China's Great Wall damaged by workers looking for shortcut

famous historical structure, it is important to consider what it is.

The Great Wall is a series of battlements stretching across vast sections of northern China and it is in widely varying states of disrepair. It is sometimes found in places with villages or towns, but often in remote areas of various provinces.

The oldest portions, dating back thousands of years, were rammed earth walls and now appear as mounds, not even immediately recognisable as the Great Wall.

Much of the degradation of the wall has been attributed to local farmers stealing bricks or stones to build houses or animal pens.

More recently, the government has gone to greater lengths to preserve the Great Wall and, as a result, these two people are in a lot of trouble.

The public in China won't think that these actions have been extremely unusual, given the previous destruction of the Great Wall, but they will be upset by them, given the enormous historical and cultural importance of this structure - not only for China but for all of humanity.