By Zhang Hui

The walls of the Ming Dynasty Tombs will be renovated and restored to the original glory of 600 years ago, in a bid to better manage the tombs.

Hu Hansheng, president of the Ming Dynasty Tombs Research Association, told the Global Times that the restoration project was currently under investigation, and will be implemented after receiving government approval.

The Ming Dynasty Tombs, located in Changping district, is a complex of mausoleums for 13 of the 16 emperors in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The tombs were listed in the catalogue of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2003.

The wall surrounding the imperial tomb complex was originally built in the Ming Dynasty, and acted as a barrier preventing local residents from entering the site, to protect the safety of the imperial tombs.

But since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), people were allowed to live and even build houses inside the perimeter, which greatly destroyed the wall, according to Hu.

"There is not much of the wall left due to man-made destruction and also weathering," Hu said, "the remaining ruins will also disappear in a few years if we fail to protect them."

Hu believes the restoration is critical. He told the Beijing Daily that some bricks of the wall that existed a decade ago have been washed away during storms.

A villager named Liu Lianrong whose house faces a section of the wall, told the paper that the remaining wall was 400 meters long when she was young, but currently only 100 meters is left.

The restoration of the wall could protect the imperial complex and also pave the way for the enclosed management of the site, said Hu.  

Enclosed management refers to the increasingly common practice at Chinese tourist sites of barring all vehicles from entering.

Gao Xiaohua, deputy director of Ming Tombs Special Administration, told the Beijing Daily that they would forbid all tourist vehicles from the tomb area, and there would be shuttle  buses to serve sightseers.

However, as the whole project was still in the investigative phase, the government is unsure how much of the wall could be restored. Hu said that some parts of the wall could never be restored. 

The Ming Tombs Reservoir, built in 1958, was built where part of the wall stood, and is therefore completely destroyed.

Shisanling township, within the area of the former wall, is home to around 30,000 residents, and in addition, there are a number of villages and farms in the area, mostly producing orchard fruit.

It is not known whether the restoration plan would call for the relocation of any of the residents. 

The whole restoration will be based on historical records and the remaining ruins, and would not affect tourists, said Hu.