翻译旅游篇--万里长城.docVIP

The Miracle of All Times – The Great Wall 永恒的奇迹—万里长城 Listed as a World Culture Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, the Great Wall is a true marvel and a testament to the long history of the Chinese Civilization. The Great Wall stretches from ShanHai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey in April 2009, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 kilometers. It’s believed that the Great Wall was firstly built in Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), and primarily strengthened in three dynasties: the Qin (221 -206 B.C.), the Han (202 – 220 A.D.) and the Ming (1368-1644). In the early days, the Great Wall became stronger, its defense role increased. The building styles of each dynasty added their own flavor and advanced the techniques learned from the previous. Where possible, natural barriers were integrated into the path of the wall. It’s said that the length of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers is about 2,232.5 kilometers. The first emperor, Qin Shihuang, who unified China by force set about constructing one Great Wall – by joining existing one and filling the gaps. There are no surviving historical records indicating the exact length and course of the Qin Dynasty walls. Some parts of the Great Wall have almost disappeared. Some parts have been overwhelmed by the elements. Some have been buried by the desert. Others eroded by local people recycling the wall’s materials for constructions in their villages. Most of the walls that we are familiar with today were built in Ming Dynasty, which built the biggest, longest, strongest and most ornate Great Wall ever. The Ming Dynasty Great Wall starts on the eastern end at ShanHai Pass, near Winhuangdao, in Hebei Province, next to Bohai Sea. It once spanned 9 provinces and 100 countries, but the final 500 kilometer