XI'AN: Gansu Province, where the Great Wall ends, has begun a major effort to protect and restore its section of the Wall after years of damage at the hands of both man and nature.

The province launched a thorough investigation of its section of the Wall in June. Gansu's section accounts for 4,400-kilometres of the 50,000-kilometre Great Wall.

"We have found that the Wall has been seriously damaged and is in need of urgent rescue," Zheng Lansheng, director of the Gansu Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage's Cultural Relics Protection Department, told China Daily on Tuesday.

Experts investigating Gansu's section of the Wall have found that in some sparsely populated areas, villagers have taken bricks from the ancient structure to build their own houses. In one extreme case, a road had been cut through the Wall.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage selected Gansu as the first trial province to launch such an effort under a national plan to protect and restore the Great Wall.

Zheng said the province had already set up its own provincial- and village-level systems to protect Wall.

Every village near the ancient structure is required to set up a group to protect the wall.

Weather damage caused by rain, flooding and wind as well as burrowing by ants and mice are the major natural factors undermining the Wall's structural integrity.

Human activities like the removal of bricks and earth for construction have added to the damage, said the deputy director, who took part in the field investigation of the Wall.

The Great Wall was built over the course of more than 2,000 years, ranging from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1649-1911), covering more than 20 dynasties.

"The investigation into conditions around the Great Wall in Gansu is ongoing. We will make a complete protection plan once the investigation is completed. We will put the plan into effect after it is approved by the central government next year," the director said.

(China Daily 12/13/2006 page3)