Beijing to open more parts of Great Wall to tourists

Beijing’s Great Wall sections are the most popular among visitors (photo by Louise Cukrov)

Authorities in Beijing have announced plans to open more sections of the Great Wall to tourists.

The city will open the Huanghuacheng and Hefangkou sections of the Wall to accommodate a rising number of tourists. The move is intended to reduce pressure on the existing areas of the Great Wall open to tourists, such as Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai and Juyongguan.

“These Great Wall sections are overloaded on weekends and holidays,” Xinhua reported Kong Fanzhi, Chief of the city’s Cultural Relics Bureau as saying. He added that people have already started climbing the closed sections of the Great Wall, damaging the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The 600km Beijing section of the Great Wall is one of the best preserved and most popular with visitors.

A recent survey found that the Great Wall measures 21,196km – considerably longer than previous estimates.

By Mark Elliott, 10 June 2012, Sunday 1:53 AM