The Xi’an City Wall is the most complete city wall that has survived China’s long history. It     1     (build) originally to protect the city     2     the Tang dynasty and has now been completely restored (修复). It is possible       3     (walk) or bike the entire 14 kilometers.

We accessed the wall through the South Gate. The wall is 12 meters high and from here you can see streams of people moving inside and outside the City Wall.

After     4     (spend) some time looking at all the defensive equipment at the wall, we decided it was time for some action and what     5     (good) than to ride on a piece of history!

We     6     (hire) our bikes from the rental place at the South Gate. My bike was old and shaky     7     did the job. It took us about 3 hours to go all     8     way around the Xi’an City Wall. Supposedly you can do it in two hours, but we stopped at the different gates and     9     (watchtower) to take pictures or just to watch the local people going about their     10     (day) routines.

“That is a sleeping dragon.” Napoleon,    1    was the future French emperor, once said. “Let him sleep! If he wakes, he will shake the world.” In 1803, he recognized China’s potential. In charge    2    the greatest military and economic power of his day, Napoleon had an eye for opponents. Now, China’s total domestic product passed    3    of both Britain and France. If Napoleon arrived in Beijing today, he would    4    (undoubted) say, “I told you so.”

Nowhere is China’s influence more apparent than Beijing. As China’s    5    (politics) and cultural center of China, Beijing offers a quick look into the nation’s expansive history and its rapid    6    (develop). You’ll find preserved palaces spreading elbows with new subway stations and peaceful lamaseries(藏传佛教寺院)    7    (share) space with world-class stadiums. Many of the city’s historical sites, such as the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square ,     8    (be) well-known to the world. Yet, the most popular attraction    9    (locate) outside Beijing: The Great Wall of China winds through the hills north of the city. When you witness this    10    (astonish) accomplishment of ancient China, you too will sense the great potential of this modern country.

More than 500 pieces of relics    1    (discover) in recent months at the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, dazzling archaeologists with their historical value as well as the display of creativity.

The relics, discovered at the six new sacrificial pits of the ruins, include golden masks, jade and ivory artifacts and bronze wares    2    were delicately built and    3    (unique) shaped, said the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.

The new finds bring the total number of items discovered at Sanxingdui to nearly 2,000    4    the excavation (挖掘) of No.3 to No.8 sacrificial pits began in October last year.

“The new discoveries demonstrate once again that    5    (imagine) and creativity of the ancient Chinese far surpassed    6    people today have expected,” said Tang Fei, chief of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

Tang added that the excavation of the new pits has entered a critical stage,    7    more items yet to be unearthed and expected to challenge the    8    (convention) wisdom of archaeologists.

Originally discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been referred to as one of the world’s greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Located in the city of Guanghan, around 60 km from the provincial capital Chengdu, the ruins covering    9    area of 12 square km are believed to be the remains of the Shu Kingdom,    10    (date) back some 4,500 to 3,000 years.

The iceberg that was for a time the biggest in the world is no more. A68, as it was known, covered an area of nearly 6,000 km²    1    it broke away from Antarctica in 2017. That's like a small country. But satellites show the mega-berg has now virtually gone, broken into countless small fragments    2    the US National Ice Center says are no longer worth tracking. Most glaciologists regard A68 as the product of a very    3    （nature）process, and it has nothing to do with human-induced climate change.

Originally constructed around 256 BCE by the State of Qin     1     an irrigation and flood control system, Dujiangyan is a remarkable example of ancient engineering skill and is still     2     use today.

During the Warring States period, people who lived along the banks of the Min River     3     (trouble) by annual flooding. Qin governor and irrigation engineer Li Bing investigated the problem thoroughly. He led a team     4     (construct) a levee(堤坝) to redirect a part of the river’s flow. Then they cut     5     channel through Mount Yulei to let the water flow through it. After the system was finished , no more floods     6     (occur). What’s more, it made Sichuan one of the most productive agricultural     7     (region) in China because the redirected water from the Min River could be used for irrigation. If you visit Dujiangyan, you will see an     8    (usual) construction that looks like a fish’s mouth. This famous attraction, Yuzui, together with two other important parts, namely, Feishayan and Baopingkou, was     9     (scientific) designed to control the water flow throughout the year.

    10     (recognize) as a UNESCO heritage site, Dujiangyan has irrigated farms while preventing floods for over 2,000 years.

Many buildings along the Yangtze River have been destroyed during the flood season,     1     the Guanyin Pavilion (亭子) in the middle of the river has continued to stand tall even after more than 700 years. How does this ancient pavilion make     2    ? Described as “the first pavilion on the Yangtze River”, the Guanyin Pavilion     3     (build) in the Song Dynasty and then rebuilt in the Yuan Dynasty. Today, the pavilion     4     (sit) on a piece of dragon-shaped rock in the middle of the Yangtze River. Located outside the city of Ezhou, Hubei Province, the pavilion was constructed on a huge rock about 30 meters from the bank of the river.     5     (face) west, the pavilion is 24 meters long, 10 meters wide and 14 meters in     6     (high) . The base is made with a one-meter- high stone pile. The entire base is     7     (beautiful) combined with the rock, and the whole building is shaped     8     a boat in the direction of the flowing water. More importantly, a very strong stone wall was set up     9     (protect) the main body from the floods. The ancient pavilion is still standing more than 700 years later,     10     shows the wisdom of ancient Chinese people.