【推荐1】A Chinese saying goes, “birth in spring, growth in summer, harvest in autumn, and storage in winter.” It shows Chinese people’s understanding of time and agriculture（农业）. They also divided the year into 24 solar terms.They show Chinese people’s hope to get harmony（和谐）with nature. The 24 solar terms have got recognition（认可）from UNESCO.

To protect the traditional culture, as well as develop it in a creative way. Many people are doing their best. Wei Wei, the winner of the second prize of a competition, produced a long painting describing some customs related to each term. “When creating this painting, I realized that 24 solar terms influenced people’s lives greatly. For example, in many places, people have the customs of celebrating the beginning of winter. When winter comes, agricultural activities end, so people wear new clothes to greet each other.” Says Wei in 2021.

Neixiang county, Henan province, has a history giving a performance of dachunniu（beating the spring cow）to celebrate the beginning of spring. It also means the start of spring plowing（耕地）. The county plans to promote the culture of the solar terms by promoting this custom.

Our effort on promoting the traditional culture is a starting point, and there is a long way to go. The 24 solar terms are a cultural treasure, so we need to brush away the dust of history, and restore its glory.

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Beijing Opera is our national opera. It has a history from 1790. Its music and singing came from Anhui and Hubei. There are four main roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. Beijing Opera is full of famous stories, beautiful facial (脸部的) paintings, wonderful gestures (姿态) and fighting. Some of the stories are from history books, but many of them are from famous novels. The people in the stories usually can’t agree with each other. They became angry, unhappy, sad and lonely. Sometimes they are frightened and worried. Then they find a way to make peace with each other. Everyone is usually happy in the end.

Beijing Opera is an important part of Chinese culture. In the past, it was popular with old people while young people didn’t like it. But now, more and more young people are becoming interested in it. At the same time, more people around the world are learning about Beijing Opera.

【推荐1】One day a poor farmer was taking a bag of rice to town. Suddenly the bag fell off his horse on the road. He didn’t know what to do about it because it was too heavy for him to lift（举起） by himself. He only hoped that somebody would soon pass by and help him.

Just at this moment a man riding a horse came up to him. But the farmer was very disappointed (失望) when he saw who he was. It was the great man living nearby. The farmer had hoped to ask another farmer or a poor man like him.

But to his surprise, the great man got off his horse as soon as he came near. He said to the farmer, “I see you need help, friend. How good it is that I’m here just at the right time.” Then he took one end of the bag, the farmer took the other. They together lifted and put it on the horse.

“Sir,” asked the farmer, “how can I pay you?”

“It’s quite easy,” the great man answered with a smile, “wherever you see anyone else in trouble, do the same for him.”

【推荐2】Tangchang, a town in Chengdu, is well-known for cloth shoes. With over 20 types, Tangchang cloth shoes are strong, comfortable, breathable and friendly to the environment. In 2018, they were added to Sichuan’s intangible cultural heritage list (非物质文化遗产名录).

63-year-old Lai Shufang has spent over 40 years making Tangchang cloth shoes. As a master, she says there are 32 steps to make a pair, but the most important step is making the soles. Layers (层) of white cloth are glued together with flour paste (糨糊). “To make good paste, we make it at a temperature of 85℃. If it’s too low or too high, the paste will not work,” Lai said. Then the pasted layers are dried and cut into different shapes. After this, the layered cloth is beaten again and again until it is tight enough to make soles and upper parts. The next step is to shape the two parts and glue them together. But still the soles’ edges (边缘) look fluffy. Through repeated polishing and trimming, the fluffy edges will become smooth. Then the cloth shoes are ready.

Lai’s hard work touched her son Ai Peng. In 2015, Ai decided to leave his job. He used Shu embroidery to make the shoes look more beautiful and opened a cloth shoe store online. He also set up shop windows to show the steps of making shoes, helping more people learn about the art of cloth shoes.

【推荐3】A University Professor Turns Into an Astronaut

Gui Haichao is a young professor at Beihang University. On May 30, 2023, he arrived at China’s space station by Shenzhou XVI spacecraft. He has become an idol for numerous people in China overnight.

Gui grew up in a rural family in Shi Dian County, Yunnan Province. He loved science as a child. He kept a set of encyclopedias (百科全书) from which he gained a lot of knowledge about space. In his second year of high school, he listened to the campus radio and got the news of Yang Liwei’s first space flight for China. Suddenly, he felt excited, and his interest in exploring (探索) space began. After his college entrance examination, Gui placed first in science in his county, and he was admitted to Beihang University.

“I wasted no time in applying,” Gui remembered the moment when he found the notice. In 2018, China made a plan to recruit (招募) its third group of astronauts. After several rounds of selection for more than two years, Gui stood out among about 2,500 candidates and became one of the four selected payload experts.

Over the past few years, Gui has got survival training (生存训练) in deserts and been trained to handle those complex (复杂的) equipment (设备). He learned to do experiments in the space environment. The training was a great challenge for him. “I felt very dizzy often,” said Gui. “So I added exercise and used some methods used by pilots.”

As a teacher, Gui was strict about studying. When reviewing essays for students, he would always give the right advice in detail. Gui would sometimes list 30 to 40 suggestions, even pointing out incorrect images. In the eyes of his students, Gui is positive (乐观的) and open-minded, seldom affected by a bad mood. In the face of setbacks (挫折), he quickly cheers himself up and gets back to his work with passion (激情).

Gui has done space experiments in many fields. “I believe that we can finish the mission with our team’s efforts,” he said proudly.