Simulation tree lightning protection to ensure the safety of tourists and city walls
The unopened section of the Great Wall, commonly known as the "Wild Great Wall", is real, natural, and full of "incomplete beauty". However, because of its incomplete maintenance facilities, there are risks for tourists to climb. A reporter from the Beijing Morning Post learned from the Badaling Great Wall Tourism Special Zone Office yesterday that before the end of this year, lightning protection and monitoring facilities will be installed in the unopened section of the Great Wall, and artificial lightning protection trees will be "planted". By then, the 7441-meter National Security Section of the Badaling Great Wall will achieve full coverage of lightning protection. In addition to ensuring the safety of visitors, protection work will also prevent the Great Wall from collapsing due to lightning strikes.
Nearly half of the national security section has no lightning protection facilities
Yesterday, a reporter from the Beijing Morning Post came to the Badaling Great Wall scenic spot in Yanqing County. In the summer vacation, the majestic and winding Great Wall is full of tourists from home and abroad.
"At present, the area that tourists can visit is 3741 meters of the open section." Li Dong, deputy director of the Badaling Great Wall Tourism Special Zone Office, said that the National Security Section of the Badaling Great Wall is 7441 meters from the 16th and a half of the south to the 19th floor of the north. The tour is open. The section has been rescued and reinforced, and lightning protection facilities have been installed. The unopened sections at both ends of the Great Wall suffer from natural erosion and man-made damage all the year round. In addition to the age, the sections are severely damaged.
In 2011, the Great Wall had 8 million tourists, and the existing open section of the Great Wall could not meet the needs of tourists. In 2013, the office carried out protection and repair on the half 1,245-meter section of the Great Wall from the 8th floor to the 16th floor on the south, and installed lightning protection and digital video surveillance systems.
"In recent years, there have been many lightning strikes. The lightning protection system we have installed cooperates with the city's professional meteorological station. Once the weather is abnormal, it can send lightning warning information to tourists." Ding Haitao, the person in charge of the renovation project of the Great Wall Cultural Relics Management Section, said that lightning protection facilities can also help the Great Wall. The city wall was protected from collapse caused by lightning strikes.
Simulation lightning protection tree and environmental coordination
The enemy building in the opening section of the Great Wall has been completely repaired or is already well-preserved. Lightning rods can be erected directly on it. However, in the unopened section, the staff ran into difficulties. Some enemy buildings have collapsed, and there is nowhere to put lightning protection facilities. In addition, the Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics has issued a normative standard that requires as few lightning protection facilities as possible to be installed directly on the main body of the cultural relics.
The Great Wall is surrounded by forest farms. In order to coordinate with the surrounding environment, the staff came up with a method of planting "simulation trees" outside the Great Wall. "This is the first time that artificial tree lightning protection measures have been taken on the Great Wall." Ding Haitao introduced. The shape of the artificial tree is the same as the ordinary pine tree, with a steel structure, galvanized on the outside, and covered with a layer of artificial bark and leaves. The artificial tree was dug 2 meters away from the Great Wall. Depending on the height of the enemy building, some trees were 18 meters high and some were 15 meters high. The cost of an artificial tree is about 200,000 yuan.
The 7 artificial trees in the unopened section of the South City have all been built. This year, the office will install lightning protection and digital video surveillance facilities on the north 13th to the 19th floor, among which 5 artificial trees are expected to be "planted" for lightning protection. By then, the 7441-meter National Security Section of the Badaling Great Wall will achieve full coverage of lightning protection.
To "plant trees", build roads first
"Planting" a simulation tree is not easy. Between the lofty mountains and the steep terrain, there is no road from the foot of the mountain to the tower. "First, we must build a road-a 50-centimeter wide road that people can walk." Ding Haitao said.
Here, large-scale machinery is useless, and the staff rely on the most primitive method-people carry mules, and transport construction materials, various pipelines and mechanical equipment to the mountains. Due to the long distance and the heavy load, sometimes the mule will collapse on the road tired.
Ding Haitao said that the forest farms around the Great Wall belong to a natural ecological zone, rich in wild resources, but the ecological environment is fragile. “Before entering the construction site, we require the construction staff to do pre-job training, have safety education and fire prevention, protect vegetation, and care for animals. No grass or tree here can be destroyed.” If the construction staff find cultural relics, they must clean up in time. Give it to the Badaling Great Wall Museum.
