Repairs to a section of wild Great Wall in Huairou district finished Monday, and it will be opened to the public pending approval from the municipal government.
A 2,200-meter stretch of Huanghuacheng, or the Yellow Flower Wall, has been made safer by the five-month repair project that began on May 25, with an investment of 5.55 million yuan ($835,454.39).
The total repair work covered 11,000 square meters and included the installation of lightning rods protecting it from the threat of lightning damage, waterproofing and reinforcement of the Wall.
All the construction materials were transported to the wall by mules because of the difficulty of accessing the wall along rocky roads
Its original appearance has been preserved to the greatest extent possible, according to a press release from the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage.
The Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall was built in 1404 during the Ming Dynasty. It is also known for its lake and mountain scenery, with some lower sections of the Wall submerged in water after a reservoir was built in the area in 1974.
The Wall had accumulated damage over the course of history, including landslide-induced collapses, earthquakes and cracks. Since 2004, when it was made a tourist attraction, people were not allowed to climb the Wall out of safety concerns due to a lack of repairs.
Visitors will be able to climb Huanghuacheng once the section opens to the public, according to a researcher at the protection department of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage.
The Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall Reserve is located in Jiuduhe Town, Huairou District of Beijing City. Some 70 kilometers from downtown Beijing and 35 kilometers from the center of Huairou, it is a unique tourist destination famous for its natural beauties and man-made marvels.
Editor: Susan
Date: Nov 18, 2010