Retiree rams home the need to protect ancient earthwork

Since her retirement, come rain or shine, 57-year-old Yuan Jianqin has spent most of her time on excursions along, and making records of, the Datong section of the Great Wall.

Yuan says that her passion in protecting the Great Wall stems from her childhood. Although she was born in Datong, Shanxi province, her family moved to Nankou town in Beijing, which lies close to the Juyong Pass of the Great Wall.

"My school used to organize excursions every Friday. I remember we would climb the Badaling section while chanting the famous line 'one who fails to reach the Great Wall is not a hero'," she recalls.