Who has the Chinese translation of the first, fourth and fifth lessons of reading the fourth edition of American and British newspaper articles?

Lesson 4 Reference: Tourism exploitation infringes on China's cultural resources

Asia: From the Gobi Desert to the Great Wall, tourists are regarded as a rolling source of money. However, the harm they bring is often overlooked. Henry? Chu Times reporter

China? Dunhuang For the growing number of middle class in China, it is as natural as breathing to travel to the vast motherland with a little spare money. However, breathing and tourism will bring damage to these Buddhist caves that make Dunhuang a famous place.

The Mogao Grottoes carved directly on the cliffs of the Gobi Desert are artistic achievements created by travelers who walked on the Silk Road for thousands of years. From the 4th century to the 14th century, they connected countless small caves into amazing painting temples.

Over the years, sandstorms, rain and western thieves have been destroying caves. However, in recent years, the biggest damage has come from the swarming tourists, because they are not only accompanied by the enthusiasm of witnessing ancient art with their own eyes, but also a lot of carbon dioxide and moisture that destroy cave murals.

"If I can't witness the Mogao Grottoes in my lifetime, it will be my greatest regret in this life." Liu Rui, a 57-year-old retired Shanghai tourist, said, "They should let as many people as possible witness it."

This feeling is good, but it is very bad for preserving the ancient artworks in these 492 caves. The paint layer of the mural on the east wall has cracked, cracked and faded, and the damage of other murals is also very serious. Although many Chinese and foreign experts, including workers from the Getty Institute in Los Angeles, have made great efforts, the murals have never been restored.

In China, the plight of the Mogao Grottoes is very common, and many of the world's most precious cultural heritages, from the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi 'an to the Great Wall in Wan Li, have been seriously damaged due to the rampant tourism caused by the blind pursuit of free market and opening up.

after 2 years of economic reform, the government of China has begun to realize the importance of comprehensively and systematically protecting the national cultural heritage, so as to prevent these heritages from disappearing together with the financial revenue they can bring.

"In the world, Asia's tourism industry is developing fastest, while China is the best in Asia." Richard, a consultant of UNESCO? British gerhardt talked about.

"Unless we take measures, we are in danger of losing our precious cultural heritage." British gerhardt said at a conference on cultural heritage protection held in Beijing last month.

however, although the * * * party regime is aware of this challenge, the current work to deal with this challenge is relatively slow and lacks planning.

the fundamental problem is the lack of funds. As a poor country, China is trying to completely change the planned economic system, curb the rising unemployment rate, take care of the elderly population, upgrade public facilities on a large scale, and carry out military modernization, so there is not much money to invest in the protection of cultural heritage.

At the same time, it is precisely because of the poverty in this country that local governments increasingly regard tourism as an important source of annual income, and their exploitation of natural and cultural resources has seriously threatened these priceless cultural sites.

For example, in Guilin, a beautiful southern city, many cruise ships are sailing in the adjacent rivers, and the stirred coda has eroded the sculptures that have been erected on both sides of the rivers for a hundred years.

however, for local residents, the material benefits brought by tourism are irresistible, especially for those who have been trapped in poverty for a long time and cannot find a way out.

In Gansu Province, where Dunhuang is located, which is one of the poorest areas in China, officials say that tourism revenue accounts for 1/3 of the province's fiscal revenue.

Dunhuang has two four-star hotels built in the last five years, a large number of smaller hotels and entertainment venues and newly-built airports. The construction of the airport eliminates the inconvenience of driving through the desolate area for a long time to reach the scenic spots, which increases the number of tourists. Now, souvenir stalls on both sides of the sidewalk in Dunhuang are selling animal specimens, vulgar jewelry, colored batik cloth and other similar things.

There are about 3, tourists here every year. Almost all of them come to this oasis town formed by the Mogao Grottoes in summer.

All this has increased the pressure on Fan Jinshi, the president of Dunhuang Society. When he is supervising the cave protection work with funds from tourism revenue and state support, he has to be forced by constant pressure to allow more tourists to enter.

"Protection comes first," she said. "The caves are destroyed, and there is nothing to appreciate, so there is no way to talk about tourism."

The government has tried to reduce the negative effects of tourism by opening caves in turn, limiting the number of caves open to tourists to 2-3, and prohibiting taking photos.

In the dark caves with the theme of angels in heaven, visitors must be accompanied by guides and patrons of different grottoes.

There is a Buddha statue more than 1 feet high in a cave, just like when it was built in the Tang Dynasty. It maintains a calm and sacred posture, while other caves are small in space and can only accommodate a few people at a time. The earliest caves were built in the 4th century.

"Here, you can't find a cave that is completely open to tourists. Visitors must be guided and supervised." Neville of the Getty Institute? Agnio talked about it.

The Getty Institute has been involved in the protection project in Dunhuang since 1989, and this month it was commended by the government for its contribution.

Its early work focused on reducing sand erosion and monitoring environmental changes in caves, including humidity, temperature and carbon dioxide level. At present, we are also committed to the rescue work of another Tang Dynasty grotto, Cave 85, and hope to use this as a model for future restoration work.

"Tourism development and protection should promote each other," Agnew said. "The problem is that tourism management departments have not combined them, and leaders often don't regard tourist attractions like Fu Grottoes as a lot of renewable resources.

Agnew said that he was shocked when he visited Mount Tai, a major cultural mountain in China, last year, and found that cable cars, waste and ignorant management troops were everywhere, which was the most sacred and solemn cultural mountain in China.

There is also the Great Wall of Wan Li outside Beijing. Tourists seldom go up by cable car and return by sleigh slide.

The tourism revenue of China and Beijing (including Hongkong) reached 2.11 billion, and the fierce competition accelerated the destruction of historical sites.

In Lijiang, a picturesque mountain city, greedy speculation has destroyed the beautiful primitive tribal charm, which is exactly what tourists come to experience.

Not far from Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge is an ideal destination for hikers. However, in order to provide comfort and convenience for tourists, a mountain road for cars has been dug on one side of the canyon.

In order not to be inferior in the tourism competition, the local government on the other side of the river is also digging their own roads, which makes people who want to keep this area as original as possible very frustrated.

"Building an expressway on the other bank of Lijiang may not be in harmony with the original natural scenery, but it brings convenience and safety to tourists," said Yao Duanxiong, director of Lijiang Protection Department. "Without the expressway, tourists would have to walk a long way and climb mountains to enjoy the scenery"-however, this is exactly what hikers and hikers expect.

In Lijiang City, which has become a UNESCO world cultural heritage because of its snow-capped peaks and classical buildings in China, the number of souvenir shops in the old city has soared, and they have sold local culture in artificial packages.

In 1999, Lijiang received 2.8 million tourists, which some experts think is too much.

"At any time, the number of tourists will exceed the total number of residents," said Ying gerhardt, a consultant of UNESCO. "When the number of tourists exceeds the capacity of a historical site, it becomes impossible to meet the protection standards of world cultural sites."

But Director Yao hopes that more tourists will come. If tourists are willing to visit, he hopes to receive 1 million people.

"Yes, the increasing number of tourists has affected the old city, but we must open our doors to every tourist." He said, "because the economic growth here depends on it."