Xi’an, or Chang’an as it was called for many centuries, has been a built-up urban (城市的) area for over 3,000 years, and once     1     (serve) as the capital of 13 dynasties. It is home     2     many immovable cultural heritages, three of     3     are on the UNESCO’s The World Heritage List.

These days, the city has made     4     (effect) exploration in building modernity while preserving historical legacy (遗产). A recent piece of news announced by Shaanxi’s cultural relic authority caused nationwide attention, that a ruin of an ancient capital     5       (date) back to Qin Dynasty was unearthed during the construction of the Xi’an Metro Line 5. In order to protect the ruin, the metro line may have to change     6     (it) route.

    7     (face) with the heavy and important task of protecting cultural relics while promoting urban construction, Xi’an made active     8     (attempt). Rails of the metro system are built 15 to 20 meters underground in order to protect the ancient tombs which are     9     (usual) buried in the layer within 5 meters from the surface level. Besides, the metro constructors have also painted the walls inside the stations with historical stories, presenting     10     visual feast for citizens.

Yungang Grottoes(石窟) in Datong, Shanxi Province, are a world cultural heritage site with a history     1     goes back more than 1, 500 years. In Yungang’s 45 big grottoes and more than 200 small grottoes,     2     (rough) 59, 000 figures of the Buddha are a priceless treasure of human culture.

But because of the effects of climate change and natural disasters,     3     grottoes face damage year after year. Thanks to     4     (advance) digital technology, researchers are busy “duplicating” the Yungang Grottoes in an attempt     5     (preserve) the precious cultural relics. Employing 3D laser scanning technology, the researchers digitally record the shapes, colors and other fine details of the grottoes and later reproduce them by     6     (use) 3D printing technology.

The new technology could     7     (able) more people to have access to the cultural relics despite the distance. In June, 2020, the Zhejiang University Cultural Relics Research Institute and Yungang Grottoes Research Institute together copied and pasted Cave No.12 of the Yungang Grottoes for the     8     (exhibit) in Hangzhou. There, people could see the world’s first 3D-printed 1:1 copy of a grotto.

The Yungang researchers’ attempt is a good example of technology helping to preserve cultural heritage. It     9     (hope) that the new digitized technologies will facilitate the “rebirth” of the cultural relics, and bring them     10     more places worldwide.