One spot of the Great Wall, one of the world's most recognizable landmarks, recently accommodated a set built and abandoned by a film crew in May in Beijing, a local newspaper reported.
According to the Legal Evening News, a film crew built a set which included a prop ancient tower for a scene. After they finished shooting, they left without dismantling the set.
The remains of the prop set are still at the section of the Great Wall in Mentougou, Beijing, built near the No. 3 Watchtower. There are 17 ancient watchtowers which were recognized by China's cultural authorities as cultural relics under protection. The leftovers, which are incompatible with the original scenery, have indeed harmed the environment and historical landscape.
Local village residents have no idea what the film is about. They didn't know the film title, the director, the actors or anything else except the fact that it is a film or TV series set in ancient China. One villager surnamed Tang said, the crew went to this place to shoot in May, and built many buildings for the set, but wrapped up the filming very quickly and left.
The Party chief of the local village Li Zhengrong also said he didn't know anything regarding a title or the names of the crew or the film. She only remembered that the crew paid a few residents for their help in assisting with labor of certain kind.
Other village and township officials, as well as cultural departments, said they didn't even know this had happened as the location is remote, far away from urban Beijing and they didn't see any documents from a higher administration approving the filming in May. "Some crews only shoot for one or two days. We don't really notice this, as we only patrol from time to time," said an employee from the Mentougou District cultural committee.
According to Beijing's rules and regulations, such film shooting must first be approved and the set should be removed after the shooting with all the processes leaving cultural relics unharmed. Otherwise, the crew will be punished and fined, and the tapes would be confiscated.
The local authorities said they will investigate the case and locate those responsible for this.
There is a precedent case where a film crew built a set near the same spot in October 2013 and left after filming was done. They removed and cleaned the set last November after media exposure. However, the same thing has happened again.
