A scheduled race on the ancient city wall in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, has provoked a debate on safety concerns for both racers and the site itself.

The race, using ropes to get from the top to the bottom of the wall, is set to take place on the Jiefang Gate section of the wall, built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

But although organizers say they have permission from the local cultural relics bureau to race on the wall, the department denies this is the case.

More than 200 racers, including a few from abroad, have already signed up for the event, due to kick off on September 22.

The longest ancient city wall in the world was 33.676 kilometres long in the 1950s. But only 23.743 kilometres are left after decades of damage brought by either bad weather or citizens who have stolen bricks from it.

The racing event is being organized by the local government to promote the Worldwide Historical and Cultural Cities Exposition (WHCCE). According to Zhao Li, from the WHCCE organization committee, the wall was chosen for the race because it is in keeping with the spirit of the WHCCE, which tries to highlight the historical image of the city.

Zhao said participants will go down ropes fixed to the battlements of the wall.

Protection methods suggested by experts such as reinforcing battlements with concrete steps will be taken, said Zhao.

Zhang Xu, Zhao's colleague, said several race experts from Hong Kong thought the race would not harm the wall and said the organization committee had obtained permission for the event from the local cultural relics protection bureau.

However, some citizens are concerned the race may not be safe for participants.

Yang Guoqing, an associated researcher in city wall studies with the Nanjing Museum, said many sections of the 600-year-old wall have been found to be dangerous.

"Safety is the foremost concern. The aged city wall is not stable enough for such extreme activities," said Yang.

Yang also said competitive sports are not in line with cultural images conveyed by the aged wall.

He Yun'ao, dean with the Cultural Heritage Research Institute at Nanjing University, had similar thoughts.

"Such activities should only be conducted after a careful appraisal by experts and not until there is approval from the supervisory governmental bodies," said He.

However, Yu Jiang, dean with the Publicity Department of the Cultural Protection Bureau, said the bureau would not give permission for such an activity.

"Even film production teams have to obtain permission from us one month beforehand if they want to shoot a few 'gentle' scenes on the city wall," said Yu.

Yu added that as it is hoped the wall will gain a position on World Cultural Heritage listings, the government and society should protect it, rather than bringing possible damage to it.

(China Daily August 18, 2006)