Straight through the earth wall: Two people have been arrested in northern China after allegedly digging through the Great Wall of China. This was announced by local authorities. Their goal was to create a shortcut. The breach is said to be large enough to drive an excavator through, and the damage is „irreversible.“ Construction of the structure took well over 2,000 years. While only old mud walls like the one in the photo are still visible in western China, the world-famous sections of the wall near Beijing date back to the Ming Dynasty (1386-1644). The wall was more than 20,000 kilometers in total length. In 1987, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.