A public hearing is held by the Yanqing District People's Procuratorate at the Chadao ancient site in Yanqing district of Beijing on April 23, 2025.
A survey team from the Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) conducted a follow-up review of Great Wall protection efforts in Yanqing district, Beijing. The team carried out on-site inspections to assess the implementation of procuratorial recommendations and to evaluate practical outcomes of integrating Great Wall protection with rural vitalization initiatives.
In March 2025, in accordance with directives from the SPP and the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate, the Yanqing District People's Procuratorate discovered clues indicating damage to cultural relics, including the southern section of the city wall remains in the Chadao ancient site, during a special public interest litigation supervision campaign on the protection of historical and cultural heritage.
Confronted with complex governance challenges, prosecutors initiated public interest litigation procedures in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics and Beijing's administrative regulations on the protection of the Great Wall. Procuratorial recommendations were issued to relevant authorities.
On April 23, 2025, an open public hearing was held in the ancient site. Members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), people's supervisors, cultural heritage experts, volunteers, village representatives and firefighters gathered to deliberate on rectification plans. While endorsing the preliminary proposals, participants also offered forward-looking suggestions, emphasizing that "protection should not mean freezing heritage in time, but rather exploring ways to activate and sustainably utilize cultural relics so that they remain part of contemporary life."
Following the hearing, and under continuous supervision by the procuratorial authorities, rectification efforts were advanced swiftly and effectively. The Yanqing District People's Procuratorate, together with procuratorates from Huailai and Chicheng counties in Hebei province and several universities, established a Great Wall culture and rule of law education base within the Chadao ancient site, injecting new vitality into heritage preservation.
This case is a microcosm of Yanqing district's efforts to protect the Great Wall through public interest litigation.
In recent years, the district procuratorate has innovatively applied digital and intelligent tools — including satellite remote sensing and drone patrols — to build an integrated "air–space–ground" evidence collection system. By leveraging technological empowerment, continuous and wide-ranging supervision over the Great Wall and its surrounding environment has been achieved, providing robust technical support and delivering tangible protection results.
Beyond Yanqing, the Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Department of the SPP has, in collaboration with the National Cultural Heritage Administration, conducted follow-up reviews in Qinghai, Gansu and Liaoning provinces to further strengthen coordination between administrative law enforcement and procuratorial public interest litigation in Great Wall protection.
Xu Xiangchun, head of the SPP's Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Department, noted that follow-up reviews must be carried out in a substantive manner. For cases where rectification is refused, litigation should be initiated in accordance with the law, while common issues should be addressed through source-based and systematic governance.
He stressed the importance of harnessing technology and professional expertise to improve the precision of identifying leads, investigating and collecting evidence, and advancing high-quality case handling in the protection of cultural heritage.
He also called for deeper coordination between law enforcement and judicial bodies, stronger cross-regional cooperation, and greater engagement of deputies to people's congresses, CPPCC members and volunteers in building a comprehensive and coordinated framework for Great Wall protection.
