Reuters reported that China Great Wall is falling victim to development as legal and illegal mines tear vast chunks out of the hills below the landmark, conservationists warn.

Voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the 6,400 kilometers wall snakes its way across 11 Chinese provinces and draws millions of tourists every year mostly to restore sections near the capital, Beijing. Away from the tourist trail, however, some parts of the wall are being allowed to crumble away.

About 200 kilometres southwest of Beijing in rural Laiyuan county in Hebei province, dozens of small mines are threatening the stability of the centuries old wall as prospectors dig for copper, iron, molybdenum and nickel. Some mines have excavated within 100 meters of the wall.

Mr Dong Yaohui Vice Chairman of the Great Wall Society said but since many of these mines have legal permits, there is nothing conservationists can do. He said that "The exploitation of the mineral resources falls under the jurisdiction of the Land Resources Bureau, so if the bureau issues mining permits to the mining companies, they can legally extract the mineral resources within areas designated in the contract."

Mr Dong said "But in this process the Land Resources Bureau does not take into consideration the Great Wall as a factor, or consult the opinion of the Department of Cultural Heritage as there is no rule requiring a consultation as such. So this creates the mess in organization."

Each year, the department of Cultural Heritage is given funds to repair damaged segments of the wall, but Mr Dong said it cannot prevent that damage from taking place.

He said that "Money is not the major issue in the protection of the Great Wall. If you just put down a rule requiring that mining cannot take place within a specific distance from the Great Wall, would that cost money?"

He added that "No, it wouldn't cost anything."

(Sourced from Reuters)