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China’s Great Wall section in Shanxi damaged by coal-mining waste dumping
Damage began in 2007 after an unlicensed miner dug a trench through the Ming-era wall to dispose of excavation waste, a practice that continued after industry consolidation in 2013.
South China Morning Post reports that a remote Ming-era section of China’s Great Wall in Ningwu county, Shanxi province, has been damaged after nearly 20 years of using the site as a shortcut for dumping coal-mining slag.
According to a report by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the damage to the Guojiayao section started in 2007, when an unlicensed miner, Ningwu Chaokai Coal Industry, dug a trench through the structure to dispose of excavation waste.
The outlet says whistle-blowers repeatedly raised the alarm to officials, but the dumping continued, with CCTV adding that in 2013 Shenda Chaokai Coal Industry was formed by consolidating multiple mining teams and carried on using the breach to dump slag.