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Mutianyu, a popular section of the Great Wall, now has a designated area for graffiti to better protect it after media reported that many foreign tourists left their words on the old buildings.

Mutianyu, one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, is located in Huairou district, 70 km northeast of central Beijing.

This section of the Great Wall has frequently been the target of graffiti in English and other languages, according to a statement from the district's publicity department on Sunday.

In fact, more foreign languages appear than Chinese, a report published by Beijing Evening News said on Friday. The No 5 Fighting Tower building is a popular spot for leaving graffiti, with most of it in English, the report said.

For many foreign tourists, Mutianyu is their first choice for seeing the Great Wall in Beijing.

As a key national cultural relics site, Mutianyu attracts many tourists every year, with 40 percent from foreign countries, according to the publicity department.

For years, the administration office of Mutianyu had arranged routine patrol teams to discourage tourists from graffiti writing. Anti-graffiti signs were also added.

Meanwhile, the cultural relics protection department was ordered to restore the defaced buildings.

Yet graffiti has remained a problem at Mutianyu, administrators said.

To address it, they established a free graffiti zone for tourists in the No 14 Fighting Tower building.

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