Five hundred years ago, the Great Wall was crowded with soldiers. Today, it is crowded with people from China and all over the world. Many visit the sections closest to Beijing. That is China’s capital city. Farther west, much of the wall is in ruins, and fewer tourists go there.
Only about one-third of the original Ming Wall still stands. Parts of the rest were buried by sandstorms or eroded away. Other parts were destroyed by looters or developers. Today, the Chinese government and supporters around the world are working to protect the wall. A campaign to restore it became popular in the 1980s. Soon, crowds came to explore the wall.
