What is it about going to a famous place that makes you feel like you need to “leave your mark by defiling the spot with your name?” It’s a particular problem, as you might imagine, at the Great Wall of China. China’s solution? Let people do it—in a few specific spots.
The Guardian reports that Chinese authorities plan to section off a few parts of the nearly 3000-year-old wall as designated graffiti zones in hopes that people will stop carving up the rest of the famous monument. According to the official news:
The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall has frequently had graffiti written on it in English and other languages, according to a statement from the district’s publicity department.
A report on Beijing Evening News on Friday said lots of newly carved graffiti in foreign languages has appeared on the Mutianyu section, far more than the Chinese-language graffiti.
The No 5 Fighting Tower building is a popular spot for writing graffiti, with most of it in English, the report said.
Curse those English-speaking tourists. Still, the ploy seems like a clever idea—a better one than the old plan, which was charging people $120 to write their name on a fake Great Wall of China. [ECNS via The Guardian]
Image via Hung Chung Chih/ Shutterstock.com
