Earlier this month, people posted pictures on social media and said the top of what they described as the "most beautiful" section of the Great Wall had been flattened so that it now looks like pavement and has lost its original character.[Photo by Zhang Shiyao/Asianewsphoto]

Repair work has severely damaged the natural image of the Great Wall in Suizhong county, Liaoning province, despite the work's strengthening effect, officials said.

"The restoration did follow the plan that we approved, and it also achieved its initial purpose to strengthen the wall. However, we can't avoid the severe problem it has brought to the image of the historic structure," Song Xinchao, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said on Tuesday in Beijing.

Earlier this month, people posted pictures on social media and said the top of what they described as the "most beautiful" section of the Great Wall had been flattened so that it now looks like pavement and has lost its original character. The repair work to the section of the wall, built more than 600 years ago, was completed two years ago. It has irritated many netizens who question the project's legitimacy.

The administration sent a six-person team to Suizhong to investigate the project.

In announcing the results of the two-day investigation on Thursday, Lu Qiong, head of the team, said 780 meters of the Great Wall had been flattened with a mixture of lime, clay and fine sand.