It may have seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.
According to an online notice by local authorities, two individuals allegedly used heavy machinery to remove a significant portion of the Great Wall of China in Shanxi province, in an apparent effort to create a shortcut.
The accused pair utilized an excavator to widen an existing gap, enabling their heavy machinery to pass through, as per the notice issued by Youyu County security officials.
As stated in the translated notice published on Aug. 31 by CNBC, the motive behind their actions was to shorten their journey. The suspects, Zheng (38) and Wang (55), are both residents of Inner Mongolia.
Case solved ‘the same day’
According to the notice, an investigation into the damage was initiated and resolved on the same day. Officials became aware of the damage on the afternoon of Aug. 24, swiftly arrived at the scene, and apprehended the culprits operating the excavator.
The area of the wall affected by the incident belongs to the Ming Dynasty era, characterized by relatively well-preserved side walls and beacon towers, as detailed in the notice.
While certain sections of China’s Great Wall have fallen into disrepair, the portions constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) are regarded as the best-preserved segments and are frequently depicted in photographs and travel brochures.
According to Britannica.com, this particular section from the Ming Dynasty spans approximately 5,500 miles, which is less than half the total length of the wall.
The Great Wall was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
A challenging summer for renowned sites
This incident is the latest addition to a series of significant events involving damage to globally renowned tourist sites this summer.
In June, a tourist was caught on camera using a key to carve “Ivan+Hayley 23” into a brick wall of the Colosseum in Rome. Subsequently, the offender submitted a letter of apology to the city’s public officials, claiming ignorance about the ancient origins of the 2,000-year-old amphitheater.
Names are seen carved on a wall inside Rome’s Colosseum in Rome in 2015, a reminder that tourists behaved badly prior to the pandemic too.
Filippo Monteforte | Afp | Getty Images
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