Outer structure, not main wall, fell in Xi'an, expert says

Part of an ancient city wall that collapsed in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Saturday was the protective structure outside the wall, and the main body of the cultural heritage was not damaged, according to an expert.

The wall, located in the Xincheng district of Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province and dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), collapsed around 9:30 am on Saturday, leaving four people injured, one bus and three private cars damaged, local authorities said.

The injured were immediately rushed to a hospital nearby for treatment. Related departments of the governments of Shaanxi province and Xi'an city arrived on the scene on Saturday to handle the affair and started the investigation on the cause of the accident.

Cultural heritage protection departments of Xi'an city and Shaanxi province have organized experts to conduct inspections on the wall and draft plans on its restoration and consolidation. Cleaning at the site is underway (as the video shows).

Chen Ping, a professor of Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, said the collapse was caused by the persistent rain in Xi'an in recent days and the collapsing part is 20 meters of a 130-meter structure that was built to protect the ancient city wall. The original part of the cultural heritage was intact.