Plant built on Great Wall site triggers public furor

XI'AN - The destruction of a section of the Great Wall for the purpose of constructing a factory on the site in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province has triggered public furor.

The demolition of a section of the wall located near the village of Wujialing in the city of Yulin attracted attention after a netizen using the name "jixuelu" wrote about the demolition on Sina Weibo, the country's biggest microblogging site.

"The Great Wall in Yulin was razed and buildings are being built on it," the post said, calling for people to condemn the act.

A photo of a bulldozer standing under a weathered tower on the wall was also posted.

Netizens expressed their anger and blamed local relic authorities for failing to properly supervise the situation.

"Those in charge of construction should be held criminally liable and officials should be held responsible," said a netizen using the name "ami."

Zhu Jianping, a private entrepreneur who leased the land from the village to build the factory in question, said the project was suspended for a month after failing to receive a construction permit from urban construction authorities.

Zhu said the section of the wall had been damaged years before construction began.

"We didn't damage the Great Wall. It was damaged long before we started construction," he said.

Dai Feng, the director of relic management under the culture and sports affairs bureau of Yulin's Yuyang district, confirmed Zhu's remarks, adding that farmers took clay from the wall in the 1960s and '70s to make bricks at a local brick factory.

After the brick plant went bankrupt, the village leased the land to a driving school until last year, when the school's lease expired, Dai said.

Dai said the bureau issued a circular on Wednesday calling for the relocation of Zhu's plant.  Dai said the size of the wall section makes it hard to supervise, as it is 76 km long and has more than 200 towers.

"Currently, the biggest threats to the ancient wall are construction projects, such as roads and factories," he said.

The local relic department has organized a group to investigate the case and penalize relevant parties according to relevant laws.

Signs warning people to avoid damaging the wall will be built near the area after the factory is torn down, according to an official from the relic protection department of Yuyang district.

"The case rings an alarm for our relic protection work and we will strengthen our efforts to prevent similar incidents," the official said.