A new story of three young people and the ancient Great Wall

Young People Protecting the Great Wall (Youth School)

　　The majestic Great Wall has gone through thousands of years of wind and rain.

The Great Wall is an important symbol of the Chinese nation, an important symbol of the spirit of the Chinese nation, and a precious heritage bestowed to us by our ancestors. It needs to be well protected and passed on from generation to generation.

　　In recent years, with the advancement of the construction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park, the strength of the protection and research of the Great Wall has grown day by day, and there are many young people among them.

They are willing to sit on the "cold bench" and devote themselves to the protection of the Great Wall with rich professional knowledge and full of youthful enthusiasm, so that the ancient Great Wall will glow with new vitality in the new era.

We interviewed three young people who have been involved in the protection of the Great Wall for a long time, and listened to their stories about themselves and the Great Wall.

　　--editor

　　Shang Heng:

　　Understand the Great Wall, Protect the Great Wall

　　Conduct archaeological excavations at the Great Wall at General Pass in Pinggu, Beijing, go to Badaling Great Wall in Yanqing to record the program "Travel with Books", and go to Datong, Shanxi to shoot a documentary about the Great Wall... At the beginning of 2023, Shang Heng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Institute of Archeology, has a busy schedule It was full and busy running along the Great Wall.

　　Shang Heng's love for history and culture began when he was a child.

In 1991, 7-year-old Shang Heng climbed the Great Wall for the first time.

"I walked up to the eighth north floor of the Badaling Great Wall in one breath." After many years, Shang Heng still has a fresh memory of the scene at that time, "The city wall is winding and winding, and you can't see the end at a glance. It is very majestic!"

　　This trip aroused Shang Heng's keen interest in the Great Wall, and he began to collect various information about the Great Wall from books and newspapers.

On the National Day of 1999, accompanied by his family, 15-year-old Shang Heng hiked the "Wild Great Wall" for the first time, from dawn to sunset every day, and stayed overnight in the village at night.

From Gubeikou to Jinshanling, and then to Simatai, I walked for 3 days.

"Sometimes I walk for a day without seeing a single person. Although it is very tiring, it is very shocking to see the simple and natural beauty of the Great Wall that has gone through vicissitudes along the way." Shang Heng said with emotion.

　　In 2001, Shang Heng wrote a travel note of Huangcaoliang Great Wall, intending to post it on the Internet. He accidentally found a public welfare website established and operated by volunteers——Great Wall Station, and found that there were a lot of pictures and materials of the Great Wall in it. He opened his eyes.

Shang Heng then joined the Great Wall Station and climbed the Great Wall with netizens whenever he had time. Those broken walls, ruins, rubble, and even broken brick walls that ordinary people dismissed made him linger and forget to return.

For more than 20 years, he has visited the Great Wall in Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and other places on foot, with a journey of more than 3,000 kilometers.

　　In the process of walking the Great Wall again and again, Shang Heng felt that protecting the Great Wall is not an easy task.

"The Great Wall is large and widely distributed, and most of the areas where it is located are economically underdeveloped." Shang Heng said frankly, "Common people always feel that there is nothing to protect in those ridges and broken city walls."

　　"To protect the Great Wall, you must first understand the Great Wall." In 2007, Shang Heng, who was studying archeology at the History Department of Shanxi University, volunteered to sign up after learning that Shanxi had launched a survey of the resources of the Great Wall.

In more than two years, he followed the investigation team to more than a dozen counties and hundreds of beacon towers, and initially clarified the Great Wall beacon reporting system.

　　In 2010, Shang Heng joined the Beijing Institute of Cultural Relics (now the Beijing Institute of Archeology).

For more than 10 years, he has successively presided over the archaeological excavations of the Yanqing Liugou Great Wall Site, Yanqing Dazhuangke Great Wall Site, Huairou Jiankou Great Wall Site, etc., and completed "Research on the Great Wall of China in Past Dynasties" and "Archaeological Research on the Defense System of the Great Wall at Jizhen in Ming Dynasty" Research projects such as "Shanxi Great Wall Stele Inscription Documentation and Research".

　　The Great Wall is distributed in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Among them, the Beijing section is the best preserved, the most complex project, and the richest culture. It is the essence of the Great Wall.

In 2021, Beijing will select the Dazhuangke Great Wall in Yanqing and the Jiankou Great Wall in Huairou as pilot projects for research repairs.

　　Different from previous salvage repairs, research-based repairs reflect the characteristics of "repairing the Great Wall slowly, while researching and repairing".

During the on-site investigation, experts in various fields such as ancient architecture, materials, archaeology, and botany worked together to put forward suggestions from their respective professional perspectives to protect the Great Wall culture to the greatest extent.

"For the first time, we discovered relics of living facilities such as kangs and stoves in the Ming Dynasty on the top of the enemy's platform in the Great Wall of Beijing. We also unearthed daily utensils such as pots, plates, bowls, scissors, and shovels." Shang Heng said that this is not only consistent with relevant literature records, And it restores the daily life of the soldiers on the border in the Ming Dynasty. "These cultural relics have no shining colors, but through them, we can understand the real life of the soldiers on the border."

　　"In the past, we only observed the Great Wall on the ground and didn't know the buried part. The protection plan was difficult to be comprehensive and scientific. Only by archaeologically 'looking, smelling, asking, and cutting' can we find the 'root of the disease' of the Great Wall, and then we can prescribe the right medicine." Shang Heng believes , whether it is at the academic level or at the level of actual protection, research-based repairs are of great significance.

　　"The Great Wall is getting old, and we need to step up research to make it better protected." Shang Heng climbs the Great Wall almost every week, and his pace of research on the Great Wall has never stopped. "I hope that when people visit the Great Wall, , not only to see the majestic buildings and relics of the Great Wall, but also to learn more stories about the Great Wall and feel the endless spiritual power of the Chinese nation.”

　　Lu Tingting:

　　Be a good guardian of the Great Wall

　　The cold wind howled and messed up her hair. The girl in front of her didn't bother to tidy it up. She skillfully set up a tripod, set up a portable handheld weather instrument, and carefully recorded monitoring data such as wind direction, temperature, and humidity.

"These data, like the 'pulse condition' of the Great Wall, are the basis for good protection." She said that she has been engaged in field protection of the Great Wall in Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province for more than three years. This is her forty-sixth visit to the first pier of the Great Wall ——The starting point of the west end of the Ming Great Wall.

　　The post-90s girl named Lu Tingting is a native of Jiayuguan.

After graduating from graduate school, she returned to her hometown and joined the Jiayuguan Silk Road (Great Wall) Cultural Research Institute, and became a "gatekeeper" in the Field Cultural Relics Protection Department of the Great Wall Protection Research Institute.

Wearing hiking boots, a jacket, and overalls, sometimes kneeling down to measure, sometimes holding a pen to record.

"This outfit is convenient for going outdoors." Lu Tingting said. The first pier of the Great Wall is 6.7 kilometers away from Jiayuguan because it stands on the cliff on the north bank of the Kuolai River Valley, also known as "Doulai River Pier".

"Every time I come, I feel different." Lu Tingting majored in literature at the University. Listening to the whistling wind, she said that today is "a long wind blowing tens of thousands of miles, blowing across the Yumen Pass."

　　"The major is not right, I am a monk halfway through." When Lu Tingting first started working, she sat in an office for two years.

"In October 2020, apply to be transferred to a front-line protection position." Lu Tingting said with a smile. At that time, she felt that going to the front line was Shangguan City.

"I didn't know until I came here that there are as many as 400 inspections and supervisions of 30 immovable cultural relics scattered in the Gobi forest and inaccessible desert every month. It is simply a 'Wandering in the Desert'." , The car passed the Gobi, all the way to the destination, I was a little dumbfounded.

The "earth wall" in front of her eyes is quite different from the Great Wall in her mind: "Is this also the Great Wall?" The seniors in the same industry explained her doubts: The Great Wall in Jiayuguan is adapted to local conditions and is made of local materials. It is a typical Northwest earthy Great Wall.

　　"Like most people, when talking about the Great Wall, my first reaction is Badaling, a masonry wall." Although Lu Tingting was born in Jiayuguan and grew up under the Great Wall, she never paid attention to these inconspicuous "earth walls" in the past "At that time, I was deeply panicked." After that, Lu Tingting began to make up lessons for herself, borrowed various materials, "gnawed" large monographs, consulted colleagues and experts, and constantly enriched her knowledge.

After three years, Lu Tingting's understanding of the Great Wall has been greatly improved. She has mastered the use of various tools and instruments, and also understands the characteristics and formation mechanisms of various diseases such as surface weathering, flaking, cracks, and brittle alkali.

　　In recent years, the protection of Jiayuguan Great Wall has changed from guard protection to scientific and technological protection and research protection, from the protection of the Great Wall itself to the joint protection of the body and the carrier, and the problems of cracking and weathering of the wall have been effectively solved.

"Relying on accurate data, routine monitoring is incorporated into daily inspections, and digital monitoring equipment is used to conduct disease monitoring, image data collection and safety inspections on the Great Wall every month." Lu Tingting said that by analyzing various basic data collected, it can be done. Determine the cause of disease formation and growth rate, and provide a scientific basis for formulating maintenance programs.

　　"Every time I go out on patrol, various instruments and equipment such as drones, tower rulers, and flower poles are standard equipment; materials such as shovels, steel drills, and dog-tooth wires are necessary." Before going to the Shuangjingzibao site, Lu Ting Ting said while counting the equipment.

Arrive at the inspection point, start the drone, first overlook the overall situation of the Great Wall, and then use various measuring tools to measure the Great Wall itself.

"Changes to the wall, wind and rain erosion and insect damage must be recorded." Lu Tingting rubbed her hands while staring at the instrument.

Because many monitoring equipment cannot be operated with gloves, the cold wind on the Gobi will soon freeze hands.

　　"The collected data can be compared after returning home, so that we can know what to expect and 'cure the disease' in order to protect the Great Wall." Lu Tingting said, taking the Shuangjingzibao site as an example, affected by natural and human factors, there are Many diseases such as cracks in the wall and soda erosion in the wall have been eliminated. Based on the monitoring and measurement of more than 170 days per year, the research institute has taken reversible temporary protection measures according to the monitoring data at the first time, which has slowed down the damage to the greatest extent. The further development of the disease laid the foundation for the formulation of a feasible scientific and reasonable repair plan in the later stage.

Approaching the repaired wall, there is almost no difference between the original wall and the reinforced part, and even the color difference cannot be seen.

"Good protection is like this. It does not change the original state of cultural relics, does not destroy the value of cultural relics, but eliminates hidden dangers of disease."

　　Since the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1372), Jiayuguan, which took 168 years to build, is known as "the most majestic pass in the world".

Climbing to Guancheng, you can see far away, the wilderness and the sky are low, and Qilian is covered with snow.

As of now, the Great Wall in Jiayuguan City is 43.6 kilometers long, with 8 fortresses, 49 beacon towers and enemy towers. Every month, Lu Tingting and her colleagues inspect each point.

"The protection of the Great Wall is a long way to go." Lu Tingting said, "I will take root in the grassroots, rush to the front line, and be a good guardian of the Great Wall."

　　Guo Hongxiu:

　　Overcoming obstacles and defending the Great Wall

　　At 5:20 on December 4, 2022, an earthquake of magnitude 3.8 occurred in Lulong County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, awakening many residents, but fortunately there were no casualties.

　　Early in the morning, the staff of the Lulong County Culture and Tourism Bureau hurriedly notified the Great Wall protectors in the county in the WeChat group to check whether there was any damage to the sections of the Great Wall.

After receiving the information, Guo Hongxiu, a 32-year-old Great Wall protector from Sangyuan Village, Liujiaying Township, put on thick cotton clothes and gloves, took a garbage bag, carried a shovel, and set off on a motorcycle.

　　Since the 1980s, Guo Hongxiu's family has been guarding the wild Great Wall in his hometown by three generations of grandparents and grandchildren. Now he is the third generation of Great Wall protectors.

The section of the Great Wall he guards is 30 kilometers away from the county seat. There are mountains on all sides. The mountains are majestic, the mountain roads are rugged, and the motorcycle bumps up and down.

　　At the foot of the mountain, I couldn't get on the motorcycle, so I had to rely on my feet.

The thorns all over the mountains and plains, some can grow up to half a meter or even a person's height, and the thorns are painful even through the cotton pants.

Every few steps, Guo Hongxiu had to split the thorns with the shovel in his hand.

When encountering a steep slope, you have to climb up with your hands and feet. There are many rocks on the mountain, and they will roll down when you step on it. It takes a long time to climb the Great Wall.

"However, precisely because this section of the wild Great Wall is remote and difficult to walk, it has suffered less man-made damage, mainly due to natural weathering damage." Guo Hongxiu said that now his job is mainly to inspect whether the Great Wall is damaged or collapsed, " If you see rubbish, clean it up in time.”

　　There are four beacon towers in the section of the Great Wall that Guo Hongxiu is in charge of, one of which is relatively well preserved. It is divided into upper and lower floors and is called "the main building" by the locals.

Its base is a red stone, and the top is a brown wall brick; inside the window, you can also see the red arch stone against the window to prevent it from collapsing.

"When building the Great Wall, local materials were used. These red bricks are the stone materials from my hometown. I have the responsibility to protect the Great Wall." Guo Hongxiu said proudly.

　　Every time he goes up the mountain, sitting in the beacon tower on the top of the mountain is his happiest moment.

"When I was young, my grandfather took me to look for bullet holes on the city wall and beacon towers. My grandfather said that these were all left during the War of Resistance Against Japan." Guo Hongxiu recalled that his grandfather, as the first generation of Great Wall protectors, often took him with him. Going up the mountain to inspect the Great Wall, "He always said that the Great Wall is the precious property of the Chinese nation, it is history, and it cannot be destroyed."

　　The year before last, Guo Hongxiu's father twisted his ankle while inspecting the Great Wall, and his ankle became swollen all of a sudden, making him unable to walk.

"At that time, except for the mountains, there were no people around, and there was no signal on the mobile phone. It was not working every day, and the land was not working." Guo Hongxiu said, his father had to find a thick tree branch as a walking stick, and limped down the mountain.

After walking for several hours, the mobile phone had a signal, and finally contacted the family.

"Everyone found him on the mountainside and took turns carrying him down. Later, my father lay at home for more than a month before he could go down to the ground normally."

　　This sprain caused Guo Hongxiu's father's foot to become ill, and he could no longer climb the Great Wall.

Since then, Guo Hongxiu has become the main force in his family's inspection of the Great Wall.

For decades, the persistence of the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren has been hard work, but the whole family said that it is worthwhile to do their part to protect the Great Wall.

　　As a young generation of Great Wall protectors, Guo Hongxiu hopes to save money to buy a drone so that he can stand at the foot of the mountain and fly drones to patrol the Great Wall in the future. "I heard that some models of drones have cameras and voice alarm functions. It can patrol the Great Wall more timely and conveniently.”

　　Reporter Shi Fang Wang Jintao Zhang Tengyang

　　People's Daily