The iconic Great Wall of China 'is collapsing'

Stock photo: PA

A section of the iconic Great Wall of China has collapsed, according to reports from the Xinhua News Agency.

Experts have revealed that an underground network of mines have caused a 2,300ft section of the wall in a remote area of Hebei province - about 120 miles from Beijing - to fall down.

Miners in Laiyuan are not working directly below the wall, but the mines are affecting the structure's stability.

The affected part of the wall was built in stages between 1369 and 1644, and its collapse has been described as a 'pity'.

According to the Huffington Post, Guo Jianyong, a senior engineer with the provincial Ancient Architecture Studies Institute, told Xinhua: 'This section of the wall is considered 'the crust of the cream' of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. It is really a pity.'

The Great Wall of China is a World Heritage Site, but as the mimers have legal permits to carry out the work, there isn't much conservationists can do to stop it.

The news comes after it was reported that India's Taj Mahal is also in danger of collapsing owing to its foundations going brittle and rotten.

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