当外国领导人及其家属漫步于北京周边标志性的修复长城段时，中国中北部一处偏远的明代长城古石却被牺牲，沦为煤矿废渣廉价倾倒的通道。
While foreign leaders and their families walk the iconic restored sections of the Great Wall around Beijing, the ancient stones of a remote Ming-era stretch of the structure in northern central China have been sacrificed for cheaper dumping of coal-mining waste.
据中国官方媒体央视报道，山西省宁武县的一段长城近20年来被用作倾倒矿渣的捷径，尽管举报人曾多次向官方敲响警钟。
For nearly 20 years, a section of the wall in Ningwu county, Shanxi province, was used as a short cut to dump slag, despite whistle-blowers repeatedly raising the alarm to officials, according to a report by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
报道称，长城郭家窑段的破坏始于2007年，当时一家无证矿企——宁武超开煤业，在长城上挖开一条沟渠以处理开采废料。
The damage to the Great Wall’s Guojiayao section began in 2007, when an unlicensed miner, Ningwu Chaokai Coal Industry, dug a trench through the structure as a way to dispose of excavation waste, the report said.
2013年，神达超开煤业通过整合多个采掘队伍成立，继续利用这一缺口倾倒矿渣，绕过了漫长的山路。
In 2013, Shenda Chaokai Coal Industry was established through the consolidation of multiple mining teams and continued using the breach to dump slag, bypassing the long mountain roads.
央视称，地方政府对举报人从2015年开始的多次举报置之不理，任由破坏行为持续近二十年，导致长城留下一个宽达六米（约19英尺）的缺口。
CCTV said that local authorities did not respond to repeated reports by whistle-blowers that started in 2015, allowing the vandalism to persist for nearly two decades and leaving a six-metre (19-foot) gap in the wall.
中国历代统治者修建长城以保卫疆土，修筑工作延续至明朝（1368-1644年），使其成为世界上最大的军事防御工程，蜿蜒逾21,000公里（约13,000英里）横亘于中国北方。
Ancient Chinese rulers built the Great Wall to safeguard their territories, with construction continuing through the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when it became the world’s largest military structure, stretching more than 21,000km (13,000 miles) across northern China.
作为中国最具标志性的世界文化遗产和中华文明的象征，长城是享誉全球的旅游胜地。
As China’s most iconic World Cultural Heritage site and a symbol of Chinese civilisation, the wall is a globally renowned tourist destination.
北京周边的长城段，尤其是八达岭和慕田峪，最为热门，也是世界领导人访问中国首都时进行外交活动的重要场所。
Its sections around Beijing, particularly Badaling and Mutianyu, are the most popular and also serve as key venues for diplomatic exchanges when world leaders visit the Chinese capital.
曾到访长城的世界领导人及其家属包括俄罗斯总统普京、美国前总统奥巴马及其妻子米歇尔，以及美国前第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普。
The Great Wall has welcomed multiple world leaders and their families, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, as well as US first lady Melania Trump.
2017年，在唐纳德·特朗普总统国事访问期间，美国第一夫人游览了慕田峪，而她的丈夫则前往越南参加峰会。特朗普的儿子埃里克和儿媳拉拉在5月陪同他时也参观了这一古老地标。
In 2017, during President Donald Trump’s state visit, the US first lady toured Mutianyu while her husband departed for a summit in Vietnam. Trump’s son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara also visited the ancient landmark when they accompanied him in May.
远离聚光灯下，鲜为人知的郭家窑段因地处偏远，尽管2006年已出台立法保护长城，却仍易遭忽视和破坏。
Far from the spotlight, the lesser-known Guojiayao section’s remote location left it vulnerable to neglect and vandalism, despite legislation enacted in 2006 to protect the wall.
《长城保护条例》要求文物部门在接到长城受损报告后，立即采取控制措施并上报上级部门。
The Regulation on Protection of the Great Wall requires cultural relics authorities to take immediate control measures and notify higher-level authorities upon receiving reports of damage to the structure.
法律还规定设立实体保护标志。然而据报道，郭家窑段直到2025年才竖起界桩。
The law also dictates the installation of physical protection markers. However, boundary posts were not erected along the Guojiayao section until 2025, the report said.
地方官员告诉官方广播机构，由于保护力度薄弱、巡查不勤，长城过往受损情况未被发现。
Local officials told the state broadcaster that past damage to the wall went unnoticed because of weak conservation efforts and infrequent inspections.
他们表示，因采矿企业2019年后已停止在文物保护区内开采，且官员未能追究过往违规行为，故未作出处罚也未上报上级。
No penalties were issued nor higher authorities notified because the mining enterprise stopped excavation within the protected cultural relics zone after 2019 and officials had failed to prosecute past violations, they said.
直到今年3月，在持续的公众投诉和媒体曝光推动下，山西才成立专项调查组，调查该煤企涉嫌非法采矿和破坏文化遗产行为，省级部门才介入。
The provincial authorities did not step in until March this year when, driven by persistent public complaints and media exposure, Shanxi established a special task force to investigate the coal company’s alleged illegal mining and cultural heritage destruction.
该公司后因未经批准在文物保护控制地带内实施建设项目、严重破坏历史遗迹，被处以共计100万元人民币（约合14.9万美元）罚款。其前高管兼实际控制人于5月被拘留。
The company was later fined a total of 1 million yuan (US$149,000) for executing construction projects within a cultural relic control zone without approval, as well as severely damaging the historical site. Its former executive and actual controller were detained in May.
据央视报道，问题不止郭家窑一处，宁武多处长城段因早期无人监管采矿也遭受类似严重破坏。
According to the CCTV report, the problem extends beyond Guojiayao, with similar severe damage to multiple other sections of the Great Wall in Ningwu caused by earlier unmonitored mining.
中国长城学会原常务副会长董耀会在报告中指出，宁武发生的破坏事件为地方政府敲响了监管失效的警钟。
Dong Yaohui, former executive vice-president of the Great Wall Society of China, noted in the report that the destruction in Ningwu served as a stark warning of regulatory failure for local governments.
他被引述说：“文物保护不能仅靠舆论压力。它需要日常监管，及时发现并解决问题，将破坏行为消灭在萌芽状态，以免酿成严重后果。”
“Heritage conservation cannot rely solely on public pressure. It demands daily oversight, detecting and resolving issues promptly, so as to nip destruction in the bud before it leads to grave consequences,” he was quoted as saying.
周二，宁武县政府发布正式通告，承诺对破坏文物和非法倾倒矿渣行为开展全面打击。
On Tuesday, the Ningwu county government issued a formal notice promising a sweeping crackdown on heritage damage and illegal slag dumping.
当地官员承诺，将在开展周边生态修复的同时，实施抢险加固和结构加固工程。
Local officials promised that emergency repairs and structural reinforcements would be carried out alongside ecological restoration in the surrounding areas.
该县还确认，历史上的公职人员失职渎职行为正在接受积极调查，承诺严肃追责问责，并着手强化长效保护机制。
The county also confirmed that historical official negligence and duty breaches were now under active investigation, promising strict disciplinary and legal handling as it moved to strengthen long-term protection mechanisms.