... and another thing that was permanently destroyed by Mao [[during his tenure outer and inner Beijing City walls... intact for 530 years. They were 50 ft. high, and had 9 gates. Destruction started in the 1950s... and stopped in 1979... when it was deemed a "Cultural Heritage Site".... DUH!!

Altoghether about 45 miles of outer and inner ring walls were torn down... such a vast network which today would certainly have been made a Unesco World Heritage Site... had they survived!

All that is left are 3 gates and a small section of wall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing...fortifications