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China History

Digging through Historical Heritage: Construction Workers Damage Great Wall to Create Excavator ‘Shortcut’

Commenters on Weibo suggest the two construction workers deserve an “ancient punishment” for ruining such ancient heritage.

Manya Koetse

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The news hit international headlines on Tuesday: part of China’s Great Wall was damaged after construction workers used an excavator to dig through it.

The damaged area is located in Shuozhou’s Youyu county in Shanxi province and was built during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It concerns the 32nd section of the Great Wall.

The topic of the Great Wall being damaged by construction workers first attracted online attention on September 3 after it was…

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

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Chapter Dive

Evil Unbound (731): How a Chinese Anti-Japanese War Film Backfired

731 was China’s most anticipated war movie of the year — how could it fail so miserably to live up to public expectations?

Manya Koetse

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🔥 This is premium content and also appeared in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

How did Evil Unbound (731), one of the most anticipated Chinese war movies of 2025, go from patriotic hype to online backlash? A deep dive into the official narrative, the audience reception, and everything that’s particular about this movie.
 

731 and 918, those were the numbers dominating Chinese social media over…

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Chapter Dive

Dialogues Across Time: Remembering War in a New China

“We are not friends, and have never been,” is a line that went viral recently in light of the heightened focus on war in Chinese media and popular culture.

Manya Koetse

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🔥 This column also appeared in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

 

“Comrade, are you from the new China?”

A man in a blood-stained 1940s PLA uniform sits in the grass beside a modern Chinese soldier in full combat gear, staring at him with quiet intensity. When told he is indeed from the “new China,” the old soldier leans closer and asks: “So… did we win?”

“We did,” the…

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