City walls: Preservation of living history in China

City Wall in Xi'an city, Shaanxi province [Photo/CGTN]

The past and present of the city walls

There are at least 6,000 ancient Chinese cities which used to have city walls, but only 10 still have relatively intact walls, according to He Yun’ao. Though the existing city walls are fragile, he added.

Weather and erosion have led to the damage of the city walls, but the primary causes for deterioration are the rapid development of modern cities and the lack of awareness for protecting these walls.

“In the past, there are always people who want to tear them down, and replace them with a more modern building, or to remove them to pave a road. Many have not realized that they are priceless relics,” said He.

“By making the walls a World Heritage Site, we hope that the remaining city walls could be well preserved,” said He Yun’ao.

The program was jointly launched by eight cities which still have intact ancient city walls, with several other cities poised to join.

The application work started in 2006, and now the city walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties have already entered the tentative list.

“In cities like Nanjing and Xi’an, the ancient city walls standing at the hearts of rapidly developed modern cities has formed unique comparisons between the classic cities and the modern ones, the inspirations they brought for the cities’ residents are irreplaceable,” said He.