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Popular Archaeology Popularity is not always a good thing, as this report relates. 
It may be difficult to believe that the world's largest man-made structure - recently reported to be two and half times longer than previously thought - could suffer from overcrowding, but such is the case at the Great Wall of China, where visitor demand over the past decade has inspired many stories of unsustainable tourism.Last week, in response to growing crowds of domestic and international tourists, Beijing announced that it will open two new sections of the Great Wall formerly off limits to the public. City officials told the state news agency Xinhua that the four parts of the Wall currently open to tourists are so overcrowded on weekends and holidays that individuals are climbing walls and damaging the structures. According to the Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau, the Wall's Huanghuacheng and Hefangkou sections will be opened to the public following necessary repairs and renovations, while the already-open Mutianyu and Badaling sections will also be extended. The Bureau's chief, Kong Fanzhi, said the initiatives will serve to better protect the Great Wall by diverting visitors and reducing the load on the parts of the fortification currently open to tourists. As tourism demand grows, however, it remains to be seen whether the initiatives will act as much more than a stop-gap. All across China, other sections of the Wall have been threatened by a wide array of factors, from modernization to mining to vandalism to sandstorms. According to a 2006 study by the Great Wall Society of China, about 20 percent of the Wall is in reasonable condition, 30 percent is in ruins, and the remaining 50 percent has already disappeared. One obvious challenge for cultural protection authorities is the sheer size of the structure, which consists of a series of sections built between the 3rd century BC and the end of the Ming dynasty in 1644, and which traverses 11 different provinces. The wall was actually a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, extending generally east-to-west across the northern borders of China. It was built in part to protect against intrusions by various nomadic groups and military invasions by various other peoples or forces. Several sections were being built as early as the 7th century BC. Most of the currently visible wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty. A preliminary study released in 2009 estimated the wall to be 8,850 kilometers long (5,499 miles), but the most recent state survey, announced earlier this month, measured it at an astonishing 21,196 kilometers (13,171 miles). A national law was announced in 2006 to protect the wall from graffiti, removal of bricks, carving on bricks, and other damaging activities, but its enforcement has reportedly been lax, especially in non-urban areas. The national law also charges every member of society, including citizens, legal entities and organizations, to protect the Wall and report illegal activities to the government.
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