The Great Wall in Shixia Village

In the early morning, standing at the entrance of Shixia Village, Badaling Town, Yanqing District, Beijing, one looks up to see the Great Wall winding up the steep mountain ridge. The bricks and stones, weathered by the passage of time, seem to connect one time tunnel after another, linking ancient and modern civilizations.

Waiting at the foot of the mountain early on was Sister Liu Hongyan, the Great Wall protector from Shixia Village. Seeing the reporter's hesitation, Sister Liu smiled and said, this is just the beginning.

The Great Wall at Shixia Section, located southwest of the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area in Yanqing District, Beijing. After a difficult climb using both hands and feet, I finally reached the top of the Great Wall. Amidst towering mountains and deep valleys, the Wangjing Tower, General's Tower, Mandarin Duck Tower, and Spoon City Bastion stand in mutual view, with the large curve of the "Luoguo City" adding to the wonder.

The Shixia Village, located at the Shixia Pass, once held the same strategic importance as the Badaling Pass and was under the jurisdiction of the Changzhen Juyong Road during the Ming Dynasty. As a military stronghold directly serving the capital, it was part of the Great Wall defense system and a key route for access to Beijing from beyond the border.

Since the founding of New China, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the "children of the Great Wall" living here have guarded the Great Wall as if it were their own home, driving rural development by leveraging the resources of the Great Wall, painting a new picture of comprehensive rural revitalization characterized by beautiful scenery, thriving industries, and rich culture.

Entering the Village History Exhibition Hall, stone rammers, door stops, city gate plaques... Over a hundred exhibits narrate the historical origins of this former Great Wall fortress. Here, the reporter met Mr. Mei Jingtian, who was instrumental in leading the entire village in the protection of the Great Wall.

Mei Jingtian, who grew up at the foot of the Great Wall, is now years old. He still remembers the scene when his older siblings carried him up the Great Wall and they climbed joyfully together in the year the People's Republic of China was founded. He said that the wind was fragrant back then.

Since the year, a batch of important sections of the Great Wall have been successively announced as national key cultural heritage sites. However, due to the incomplete establishment of people's protection awareness and natural weathering, the time-worn Great Wall is scarred. To prevent this precious heritage from disappearing, Mei Jingtian began to protect the Great Wall on his own initiative, dissuading tourists from climbing the wild Great Wall and defacing it, and has been doing so for many years.

In the year, the "Love My China, Repair My Great Wall" campaign was launched nationwide, sparking a wave of enthusiasm for protecting and restoring the Great Wall. Under the persuasion of Mei Jingtian, more and more people voluntarily handed over the scattered bricks and stones of the Great Wall to the state.

In the year, the Great Wall was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO. In the year, the Regulations on the Protection of the Great Wall were officially implemented. Under the call of Mei Jingtian, the Shixia Village Great Wall Protection Association was established, becoming the first farmer organization in Beijing dedicated to the protection of the Great Wall. In recent years, despite changes in personnel, the guardianship of the Great Wall remains steadfast.

To protect the Great Wall, under the leadership of Mei Jingtian, everyone has taken turns in recent years, stopping those who tried to steal bricks from the Great Wall and preventing camping on the Great Wall. Some tourists do not understand and argue, but the villagers all understand that protecting the Great Wall is protecting their own home, and they must continue to protect it.

Built because of the Great Wall, thriving because of the Great Wall, the Shi Xia Village, surrounded by mountains, has gained new vitality in the new era.

In the year, after written exams, interviews, and physical fitness tests, the village's first batch of 10 full-time Great Wall protectors officially took up their posts, with Liu Hongyan being one of them. Tasks such as patrolling the Great Wall, monitoring for dangers, cleaning stone steps, and dissuading uncivilized behaviors... After officially starting work, Liu Hongyan patrols the Great Wall at least once a week, each time taking about five to six hours.

With the regular army, we ordinary villagers haven't been idle either; we still insist on going up the mountain to guard. Almost all the villagers in the village, except for the elderly and children, have participated. "The village 'two committees' cadres and the leader of the Great Wall Protection Volunteer Service Team, Gu Shumei, said. The volunteer service team spontaneously organizes activities to the next month, in addition to patrolling, they also carry out activities such as order maintenance and civilization promotion for Great Wall protection.

A decade ago, Shixia Village was a little-known mountain hamlet. With the construction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park and the deep integration of culture and tourism, the cultural connotations of the Great Wall have been further explored and have driven economic and social development. Now, leveraging its favorable ecological advantages and rich Great Wall resources, Shixia Village has adopted a model of "village collective leadership, wealth-generating talents (enterprises) driving, and farmers participating," paving a path focused on the homestay industry and integrated development of agriculture, forestry, and tourism.

In recent years, Beijing has launched nearly a hundred Great Wall protection projects and introduced the "Beijing Great Wall Cultural Belt Protection and Development Plan (Year - Year)" and the "Great Wall National Cultural Park (Beijing Section) Construction and Protection Plan," propelling the protection of the Great Wall to a higher level.

The head of the Yanqing District Cultural Heritage Bureau stated, "In the future, we will make the most of this unique and precious heritage, continuously explore the cultural value of the Great Wall, integrate the cultural heritage resources, cultural resources, and natural resources around the Great Wall, promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, and allow the ancient Great Wall to showcase a new era."

Life is definitely better now. With the establishment of the Great Wall National Cultural Park and the construction of the Great Wall Cultural Belt, people's awareness of protecting the Great Wall has strengthened, and our work as protectors has become much smoother. Elder Mei Jingtian, still vigorous, said, "I will continue to guard the Great Wall, passing the baton from generation to generation!"

Journalist's Notes:

The Great Wall is a representative symbol of the Chinese nation and an important emblem of Chinese civilization, embodying the spirit of self-improvement and the patriotic sentiments of unity and perseverance. Over the years, the Great Wall has witnessed the great changes of the new China and the continuous transmission of the Chinese cultural heritage and the flame of civilization from generation to generation. Shixia Village promotes the culture of the Great Wall, tells the stories of the Great Wall, and inspires more people to understand and protect this precious historical heritage, which is bound to shine with new brilliance in the new era.