Built in ancient times to keep (1) Mongols out, the Great Wall is a historical treasure for China. (2) for thousands of kilometers across northern China, the World Heritage site is a (3) that attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year.
But the massive length of the wall is also its greatest weakness. In rural areas, the wall continues to disappear with (4) regularity due to erosion and vandalism.
Aside from tourist spots near major cities such as Beijing, most of the wall is in poor condition and research indicates that 74 percent of it is poorly protected.
"In the summer of 2014, we discovered that the walls were (5) . There were people buying (6) from villagers to make Chinese medicine, and each scorpion was worth 5 cents. Five cents meant nothing to adults, but was (7) to children. Since scorpions resided between bricks, children toppled the Great Wall to catch them," said Huo Jien Ren, a Great Wall volunteer.
Hou added that the rural areas of the wall, without the promise of tourists, lack (8) , which leads to a lack of protection from officials.
Besides (9) , the weather itself is largely to blame for the problem, according to local (10) A Mao, who did not want to give his family name.