Officials from Beijing’s Forbidden City have said an ancient drainage system protected it during recent heavy rains and intense flooding.

　　近期北京遭暴雨和洪水侵袭，北京紫禁城却完好无损，紫禁城的官员们表示，故宫的古排水系统运转良好保护了这座古建筑。

　　Bad weather has killed 37 people in the Chinese capital in the past week while at least seven others are missing.

　　上周，中国首都北京的恶劣天气造成37人遇难，至少70人失联。

　　On 20 July, much of the city was shut down by a huge storm but the palace’s official Sina Weibo said it was one of the few areas that remained open.

　　7月20日，受特大暴雨影响，北京大多地方都关门歇业了，不过，据故宫官方微博新浪微博消息，故宫是少有的几个正常开放的区域之一。

　　It even took in 30,000 visitors during the storm, it said.

　　即便是在这样罕见的天气里，故宫的参观人数竟达到了3万人。

　　China has battled serious floods throughout its history, and the designers of the Forbidden City would have been well aware of the need to build in proper defences.

　　自古以来，中国都在与洪涝灾害做斗争。故宫的设计大师们深谙此道，特别注重了防护工事的修筑。

　　The palace published a series of images on Weibo showing heavy flooding in the 600-year-old courtyards, but the drainage system in action removing the water.

　　故宫新浪微博发布的一系列图片显示，近600年历史的紫禁城殿落涨水不少，但是排水系统运转良好。

　　State media quoted an unnamed official as saying the combination of cleverly designed sloping courtyards, stepped buildings and underground drains meant water could be carried away in 20 minutes.

　　国家媒体援引一位官员的话，称这巧妙设计的呈倾斜状的院落、阶梯式的宫殿，和地下排水系统的融合，能将洪水在20分钟内排出。

　　The palace’s original photos of the floods were later taken down - an official told BBC News that was because they did not know who had taken them.

　　故宫发洪水的原始照片后来被撤掉了——一位官员告诉BBC新闻，这是因为他们不知道照片是谁拍摄的。

　　But the original post and new images have been circulating on local news portals and social media.

　　不过，原始的博文以及更新后的照片却在本地新闻网站和社交媒体广泛传播。

　　The large volume of water in some of the pictures prompted some on popular Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo to question the "ancient engineering efforts".

　　部分照片中显示的大量洪水引发了人们对“古排水系统”的质疑。

　　"A royal drainage system? It still looks very flooded to me," commented one netizen.

　　某网友说，“皇家排水系统?看起来还是被淹了呀。”

　　"Engineering level: Ancient China," said another.

　　另一人说，“工程水平：古中国。”

　　Other users questioned the loss of lives during the rainy season and called for "more serious action" with regards to the floods.

　　还有一些用户对在雨季有这么多人遇难提出疑问，呼吁“更紧急的行动”来应对洪水。

　　"Why couldn’t this 600-year-old system have been used for other buildings as well if it’s so effective? Many lives could have been saved," commented a Weibo user going by the name of Cisi Fang 52.

　　一位叫Cisi Fang 52的新浪微博用户说， “既然故宫古排水系统如此有效，为何不把它推广运用到其他建筑中。那样很多生命就可以得救了。”

（编辑：何莹莹）