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Crumbling Great Wall
萬裡長城正在慢慢消失
The Great Wall of China, a world heritage site, has suffered severe damage from both natural and man-made corrosion over the years.
世界文化遺產之一，中國的萬裡長城，多年來，在自然環境的侵蝕和人為破壞下，飽經滄桑，生存狀況堪憂。
As the world’s biggest defense project, it was first started more than 2,000 years ago, and what is left today was mostly built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
作為世界上最大的防禦工程，長城最早於2000多年前開始修建，今天我們所看到的長城大多是修建於明朝時期(1368-1644年)。
However, not all of the Wall is preserved like the Badaling section in northern Beijing. According to a 2012 report by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, of the 6,259 kilometers of the Ming Dynasty Wall, less than 10 percent is well preserved, while 31 percent of the Wall, or 1,961 kilometers, has disappeared. The remaining several thousand kilometers of the Wall has been dilapidated because of wind and rain, as well as human activities.
然而，並非所有的長城都像北京北部八達嶺段那樣保存完好。據國家文物局2012年統計的數據，全長6259公裡的明代長城，保存完好的部分僅有不到10%，而31%的城牆(約1961公裡)已消失在了歷史長河中。由於風雨侵蝕和人類活動，剩下的幾千公裡城牆也都破舊不堪。
In Shanxi Province, which is home to more than 3,500 kilometers of the Wall built in different historical periods, stealing of bricks from the Wall has been rampant, especially during the socially turbulent years. In the 1970s, when an agricultural development campaign began to sweep Shanxi, residents living alongside the Wall dug out the bricks and used them for building houses and other facilities.
山西省內的長城長達3500多公裡，建於不同的歷史時期。當地人從城牆上偷磚塊的行為一直很猖獗，特別是在社會動蕩的歲月。上世紀70年代，當農業大賽運動席捲山西，居住在長城腳下的人們挖出長城的磚塊，用它們來建造房屋和其他設施。
Ge Shufang from Deshengbao village near the Wall, who is now a member of the Datong People’s Congress, has been promoting awareness among local villagers for more than a decade. Now that more tourists are coming to the village to see the Wall, the villagers have realized its value, and are starting to benefit from the tourism business.
大同市人大代表葛書芳(音)來自長城腳下的大勝堡村，十多年來一直致力於提高當地居民保護長城的意識。現在，隨著越來越多的遊客來到村子裡參觀長城，村民們終於意識到它的價值，並開始從旅遊業中受益。
However, pursuit of economic return has also ruined the Wall in some places. In order to cash in from tourism, the Youyu county in Shanxi leveled off the Wall in Shahukou and rebuilt the section with a tacky new design, drawing fierce criticism from conservation experts.
然而，對經濟回報的追求也破壞了一些地方的城牆。為了從旅遊中獲利，山西右玉縣殺虎口的長城被推平，翻新重修，它失去了古風的新設計遭到了文物保護專家的強烈批判。
(責任編輯：田學江)