Restoration of ancient city wall fully underway in Pingyao

An aerial view of the ancient city wall that is currently under restoration in Pingyao, on April 5 [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

The restoration of the ancient city wall in Pingyao county – located in North China's Shanxi province – is in full swing. 

The Wall of the Ancient City of Pingyao is one of the four most well-preserved ancient city walls in China. In 1997, the Ancient City of Pingyao, including the ancient wall, was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. 

A crane swings into action as workers get busy restoring the wall. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

Unfortunately, the ancient wall partially collapsed due to heavy rainfall across Shanxi in October 2021.

After the collapse, Pingyao established special rescue group to repair the broken wall sections and increased the frequency of wall inspections, to identify and deal with potentially dangerous situations at the wall. 

Scaffolding lines the wall, as the work moves along at a brisk pace. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

"The materials used to repair the wall in the 1970s were basically old soil from the collapse. Although the old soil can be dense, its waterproofness and ability to resist natural disasters are still not enough," said Shao Shuai, a traditional dwelling technician in Pingyao. 

Therefore, modified rammed earth has been used to repair the wall since 2007 and it has proved that this has improved compactness, hardness and a waterproof performance.

It is expected that by the end of April, the two most severely damaged wall sections will have been completely restored.