Two arrested for trying to create 'shortcut' through the Great Wall of China

Two people have been arrested after attempting to create a shortcut through the Great Wall of China with an excavator.

A 38-year-old man and 55-year-old woman in the Shanxi province were accused of digging through the ancient structure for easy access to their construction work happening nearby, local police said.

They allegedly expanded an existing opening in the Great Wall – known as one of the seven wonders of the modern world – into a wide gap large enough for their excavator to pass through to “save the distance of travel”.

Their excavation caused “irreversible” damage to the integrity and safety of that portion of the wall, the police added.

The portion they excavated can be seen in a photo provided by police. / Credit: CNN

Police in Yuyou county detained the two suspects after receiving reports about the damage on August 24.

The case is under further investigation, according to the statement.

The Great Wall, which acted as a key northern defense for successive Chinese Empires, has a total length of more than 20,000 kilometers (12,427 miles) and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Its earliest sections date back more than two thousand years and were later extended throughout China’s ancient dynasties.

It is also home to a relatively well preserved watch tower and is listed as a provincial cultural relic.

Chinese authorities have in recent years stepped up protection of the Great Wall and cracked down on acts of vandalism.

In 2021, three visitors were detained and fined by police for scrawling on the famous Badaling section of wall with a sharp object.

Later that year, Chinese authorities banned two foreign tourists from the Great Wall after they trespassed onto an undeveloped part of the Mutianyu section of the wall.