The Great Wall, widely distributed across 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government of China, is a representative symbol of the Chinese nation and an important symbol of Chinese civilization, as well as the world's largest linear cultural heritage in terms of scale and volume. In order to protect, inherit, and utilize this precious heritage well, China has incorporated the related work into the construction scope of the Great Wall National Cultural Park. This is a *** cultural protection and development strategy, whose core purpose is to protect and inherit the *** cultural heritage of the Great Wall, while promoting the integration of culture and tourism and high-quality development in the areas along the Wall.

　　In today's world, when people mention China, they think of the Great Wall; when they mention Chinese civilization, they also think of the Great Wall. The Great Wall is a representative symbol of the Chinese nation and an important symbol of Chinese civilization. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made important instructions and comments on Great Wall protection on multiple occasions. On May 14, when General Secretary Xi Jinping replied to a letter from the villagers of Shixia Village, Badaling Town, Yanqing District, Beijing, he encouraged everyone to lead more people to understand and protect the Great Wall, and to pass down this precious wealth left by our ancestors from generation to generation.

　　Mei Jingtian is a villager of Shixia Village. He is 80 years old this year and has grown up at the foot of the Great Wall since childhood, witnessing the vicissitudes of the Great Wall. In the past, due to insufficient awareness of protecting the Great Wall and natural weathering, the Great Wall suffered severe damage. Taking Beijing as an example, before the launch of the "Love China, Repair the Great Wall" campaign in 1984, although there were about 600 kilometers of the Great Wall within its territory, only about 100 kilometers remained with intact walls and slightly damaged watchtowers and battlements. The elderly man could not bear to see the precious Great Wall heritage disappear, so he voluntarily became a volunteer to protect the Great Wall, and has done so for 40 years.

　　Later, at the initiative of Mei Jingtian, the Shixia Village Great Wall Volunteer Protection Association was established. This is the ** farmers' organization in Beijing dedicated to protecting the Great Wall. To protect the Great Wall, not only are residents along the Wall taking action, but the state has also launched a large-scale plan. Today, the Badaling Great Wall, where Shixia Village is located, is already an important part of the Great Wall National Cultural Park under construction. The Great Wall National Cultural Park is a *** major cultural project, officially launched in 2019, led by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Development and Reform Commission, involving 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities with Great Wall relics from various dynasties, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, and others, among which Hebei and Qinghai are key construction areas. In 2021, the state issued the "Great Wall National Cultural Park Construction and Protection Plan," making specific arrangements for the construction.

　　Bai Sizuo, Second-Level Inspector of the Resource Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: The purpose is to protect not only the Great Wall itself and its environmental features, but also all cultural protection units, world cultural heritage sites, intangible cultural heritage, and newly discovered and excavated cultural relics along the Great Wall, as well as the traditional villages and traditional lifestyles along the Wall.

　　Yu Haikuan, Deputy Director of the Cultural Relics Management Office of Yanqing District, Beijing: Before the introduction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park plan, efforts were mainly based on emergency rescue and repair of the Wall itself. After the introduction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park plan, there has been a shift toward deeper cultural excavation and the organization of the connotations of Great Wall culture.

　　The Great Wall National Cultural Park is different from a park in the traditional sense. It is a broader concept, within which five major projects—protection and inheritance, research and excavation, environmental support, cultural and tourism integration, and digital reproduction—are deeply advanced, taking a new path of protection, inheritance, and revitalization and utilization.

　　Tang Yuyang, Executive Vice President of the Institute of Architectural Heritage at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture: It is not just the walls, but also the mountain ranges, the villages below, and the rivers—the scope is particularly large. We need to maintain the integrity of the entire space, carry out protection, including display, including rural revitalization, and also cultural and tourism matters.

　　The primary task of the Great Wall National Cultural Park is to protect the Great Wall systematically and holistically. Today, Mei Jingtian's daughter and niece have both become full-time Great Wall protectors, patrolling on foot five times a week, rain or shine. Across the country, there are more than 6,800 Great Wall protectors like them. Great Wall protectors are uniformly managed by the Yanqing District Cultural Relics Bureau. Their main work is to pick up litter, maintain the environment, patrol the walls, and take photographs for records.

　　Although the state issued laws and regulations such as the "Great Wall Protection Regulations" in 2006, some people still intrude into areas not open to the public, commonly known as the wild Great Wall. These red dots and red crosses are marks they leave behind. Therefore, another important task for Great Wall protectors is to dissuade these people.

　　Since Yanqing is the district with the richest Great Wall resources in Beijing, with nearly 180 kilometers of the Wall within its territory, manpower alone is far from sufficient for patrols, so technological means such as BeiDou satellites, drones, and digital brains have been widely put into use, achieving "human defense + technical defense."

　　Li Haiquan, head of the Cultural Relics Management Section of the Great Wall Management Office of Yanqing District, Beijing: At present, we have designed a total of 18 drone routes. If manual inspection were used, the farthest points might take three to four hours. With drones, the time is greatly shortened, and patrol and inspection work is completed in about ten minutes.

　　The Great Wall is a representative symbol of the Chinese nation and an important symbol of Chinese civilization, embodying the Chinese nation's spirit of unremitting self-improvement and the patriotic sentiment of unity and indomitable perseverance. Protecting and inheriting this historical and cultural heritage is our common responsibility. Mei Jingtian's granddaughter, Mei Jingwen, attends Badaling School at the foot of the Great Wall. For many years, this school has consistently integrated the inheritance of the Great Wall spirit and culture into daily teaching and encouraged students to engage in practice as little volunteers.

　　At present, the construction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park across the country is steadily advancing. Beijing has established the country's ** Great Wall protection and restoration practice base; Gansu has created "digital archives" to permanently preserve Great Wall resources; 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have all issued construction and protection plans for the Great Wall National Cultural Park... In Yanqing, Beijing, the emergency repair rate of the brick-and-stone Great Wall within its territory has reached 88%, and is expected to be completed by 2026.

　　Protecting the Great Wall well is far from enough; we must also make good use of Great Wall resources to promote cultural and tourism integration and high-quality development in the areas along the Wall. At present, various localities have made certain progress. For example, Shanxi has built the Great Wall No. 1 Tourist Highway, Beijing has created the Capital Region Great Wall National Scenic Byway, and Liaoning has created the cultural IP of the "Eastern Starting Point of the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall"... All localities are fully tapping Great Wall resources to create Great Wall cultural belts and Great Wall economic belts.

　　Bai Sizuo, Second-Level Inspector of the Resource Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Building the Great Wall National Cultural Park is a major decision and deployment made by the central government and a major cultural project promoted by the state. Through scientific planning and rational utilization, it aims to string the beads into a line and connect the lines into an area, so that the resource endowments of the Great Wall can be further transformed into development advantages.

　　Shixia Village carefully cares for the Great Wall as if guarding its own home, and has thus gained development. In 2020, Shixia Village was selected as a national key village for rural tourism. Homestays, restaurants, cafes, and libraries are flourishing, with as many as 21 homestays alone.

　　In the past, Shixia Village's economy was very backward, and people could only make a living by growing a few crops such as corn. Today, with the development of rural tourism, it receives more than 40,000 tourists each year, and the per capita income of the whole village has exceeded 45,000 yuan. Protecting Great Wall resources and inheriting Great Wall culture and spirit have not only enabled local development but also continuously brought greater value into play.

　　As the sun sets and lights come on, the majestic Badaling Great Wall presents a charm in the night completely different from the daytime. A Great Wall concert presented by Chinese and foreign musicians is being staged. "Descendants of the Dragon," "By the Shores of Lake Baikal," and "The Second Waltz"—familiar pieces push the atmosphere to a climax and make the Great Wall night extraordinarily beautiful. The perfect combination of the Great Wall and music makes people linger. There are many other events held at the foot of the Great Wall, such as the immersive performance "Dream Back to the Great Wall: Cranes from All Directions," specially prepared for tourists visiting the Great Wall at night.

　　These cultural and tourism integration activities have all been specially designed and approved by relevant departments. They protect cultural relics while fully leveraging their value. They are a deep excavation and utilization of Great Wall culture and spirit, and they also bring the Great Wall to life. Next, Yanqing will create more cultural products around the Great Wall.

　　Protecting the Great Wall is not only to protect this precious cultural relic, but also to protect the culture and spirit of the Chinese nation represented by the Great Wall. The Great Wall belongs to China and to all humanity. Protecting, inheriting, and utilizing this unique precious heritage in the world will surely bring more hope and opportunities to the Chinese nation.

　　Bai Sizuo, Second-Level Inspector of the Resource Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Great Wall culture has injected fresh vitality into small towns and mountain villages. We believe that in the future, the construction concept of the Great Wall National Cultural Park will be more deeply rooted in people's hearts, and the ancient Great Wall will shine even more with the brilliance of the times.

　　Strolling along the Great Wall, we see magnificent landscapes, profound history, and also the Chinese nation's spirit of unremitting self-improvement and the patriotic sentiment of unity and indomitable perseverance. While putting protection ** and inheritance first, we should also make good use of this unique and precious heritage, continuously tap its value, integrate the cultural relics resources, cultural resources, and natural resources of the Great Wall and its surroundings, promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, polish this "golden名片," and let the ancient Great Wall show a new look of the times.