All that traffic had taken a heavy toll on the structure, prompting the move to employ local villagers to keep watch, the report said.

Less than 20 percent of the original facade of the wall near the capital had been preserved well, Yu Ping, deputy director of Beijing's cultural heritage administration, was quoted as saying.

"Almost every brick at Badaling has been carved with people's names and graffiti," the newspaper said.

More adventurous visitors climbed wilder, crumblier sections that are not officially open to the public, making them potentially dangerous and more susceptible to damage.

Stretches of the wall near the capital have also become popular sites for summer raves.

Last July, "some participants were involved in such indecent and illegal activities as urinating and drug abuse on the wall", the China Daily said of a party that was widely reported and sparked a public uproar.

The Great Wall was begun in 221 BC during the Qin dynasty as an earthen structure to ward off invaders, though much of the existing structure was built much later.

The United Nations listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1987 and it is protected against development by Chinese law.

But it is not clear how effective the new wall-watching team will be - the same villages that will provide the monitors have been exploiting the wall for their own gain for years.