The day was May 14, 2024, and it was special for residents of Shixia, a village in Badaling, a town in northwestern Beijing's Yanqing District. Why? 

That was the day the residents received a letter from General Secretary Xi. Nearly a month earlier, in April, residents of Shixia Village wrote to Xi, reporting their work in protecting the Great Wall and changes taking place in the village. 

In the reply letter, Xi said he was pleased to learn that the villagers had taken the initiative over the years to protect the Great Wall, inherit the Great Wall culture, and rely on its resources on their way to prosperity. Xi voiced the hope that the villagers will continue protecting the Great Wall as they protect their homes, carry forward the Great Wall culture and tell stories about the Great Wall well. 

"We are greatly encouraged by General Secretary Xi's reply. We vow to contribute our strength to helping build a strong socialist culture in China and promote Chinese modernization," says Liu Hongyan, one of Shixia's five fulltime workers tasked with protecting the Great Wall. 

In 2019, a team of fulltime workers was established to protect various sections of the Great Wall. Liu passed the recruiting process which included various tests, and in May 2019, she became one of the first hired from Shixia. 

Shixia is Liu's hometown. The village is located at the foot of the Shixiaguan section of the Great Wall. During the early 1980s, some of the villagers volunteered to protect the Shixiaguan section of the Great Wall. Liu's uncle, Mei Jingtian, was one of the volunteers.

"When I was young, Uncle Mei often came to my home, to have a rest, after he had patrolled the Shixiaguan section. After I grew a bit older, Uncle Mei asked me to accompany him while he was patrolling the Great Wall. My interest in this marvelous heritage developed when I was a little girl," Liu recalls. 

What are the major tasks of someone who works fulltime protecting the Great Wall? "Patrolling the Great Wall, taking photos, picking up garbage, and reminding visitors not to enter the section not yet open," Liu says. 

"It takes me four to five hours to walk the route, which extends more than 10 kilometers. When I am on the Great Wall, I ought to examine carefully the bricks. If I notice any serious damage, caused either by natural or human reasons, I will take photos, and then I will report the damages on an online platform established by the department responsible for protection of historical and cultural relics. What's more, I help clean steps of the Great Wall, and transport garbage," Liu explains. 

"Protecting the Great Wall as we protect our homes." This goal is shared by Liu and her uncle, as two generations of their family. Given the years of efforts by Liu's family, as well as the efforts of their fellow villagers, Liu says the Great Wall's Shixiaguan section is now better maintained compared with years ago. 

"Sometimes, my colleagues and I encounter visitors, who may come from Hebei Province (in North China). We remind those visitors the Shixiaguan section is not open. It is prohibited to draw on or carve into the bricks, and beverage bottles, garbage bags or things like that should not be dropped on the Great Wall. I am pleased to see many of the visitors are aware of environmental protection. They are willing to take their garbage away when they are leaving this place," Liu says. 

An increasing number of visitors have shown a willingness to learn the history of and stories about the Great Wall, and they want to help protect this splendid cultural heritage, Liu adds. 

Her uncle, Mei, turned 80 earlier this year. Liu says he is always telling the younger workers, "I am too old to climb onto the Great Wall frequently, like what you are doing every day. So, it's your obligation to continue protecting the Great Wall." 

Although he no longer patrols the Great Wall, Mei has another way to help protect this heritage. "My uncle is often invited by local schools to give lectures about the Great Wall. The youngest of my two daughters, Liu Jingyi, is excited every time my uncle goes to her school to tell the students about how we protect the Great Wall, in Shixia. My whole family is proud of Uncle Mei," Liu Hongyan says. 

What makes Liu Hongyan even happier is Liu Jingyi, who is preparing to enter high school, has decided to pursue "protection and restoration of cultural relics" and "inheritance of intangible cultural heritage" as part of her higher education. 

Liu Hongyan's family, as a family living at the foot of the Shixiaguan section of the Great Wall, is passing their determination to protect the Great Wall to successive generations of the family.

Photos from Interviewee

(Women of China English Monthly August 2024)

Editor: Wang Shasha