For almost twenty years, coal-mining waste has ravaged a secluded part of the Great Wall in Shanxi province, with local authorities ignoring repeated warnings. Only after widespread public outcry and media attention did the government step in to investigate. The mining company involved faced fines and executive detentions, and the local government has now committed to restoring the site and safeguarding its future.
The wall’s Guojiayao section, located in Shanxi province, first sustained damage in 2007 when an unlicensed mining operator, Ningwu Chaokai Coal Industry, cut a trench through the wall to discard excavation debris, according to a report by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. In 2013, several mining teams merged to form Shenda Chaokai Coal Industry, which continued exploiting the breach to dump slag rather than transport it along longer mountain routes. The law also mandates the placement of physical boundary markers, yet these were not installed along the Guojiayao stretch until 2025, CCTV said.
Because of its isolated location, the lesser-known Guojiayao section was particularly exposed to neglect, even though China’s 2006 Regulation on Protection of the Great Wall requires heritage authorities to take immediate action and alert higher-level officials whenever damage is reported.
On Tuesday, the Ningwu county government pledged a sweeping crackdown on heritage damage and illegal slag dumping, promising emergency repairs, structural reinforcement, ecological restoration, and disciplinary action against officials found to have neglected their duties.