The China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation is partnering with Intel on a plan to use drones to scan 3D images of sections of the Great Wall of China that need repair.
Parts of the wall, which is more than 2,000 years old, run over steep rocky terrain which is hard to access and makes repairs a bit dangerous, Travel and Leisure wrote.
“Using drones, we are able to inspect multiple aspects of the structure including areas that are quite inaccessible,” Anil Nanduri, vice president and general manager of Intel’s drone team, said in a statement.
“We look forward to leveraging our technology to aid in the preservation of more world heritage sites in the future,” he added.
The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications, totaling more than 13,000 miles in length, located in northern China.
Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long history, the Great Wall was originally conceived in the third century B.C. as a means of preventing nomadic incursions.
READ MORE: China is Building Deepest High-Speed Railway Station Under Great Wall
The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was erected between the 14th and 17th centuries A.D.
Even though the Great Wall never effectively prevented invaders from entering China, it has served as a powerful symbol of the Chinese civilization’s enduring strength.
