The Great Wall, one of the greatest wonders of the world, is steadily disappearing with only less than 20 percent of the over 6,200 km of the wall remaining intact, a Chinese conservation group has warned.

The great wall is disappearing in an accelerating way mainly due to lack of protection and dismantling by farmers, apparently ignorant of its significance, secretary of The Great Wall Society of China, Dong Yaohui said.

The Beijing-based society is chalking up a number of projects to prevent the world's longest structure, the great wall from vanishing.

Dong, who has personally surveyed huge sections of the structure originally built as a defensive barrier against marauding invaders, said millions of dollars were required to preserve and restore the great wall in three to five years.

He said the society is considering conducting a general survey into the existing wall.

Further, all the great wall-related materials, such as historical documents, pictures and even trademarks and art work, will be collected for a database open to the public and used for academic research on the internet.

He plans to attract a number of leading domestic and foreign firms to sponsor the implementation of the project.

In return, these companies' names will be put in records of the database and carved in the milestones that are to be set up all the way along the wall.

(CNTA.com May 18, 2004)