Using almost 4,000 metric tonnes of sand, 19 sculptors¹ have built a 55ft tower featuring a number of famous landmarks² to claim the world record for tallest sandcastle.

日前，19名雕塑家使用近4000公吨的沙子，建造了一座拥有多个著名地标的55英尺塔楼，并声称它创造了世界最高沙堡的记录。

The team spent more than three weeks in the western German city of Duisburg working on the 16.68 metre (54.72 feet) artwork, which included a sandy replica³ of the Great Sphinx of Giza, Venice's Rialto Bridge and the graveside of Elvis Presley.

这个雕塑家团队花费了三周多的时间，在德国西部城市杜伊斯堡建造了这一16.68米（54.72英尺）高的艺术作品，其中包括吉萨大狮身人面像，威尼斯里亚托桥和埃尔维斯·普雷斯利墓地的沙质复制品。

A Guinness World Record official was on hand to approve the new mark for the German sculpture, which eclipsed the previous tallest sandcastle, a 14.84 metre world peace monument built in India in February.

一位吉尼斯世界纪录官员在场认证了这座德国雕塑的新标志，这使得之前的最高沙堡--于今年二月在印度建造的14.84米高的世界和平纪念碑黯然失色。

The team of international sculptors failed with a world record attempt last year and decided⁴ to use a different sand, mainly very fine quartz⁵ which is less than one millimetre in grain size.

去年，这一国际雕塑家团队没有打破世界纪录，于是这次他们决定使用不同的沙子--主要是粒度小于1毫米的石英微粉。

"It did not collapse⁶ because the quality of the sand was better than previous attempts, the weather was good and very good planning," Ukrainian Eugenia Kolot told Reuters.

来自乌克兰的欧根尼亚·科洛特向路透社透露：“由于沙子的质地比之前尝试时的要更好，并且天气、策划各方面也都很好，所以它没有坍塌。”