The Great Wall of China is 'Disappearing'

For people who have not been to the Great Wall of China, it might be time to book a ticket before the UNESCO World Heritage site is completely gone. According to an article in The Beijing Times, China's internationally-known architectural phenomenon is crumbling.

The Great Wall of China is being slowly eroded not only by natural conditions but also by reckless human activity, reports MSN. 

The historical wall built in China's Ming-era spans over 5,600 to 13,000 miles.

While the massive Wall is described as a "single unbroken structure" by MSN, the New York Times states that there are artificial and natural parts of the Great Wall.

The exact length of the Great Wall varies, depending on whether or not the missing sections of the wall are included into the measurement. Currently, 1,200 miles have disappeared from the Great Wall.

One of the reasons why the Great Wall has started to crumble is natural erosion by weather and plants. The Beijing Times cited a survey conducted last year by the Great Wall of China Society, which explains that parts of the Wall have weathered away, while others sections have begun to decay due to plant growth.

Dong Yaohui, vice president of the GWCS, explains, "Even though some of the walls are built of bricks and stones, they cannot withstand the perennial exposure to wind and rain."

"Many towers are becoming increasingly shaky and may collapse in a single rain storm in summer," Yaohui adds.

Increased human activity and reckless actions have also contributed to the Great Wall diminishing.

According to Zee News, Villagers who live near the marvelous construction have taken up the practice of breaking off and stealing thick grey bricks from the Great Wall.

The bricks or slabs that have Chinese characters carved into them are sold for 30 yuan each or ($4.80) to local residents, said the Chinese newspaper. Meanwhile, the rest of the bricks are brought back to the village and used to build homes.

According to the state-run Global Times, there is a fine of 5,000 yuan ($805) for stealing bricks from the historical construction, notes MSN.

The fine does not seem to prevent the villagers from taking more bricks from the Great Wall, however, since there really is no formal organization that enforces the rules, Jia Hailin, a cultural relics protection official in Hebei told The Beijing Times.

"... Damage could only be reported to higher authorities and it is hard to solve when it happened on the border of two provinces," Hailin said.

Tourists have also contributed to the disappearance of the Great Wall as more and more people continuously explore parts of the construction that have not been repaired, resulting in more destruction.