An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 25, 2025 shows tourists visiting the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall in Luanping County of Chengde, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo by Zhou Wanping/Xinhua)

The 19th session of the 16th Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress will be concluded on Friday, during which the draft regulation on Great Wall protection underwent its first review. According to the draft, Beijing plans to enhance the diversity of methods for utilizing Great Wall resources while ensuring its safety and expand public participation in the protection and utilization of the cultural icon of China.

The draft covers aspects such as protection, management, utilization and heritage transmission with the aim to strengthen the protection of the Great Wall and standardize its utilization practices, according to a chinanews.com report.

Zhang Man, a deputy director of the Academy of Architectural Heritage at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, told the Global Times on Thursday that the new regulation is a landmark move in tackling the current bottlenecks in the Great Wall protection. 

It specifies that the relevant cultural relics departments in Beijing will promote the establishment of a coordinated protection mechanism for the Great Wall across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. 

Cross-regional coordination among multiple departments has long been a challenge in the Great Wall protection, as conservation efforts vary greatly from one area to another, Zhang said. 

Protection will also be extended to related cultural relics related to the Great Wall but not part of its main structure, according to the draft.

Zhang noted that expanding the scope of protection is a current trend in heritage conservation, reflecting a shift in people's perception toward a more systematic approach to safeguarding cultural heritage.

The draft proposes that Beijing will establish an informatized management platform for the Great Wall to conduct monitoring work, providing support for preventive conservation.

Relevant departments are encouraged to employ scientific and technological methods that do not cause damage to the Great Wall and carry out multidisciplinary collaborative research to improve the levels of research-based restoration, preventive conservation, safety protection, monitoring and early warning, as well as inspection and supervision. 

Under the draft regulations, Beijing will intensify efforts to explore and interpret the value of the Great Wall. This includes organization of archaeological reports, conservation archives, historical documents, and oral histories , and a thematic interpretation and display system for the Great Wall will be established.

Support will also be devoted to relevant departments in organizing Great Wall-themed exhibitions at museums, exhibition halls, local history museums, village history museums, post stations and squares along the Great Wall, the draft said.

Beijing supports international exchanges and cooperation in the preservation and restoration of the Great Wall, exhibitions and displays, scientific research and other related activities, thereby promoting the exchange and mutual learning among civilizations, it said.

Zhang said that strengthening residents' sense of identity and participation, and developing industries closely tied to their daily lives based on local conditions, are essential for the sustainable protection of the Great Wall. 

Leveraging the Great Wall resources, Shixia village near Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing's Yanqing district has developed branded homestays and recreational agriculture, carving out a new path for rural cultural and tourism development. 

Mei Lanfen, a member of the Great Wall protection team in the Shixia village, hoped that the public would continue to protect and cherish the Great Wall as they would protect their own homes.

After finishing her daily patrol at the unopened section of the Great Wall around the village, Mei told the Global Times that the public awareness of Great Wall protection has been raised in recent years. "I hope the new regulation can help enhance preventive conservation, risk monitoring and early warning," Mei said.