Great Wall guardian’s lonely vigil spans years

Protecting history: Li was hired as a Great Wall keeper by the local government in 2016. — Xinhua

YINCHUAN: As night fell on Helan Mountain, Li Shixiang lit a mosquito- repellent coil, opened a book about the Great Wall of China and made notes by the light of his car headlights beside a section of the ancient wall.“It feels like we are guarding each other,” Li, 45, said. He spent the night in his car as usual.

Li lives in Haiyuan county in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, known as a “museum of the Great Wall”.