Stone tablet dating to Ming Dynasty found beside Great Wall

A stone tablet dating back to the reign of Emperor Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) has been discovered beside a section of the Great Wall in Beijing.

The tablet is 55 cm long, 35 cm wide and 10 cm thick, and weighs about 50 kg. It was found by a protector while patrolling along the Xidalou section of the Great Wall in Beijing's suburban district of Huairou.

Researcher Shang Heng of the Beijing Institute of Cultural Heritage believes that the inscriptions on the tablet record a summary of the construction of a part of the Huairou section of the Great Wall.

Since May 2019, full-time protectors of the Huairou section of the Great Wall have been recruited. During their patrol, they have found 11 cultural relics scattered around the Great Wall, including ancient stone tablets, flagpole slot, and stone foundations.

They are responsible for picking up rubbish and dissuading tourists from climbing dangerous parts of the Great Wall.

In May, the Huairou district institute of cultural heritage provided the 131 full-time patrollers with mobile data terminals. These terminals are enabled with precise positioning function to assist their reporting.