June 9 is China's second cultural heritage day, and the discussion about the Great Wall's possible selection as one of the seven new world wonders should remind us about how we treat our heritage sites.

On the new world wonders' website, the Great Wall currently ranks eighth in voting. The website will select seven new world wonders to replace the seven old wonders, six of which sadly no longer exist.

Chinese shouldn't be concerned about whether or not the Great Wall is selected. The real cultural and historical value of a world heritage site is not determined by online voting results, but what they mean to us as human beings.

Instead, the most important message from the selection is the disappearance of the other six old wonders, whose cultural and historical value exist today only in name. It should cause us to pause and reflect on the state of our own world wonder that sits in our backyard.

The disappearance of the world's most fascinating creations is a loss to mankind's cultural heritage and should serve as a reminder that other similar wonders may suffer the same fate unless effective measures are adopted to protect them.

Even if the Great Wall fails to be selected as a new world wonder, it will not lose any of its historical and cultural significance to Chinese. What is more urgent than the selection is protecting and maintaining the Wall.

Except for well-known sites such as Badaling Great Wall, Mudianyu Great Wall and Simatai Great Wall in suburban Beijing, which are protected as tourist destinations, many sections in various provinces are in states of disrepair, while other areas are on the verge of disappearing for good, because of rain or wind erosion and damage caused by human activities.

Today, the length of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is now just 2,500 kilometers, and many parts of it will likely collapse without effective protection.

Cultural heritage sites require a commitment of both time and finances. We should be prepared to offer both to protect something we cherish.

Of course, it would be nice for the Great Wall to be selected as one of the new wonders of the world. But the title will be meaningless if we fail to protect it.