BEIJING — Two young men who tried to steal bricks from the Great Wall of China to improve the feng shui in their homes got stuck on a snow-covered mountain and had to call for help, according to local media reports.

The duo, who believed the bricks would bring good luck when placed at home, got lost while crossing the mountain in Beijing’s Huairou district, near the Mutianyu section of the wall, the local authorities told the Beijing Evening News.

The pair, aged 20 and 26, were found trapped on a cliff edge more than 50m high amid freezing temperatures on Thursday (Dec 26) night, around four hours after calling for help, rescuer Chen Funing told the newspaper.

Both were shivering and exhausted but were otherwise unharmed.

The pair had been carrying an empty bag which they claimed was going to be used to pick litter.

But police later discovered that the pair, who had travelled from the nearby city of Langfang in Hebei province, had eaten at a nearby restaurant and told staff that they had planned to steal a few of the 24kg bricks.

They were allowed to return home after being warned by police that what they had planned to do was illegal and dangerous.

Today less than 10 per cent of the 20,000km Great Wall consists of brickwork, according to official data, with natural erosion and theft taking their toll over the years.

In February this year police in Hebei’s Qinglong county offered a 50,000 yuan (S$9,655) reward for information after a spate of thefts along the local section of the wall. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST