BEIJING has called up a team of dedicated Great Wall monitors to protect it from damage caused by tourists, adventurous hikers and party revelers.

The Great Wall receives an estimated 10 million visitors a year, mostly to the 10 kilometers of wall open to tourists at Badaling, the nearest stretch to Beijing.

The resultant traffic had taken a heavy toll on the structure, prompting the move to employ local villagers to keep watch, Beijing's cultural heritage administration said Wednesday (Feb 15).

Less than 20 percent of the original facade of the wall near the capital had been preserved well, said Yu Ping, deputy director of Beijing's cultural heritage administration.

"Almost every brick at Badaling has been carved with people's names and graffiti," Yu said.

More adventurous visitors climb wilder, crumblier sections that are not officially open to the public, making them potentially dangerous and more susceptible to damage.

Stretches of the wall near the capital have also become popular sites for summer raves.

The United Nations listed the Great Wall as a World Heritage Site in 1987 and it is protected against development by Chinese law.

But it is not clear how effective the new wall-watching team will be. Earlier reports said locals set up ladders at unopened stretches, allowing visitors to climb onto the wall for a price, and have used its heavy bricks to build their own homes.

Editor: Wing