Beware of imitations: Sections of China’s Great Wall defiled by abandoned film set replicas

A five-century-old beacon tower on the Great Wall has been left in a shambles by leftover film and television sets on the outskirts of Beijing, local media reported this week.

The Yanzi No3 Beacon Tower, a national cultural relic built in 1571-75, appears to have been joined to a fragile, blue fake “wall” down the mountain, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

At the other end of that structure, in the centre of a valley, stands a replica of the beacon blocking the road as well as the view.

The television crew who built the set finished filming in June and left the slowly disintegrating sets there for months.

The blue plastic paper originally covering the fakes is tearing away and some of the structure made of chipboard is reportedly falling apart.

The fake sections are not the first in the area, according to Xinhua. Thanks to its great view and easy access, the beacon tower has served as a popular location for filmmakers and has been rebuilt many times in the past.