Great Wall misstep

A crumbling, 5-mile section of China’s Great Wall was repaired with sand and concrete, resulting in a flat, sidewalk-like surface that has been described as “ugly.” The repair to the 645-year-old section of the wall, in Suizhong County in northeastern China, was done in 2014 but only recently came to light because, while that portion of the wall can be visited, it is not open for trekking. 

The Great Wall of China was never one continuous wall but is made up of many smaller sections built over hundreds of years throughout the north of the country that, all together, stretch roughly 13,000 miles. Many parts, some dating to the seventh century BC, are in need of repairs. The most commonly visited portion of the Great Wall is the 5,000-mile-long section built during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644).