China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) has announced plans to establish a national-level protection and research center to better preserve the Great Wall, Beijing Times reported.

Although China has made efforts in Great Wall protection since 1961, the state of the Great Wall is nevertheless worrying, said Dong Yaohui, an expert specializing in Great Wall protection. According to Dong, around 513.5 kilometers of the 6,259.6-kilometer Great Wall are well preserved, accounting for 8 percent of the entire length. Nearly 20 percent of the Wall - 1,104.4 kilometers - is under general protection, and 31 percent has already disappeared

Dong said that much of Great Wall has been demolished, or at least degraded, by humans or nature. Roads and railways pass through the Great Wall. Tourists steal and sell bricks. Climbing wild and remote sections of the Great Wall can also do damage, Dong added.

According to a previous report by People's Daily Online, the 2016 Great Wall Public Offering project officially opened a Tencent donation platform on Sept. 1. This is China's first cultural preservation fundraising activity attempting to utilize the Internet in such a direct, significant way.