Yu has mixed feelings about the Great Wall.

To protect the visual landscape of the wall, building heights have been limited in nearby areas, which led to the termination of an innovation base program about five kilometers away.

"We had expected the program to boost the development of Yanqing," he said. "Plans for Great Wall protection and local development should be drafted together. Only by doing that can we encourage more villagers to join protection efforts."

"Indeed we will suffer some losses," Liu said. "But every coin has two sides. We should promote tourism to improve villagers' lives."

"The Great Wall is a treasure left by our ancestors," he added. "We can seek different development paths, but if the Great Wall landscape is ruined, the damage will last forever."