'Wild Wall' hikers unfazed by fines

A hiker enjoys the snowy scenery on the Jiankou Great Wall in Huairou district, in February 2009. Photo: IC

Hikers on the wild Great Wall appear undeterred thus far by a new regulation stipulating that they should be fined for doing so. Meanwhile, the cultural relics preservation center responsible for fining such hikers says enforcing the penalties is infeasible.

Hikers who visit parts of the Great Wall that are not open to the public can be fined up to 500 yuan ($75.15), and agencies that organize hikes can be charged as much as 30,000 yuan ($4,509), according to new cultural relics preservation regulations that were implemented on December 1.

Sections of the Great Wall that have not been restored are off-limits to the public because they are dangerous to climb, Zhang Yong, the captain of the Beijing Blue Sky Voluntary Rescue Team told the Global Times Thursday.

The Blue Sky team, a nonprofit group under the Beijing Red Cross Foundation, made over 20 rescues this year, about five of which were emergency cases of hikers who fell while exploring the 'Wild Wall.'

'There are many sections of wild Great Wall in Huairou and Changping districts and in Miyun county, but the hottest destination for hikers is the Jiankou Wild Wall, which never lacks visitors,' Zhang said.

'Visitors are not allowed to hike the Jiankou Great Wall,' Li Jianhua, director of the Huairou Cultural Relics Preservation and Administration Center, told the Global Times Thursday.