The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) will launch a campaign to crack down on criminal damage to the Great Wall, officials announced Wednesday.

The campaign will involve regular inspections and random checks on protection efforts by authorities in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

The SACH will also open a special tip line to allow the public to report information about violations and damage to the Great Wall.

Built over a range of periods spanning from the 3rd century BC to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall stretches over 21,000 kilometers from Northwest China's Gansu Province to North China's Hebei Province.

According to SACH statistics, about 30 percent of 6,200 kilometers of the wall built in the Ming Dynasty has disappeared, and less than 10 percent is considered well-preserved.

The Great Wall has faced threats from both nature and humans. Earthquakes, rain, wind and other natural forces have reduced many sections of the wall to heaps of decayed and crumbling bricks.

Human activities - such as reckless development by some local governments, the theft of bricks by villagers for use as building materials and use of areas adjacent to the wall for agriculture - have also damaged the landmark, according to research by the China Great Wall Society.

A lack of protection efforts in remote regions and a weak plan for protection of the wall have also contributed to the damage, the society added.

In 2006, China released a national regulation on Great Wall protection. However, Great Wall experts have urged local authorities to draw up more practical measures to better implement the regulation.

Xinhua