Mr. Xi, Tear Down that Wall!
China’s Great Wall has been pierced by Genghis Khan, the Manchus, and now, allegedly, a couple of construction workers named Zheng and Wang who wanted a shortcut.
Authorities in China arrested two people for smashing a path through a section of the ancient wall, a cultural icon and United Nations-protected heritage site.
The area of the breach was a broken-down section far from the restored segments most Chinese and foreign tourists are familiar with.
The government of Youyu County, hundreds of kilometers (miles) west of Beijing showed a dirt road cut through a section of the wall against a rural landscape, along with the two suspects, identified as a 38-year-old man surnamed Zheng and a 55-year-old woman surnamed Wang.
The pair wanted a shorter route for some construction work they were doing in nearby towns, the government report said.
I mean, I guess I can see how the Great Wall would get in the way of commuting!