On August 24th, officials brought two people into custody after receiving an anonymous tip that someone had created a giant hole in the great wall. After searching the area, they encountered Zheng and Wang, the pair who had used an excavator to widen a previous hole in the wall.

According to officials, they were looking to create a shortcut to move their construction equipment faster. Officials have also said that this has caused “Irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of the cultural relics”. 

While the case was solved less than twenty-four hours after police received a tip, the damage was already done. The section that was damaged is located in the western part of the wall along a piece known as the thirty-second Great Wall, renowned for its relatively good preservative condition and historical value to researchers. The Great Wall has been a protected UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987, regarded as a cultural and historical location. It remains to be seen what will become of the two construction workers, but they may be facing criminal vandalism charges pending further investigation. According to a report from the Beijing Times in 2016, as much as 30% of the wall has disappeared entirely, with only the remaining 8% still well preserved.

It seems this year has had no shortage of landmark desecration, whether it be smashing a shortcut through the Great Wall of China, carving into the Colosseum in Rome, or spray-painting the Vasari Corridor in Florence, the pace of tourist terrorism seems to only be increasing.