Great Wall's cultural heritage unearthed

Construction history

Construction of the Great Wall took more than 2,000 years, peaking from the Qin (221-206 BC) to Han (206 BC to AD 220) dynasties and in the Ming Dynasty.

According to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the wall is 21,196 km long and passes through a total of 15 provinces, administrative regions and municipalities. Some 8,850 km of the wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.

In January 2019, a master plan for the structure was released by the State Council, China's Cabinet. The aim is to comprehensively guide protection,－renovation, management and academic research related to the wall until 2035.

In July, 2019, a national plan to establish Great Wall cultural parks was released. Since then, the National Cultural Heritage Administration has listed 83 key sections of the structure as candidates for these parks, and some 20 projects for such venues were formally approved earlier this year.

Chai Xiaoming, director of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, said: "Because the Great Wall is a cultural icon in China, most Chinese people think they're familiar with it. Actually, we aren't. Its-specific cultural value still needs to be better explained and studied in depth."

The Great Wall is hugely significant for Chinese. In 1933, Chinese troops fought invaders for months along the structure near Beijing during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).As a result, the wall is often seen as a symbol of fortitude and strength.