| 惨状 | cǎn zhuàng | devastation / miserable condition |   |
| 惨不忍睹 | cǎn bù rěn dǔ | spectacle too horrible to endure (idiom) / tragic sight / appalling scenes of devastation | |
| 大跃进 | Dà yuè jìn | Great Leap Forward (1958-1960), Mao's attempt to modernize China's economy, which resulted in economic devastation, and millions of deaths from famine caused by misguided policies | |
| 残垣断壁 | cán yuán duàn bì | lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom) / fig. scene of devastation / ruins | |
| 惨不忍闻 | cǎn bù rěn wén | too horrible to endure (idiom) / tragic spectacle / appalling scenes of devastation | |
| 疮痍满目 | chuāng yí mǎn mù | a scene of devastation meets the eye everywhere one looks (idiom) | |
| 颓垣断壁 | tuí yuán duàn bì | lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom) / fig. scene of devastation / ruins | |
| 断壁残垣 | duàn bì cán yuán | lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom) / fig. scene of devastation / ruins | |
| 森林破坏 | sēn lín pò huài | devastation of forests | |
| 残垣败壁 | cán yuán bài bì | lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom) / fig. scene of devastation / ruins | |
| 断垣残壁 | duàn yuán cán bì | lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom) / fig. scene of devastation / ruins | |
| 断壁颓垣 | duàn bì tuí yuán | lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom) / fig. scene of devastation / ruins | |
| 满目疮痍 | mǎn mù chuāng yí | a scene of devastation meets the eye everywhere one looks (idiom) | |
