【推荐1】Jingdezhen is famous as China’s porcelain (瓷器) capital. It was one of thestops of a group of international youths as they visited Jiangxi Province.

The group’s visit to Jingdezhen was organised by the 2022 Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) China Tours program. The program offers young people around the world a chance to experience Chinese culture, learn about the life of the nation’s people, and appreciate China’s beautiful scenery through interesting visits and exchanges that take them all over the country.

In Jingdezhen, they visited Imperial Kiln (御窑) Museum. “Before I came to the Imperial Kiln Museum, I had no idea it would take such a complicated (复杂的) process to restore (修复) a piece of porcelain left over from ancient times,” American TV host Steven Weathers said. “Even with the help of high technology, it is hard to imagine how many modern means have played a part in the process of cultural relic protection,” he added.

Daria Lisaia, a researcher from Vanke Urban Research in Shenzhen, shared Weathers’ opinion. Some porcelain musical instruments have been produced with these imperial kilns from ancient days and traditional tools for making porcelain, so we can “hear the music” from hundreds of years ago, she said. “It’s like ancient culture is reborn,” she explained.

In addition to exploring the porcelain art, the group also came to Huangling Village in Wuyuan County, an ancient village around 80 km east of Jingdezhen. Huangling was once packed with run-down houses and buildings. Changes began to take place in 2009, with over 80 percent of the old houses restored. Today, many people come here to enjoy its historic scenes and natural beauty. In early autumn, large bamboo baskets filled with crops, such as chilies, pumpkins and chrysanthemum flowers, are placed in front of the local houses. Locals dry and preserve their crops for winter. Today, the longstanding practice has become a symbol of local culture and an important part of tourism.

【推荐2】In the world of art and creativity, there are countless materials that artists use to express their ideas and emotions. One of the materials that have gained popularity in recent years is woven paper (编纸). It is a classic art form that involves the weaving of paper to create various objects and products.     1    

The origin of woven paper can date back to ancient civilizations and at first it was mainly used for practical purposes such as making baskets.     2     In the 20th century, woven paper gained significant recognition as an art form, with artists experimenting with different weaving patterns and technique to create various designs.

Creating a woven paper artwork requires time, accuracy, and a deep understanding of the textures (质地). Artists start by outlining their design, thinking about how the weaving pattern forms the final piece.     3     As they weave the paper strips (纸条) together, they pay close attention to detail, ensuring that the overall pattern is balanced and harmonious.

    4     They are lightweight, long-lasting, and eco-friendly since they can be made of recycled materials. Woven paper items can also easily suit individual preferences for the size, shape, and color. Besides, the process of weaving paper can be a creative and enjoyable craft activity for individuals of all ages.

Woven paper art not only shows the artistic skills of the creator but also carries deeper meanings and messages.     5     Woven paper art can be a powerful medium for storytelling, allowing artists to connect with viewers on a deep level.

【推荐2】Fifty years ago, astronauts traveled to space in rockets designed, built, and maintained by NASA and paid for by government funding. Today, the astronauts are often billionaires enjoying a journey into low orbit on a rocket they paid for from their billion-dollar bank accounts.

The change feels like a giant leap, but it makes sense, says Laura Seward Forczyk, founder of Astralytical a space consulting company. “More and more of modern civilization relies on space,” she says.

Huge numbers of satellites orbit the planet connecting us to everything from cell phones to GPS to Netflix and there is big money in maintaining those systems. “This doesn’t get a lot of headlines typically, but there are profit reasons why private companies want to go into space,” says Forczyk.

And 85 private companies learn more about putting rockets and satellites into space, they’re able to help the likes of NASA on their missions. That’s important because NASA itself has become financially constrained from its 1966 peak, where spending on the space race took up 4.4 percent of the federal budget, that spending is now less than 0.5 percent of the country’s total budget.

“NASA using commercial companies to build a lot of the hardware to do a lot of those services of taking scientific payloads to the surface of the moon,” says Forczyk. The hope is that people will follow — possibly by 2025, but more realistically, says Forczyk, by 2030. If you’re wondering why we’re going back to the moon since mankind has already walked its surface, the answer is that we explored only part of it.

“We know a lot more, but we also know so very little,” says Forczyk. “So we want to go back with people to learn more, but more importantly, we want to go back to live and work there.”

Some even see the moon as an eventual staging area for human exploration of deep space. Mars is seen as the next stepping-off point toward the final frontier — though whether we’ll get there in our lifetimes is another question.

【推荐3】Climate change isn’t just about rising seas and hotter heatwaves; it’s also bringing about a pothole (坑洞) disaster on our roads! In 2023, the UK reported nearly 630,000 pothole complaints—a shocking five-year peak. Across the road, the USA saw a shocking 57% increase in vehicle damages due to potholes compared to 2021. What’s causing this asphalt (沥青) disaster? Climate change is a key factor, damaging our streets with severe weather and rising temperatures.

The science behind this damages is astonishing. Dr. Hassan Davani, an engineering expert, explains that intense heat can soften roads, leading to cracks and potholes. Floods, another climate change mark, wash away road surfaces. Adding to the mess are increased freeze-thaw (冻融) cycles, which create damaged ice lenses under the road. When these melt, they leave behind the terrible potholes.

But fear not! There’s hope on the horizon with cutting-edge innovations. Certain regions are adopting pavements designed to endure broader temperature ranges. Gabe Cimini, a pavement engineering expert, points to California’s use of specialized asphalt mixes that can resist temperatures from58℃ to a freezing -32℃.

And there’s more! Modern Hydrogen, a pioneering climate tech startup backed by Bill Gates, is transforming road repair. By using solid carbon from carbon capture in asphalt, they’re crafting roads that are 250% more solid, enduring higher temperatures and reducing CO₂ emissions. This revolutionary asphalt is already hitting roads in the US and Canada.

Self-healing pavement, or “smart asphalt,” is another game-changer. Imagine roads that can repair themselves! Some newer versions use steel fibres that heat up, melting the mortar (灰浆) to completely mend potholes.

While these innovations promise smoother and more solid roads in our climate-impacted world, widespread adoption might still be a few years away. So prepare for an uncomfortable ride, but remember, smoother streets are on the horizon!

【推荐2】The Brooklyn Museum has accumulated one of the largest and most diverse collections in the United States. Its holdings range from the ancient to the contemporary and include almost all the world’s main cultures, reflecting the long history of art.

The Museum is committed to making its collections accessible to the widest possible audience, and this site is an important part of that process. We intend to continue to expand the number of works of art. We are making every effort to ensure that the information provided about our collection is accurate and up-to-date.

Museum Hours

Monday–Tuesday: Closed

Wednesday-Sunday: 11 am-6 pm

Masks are required.

Suggested Admission

Adults: $ 16

Students 13+: $ 10 (with I.D.)

Age 12 and under: Free

All tickets to the Museum are for timed entry in 15 minutes. We strongly recommend purchasing tickets in advance. A limited number of tickets are reserved for same-day purchase at the Museum each day.

Collection

You'll find a wealth of information about many of the objects in our rich holdings. We hope these pages will inspire you to explore further—both here and in our galleries.

For a variety of reasons, including conservation concerns and the lending of works to other institutions, not all the objects illustrated here are on view at any one time. You can find the location of specific objects by accessing their individual records.

【推荐3】At the top of a hill called Mount Lee in Los Angeles on the west coast of the USA is a very famous sign, recognizable to people around the world. My job is to look after this sign.     1     The first film was made there in 1907 and by 1912, at least 15 independent studios could be found making films around town.

In the 1940s, TV started to become popular and some Hollywood film studios closed, but then TV companies moved in and took them over. Modern Hollywood was born.     2     If one of them ever fell down I would have to put it back up at exactly the same angle. They follow the shape of Mount Lee and this is part of their fame.

I am responsible for maintaining and protecting the sign.     3     When I first arrived in 1989, security was pretty low-tech-we put up a fence around the sign to stop people messing with it. But people just jumped over the fence. The back of the sign was black with graffiti(涂鸦)there was wire across it, but they still got through. So I decided to improve the effectiveness of the security.

Now we have motion-detectors and cameras. Everything goes via the internet to a dedicated surveillance(监控)team watching various structures around the city. Even so, people still try to climb over the barrier, mostly innocent tourists surprised that you can’t walk right up to the sign. But they can get a closer look on one of my regular tours.

    4     They want to light the sign, paint it pink, or cover it in something to promote their product. You’ll get a really enthusiastic marketing executive call up, terribly excited because they think they’re the first person to think of this or that idea. They mostly get turned down. That’s because we don’t like to change the image and we hope it will have the same significance for generations to come.