted as a line of guard posts. It helped the soldiers identify possible threats and signal reinforcement troops in case of an invasion.
The Huns or the XiongNu were the nomadic groups in Ancient Central Asia who often infiltrated and looted the Chinese northern border. They were known for their mobility with horses and Qin Shi Huang's Qin Dynasty and the future dynasties needed a way to stop the invasions.
The wall proved to be a successful hindrance that kept the Huns at bay in the majority of cases. Although it was not effective against small groups of armies who could climb through the sides of the wall, it could stop the horseback riders, as per The History Channel.
The nomadic troops were lured to attack small sections of the walls with gaps instead of having a large ground as fighting space. The Chinese reinforcements would then immediately arrive as soon as they were alerted with a fire signal.
Some nomadic armies did manage to infiltrate through the defenses. However, historians argue it would have been much worse without the Great Wall protecting China, according to Tutor ABC Chinese.
The "irreversible damage" caused by two construction workers
The Youyu County Public Security Bureau detained two construction workers, Zheng, 38, and Wang, 55, according to a press release last week.
The authorities said they rushed to the section of the wall near Yangqianhe on the afternoon of August 24 when they were first informed of the situation.
According to the New York Times, the two workers had used an excavator to widen an already existing gap between the two sections of the wall. They had reportedly been accused of digging through the wall and making a giant hole in the prestigious architecture built during the Ming Dynasty.
The 32nd Great Wall was one of the best-preserved parts from the era between the 14th and 17th centuries.
The workers had made a shortcut to access a nearby construction site. Police are questioning the pair and reported that they have caused "irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of the cultural relics.”
The wall became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and stretches over 13,000 miles from Shanhaiguan in Hebei province to the Jiayuguan in Gansu province in the west.
The damage to the wall has been a recurring event, with locals stealing bricks, building shrines, and practicing other forms of vandalism.
In 1983, Deng Xiaoping the Chinese leader, declared the campaign "Love China, repair the Great Wall," to protect the national treasure from being damaged.
The authorities continue to try and uphold the history and prestige of the Great Wall of China in the 21st century.
