2 .

The Chinese cheongsam, also known as qipao, is a traditional dress that first appeared in the early 20th century in Shanghai. It has become a symbol of Chinese culture and is worn by women around the world.

The cheongsam hugs the curves (曲线) of the body and is mostly made of silk or cotton. It’s typical with a high collar (领), short sleeves (袖) and a short cut on the side of the skirt to make movement easy.

The cheongsam was first worn by wealthy women in Shanghai as a way to show their social positions and wealth. But it quickly became popular among all classes of women as daily clothes. During the 1920s and 1930s, the cheongsam experienced changes and became fitter and better designed with fashionable elements (元素). Nowadays, designers are creating new styles to follow modern fashion.

Today, the cheongsam is often worn for formal situations such as ceremonies, celebrations and cultural events in China. One of the most popular looks of the cheongsam is Ann Wong, a Chinese famous movie star. She often wears cheongsams on and off screen. Her look helps to make the dress win popularity in Hollywood and around the world.

The cheongsam is not just a symbol of fashion, but also of Chinese culture and history. It brings out that Chinese people can always keep up with changing fashion over years. The cheongsam has stood the test of time. It will continue to catch eyes of the public and give ideas to people for years to come.

For more than 2,000 years. Jingdezhen was known as the porcelain capital of the world. Today, Jingdezhen remains a national center for porcelain production. The most famous types of porcelain from Jingdezhen are famille-rose porcelain, linglong porcelain, blue-white porcelain and color-glazed porcelain. The imperial porcelain was so exquisite that it was described as being “as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, with a sound as clear as a bell.”

Among all porcelain produced in Jingdezhen, the most representative is blue-white porcelain. Blue-white porcelain originated in the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties blue-white porcelain became increasingly popular, and since the 14th century manufacturers have shipped blue-white porcelain to world markets. The porcelain reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty. Its thin, translucent quality and attractive designs made it very valuable throughout Europe and the colonies, ranking first among blue-white porcelain nationwide.

Blue-white porcelain is the most famous among the four traditional types of porcelain produced in Jingdezhen, and is famous as the “ever-lasting blue flower.” The blue-white style is created by drawing the design with cobalt pigment onto the stoneware body and painting over it with a transparent glaze. This style is also known as “underglazed blue.” The piece is then fired at a high temperature. Blue-white porcelain has been in production ever since thanks to its bright colors, simple yet elegant patterns, and smooth glaze that never fades.

The Yuan Dynasty was a key period for the development of firing techniques for blue-white porcelain in China. Its unique characteristics were based on the techniques of former dynasties. It was during this period that blue and white porcelain was perfected and came to characterize the Ming Dynasty. China’s multi-colored porcelain was often given as gifts on diplomatic missions.

In 1979 Jingdezhen blue-white porcelain won a national golden prize and in 1985 it was honored with three gold medals at different international fairs. Since then, the name “Jingdezhen Blue-white Porcelain” has spread far and wide. It is by far a top product in the porcelain business, boasting the most prizes and the highest standards.

Sanjiangyuan, meaning “source of three rivers”, is an area in Northwest China’s Qinghai province and an important part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (青藏高原). It is home to the headwaters of China’s three major rivers: the Yellow, Yangtze and Lancang. 

During the past 20 years, the reserve has seen great changes and progress. 

Tsewang Gyaltsen, an environmental protection worker in Qinghai province, said that because of illegal mining (非法采矿) in the 1990s, a large part of the land was desertified (沙化). 

The government, social organizations and local people have all acted to solve this problem. The government is improving the ecological protection management system (生态保护管理制度) and Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve has become part of Sanjiangyuan National Park and is under strict protection.

The organization that Tsewang Gyaltsen works for also organizes nature education events. Taking teenagers to mountains and lakes, it gets younger generations to take an interest in environmental protection.                                                                                                                                

Sanjiangyuan is changing for the better. It’s now a good home for wild animals, said Xinhua. The wild animal population is rising. The number of Tibetan antelopes has increased from less than 20,000 in the 1990s to over 70,000.

But Sanjiangyuan still faces difficulties. “The biggest challenge now is the possible loss of grassland and melting frozen soil (冻土) caused by global warming,” said Tsewang Gyaltsen.

“So we hope more people can come together in the environmental protection of Sanjiangyuan and make it even better.”

6 . Walking on the street every day, have you noticed the drainage covers (排水井盖)? They are important for avoiding floods in cities. Students from Shenzhen have improved the drainage covers over the past years by adding a velocimeter (测速仪) and a GPS system.

It all started when student Yang Wenkai noticed that it was dangerous for workers to clean drainage covers while it was raining. In 2020, Yang decided to invent a velocimeter to check the speed of water flowing through drainage covers so that the water authority could find problems in time. Since then, new generations of velocimeters have been updated by students of each year. And this is the fifth generation. “We improved the size and shape of each generation so that it can be placed on the drainage covers more easily without having to produce new ones,” said Xiao Minyuan, a member of the project.

Apart from warning the authorities, it also has several other functions (功能). A laser beacon (自准水平激光仪) makes it easier for staff to find the cover when it’s in water, while a solar panel (太阳能电池板) keeps low energy use. The Beidou Navigation Satellite System helps the authorities find the drainage covers quickly. 

The process is hard, but they have ways to work it out. They work in groups. Different team members are in charge of different parts of the project. “Some do market research; some deal with technology; some design; some are doing experiments,” Chen Ziyu said. “It’s all about teamwork.”

7 . Dr Joseph Dituri, also known as “Dr Deep Sea”, had an amazing adventure. For 100 days, the University of South Florida teacher lived underwater. He set a new world record, beating the old record of 73 days.

Dr Dituri began the project on March 1, 2023. His goal was to stay for 100 days at a special underwater hotel called Jules’s Undersea Lodge. The hotel is 22 feet (6.7 meters) under the ocean surface in a protected area in Key Largo, Florida, US.

The farther you go below the ocean’s surface, the greater the pressure. Dr Dituri wanted to learn how this pressure affects the human body over time. In his undersea room, Dr Dituri was living with pressure that was about 66 percent greater than the pressure on the surface.

Dr Dituri believes that high pressure could help people live longer and stay healthier as they get older. It could also help doctors treat different medical problems, including brain injuries. Dr Dituri’s room was only 100 square feet (9.3 square meters). But it had somewhere to sleep, a small living room and a kitchen.

While underwater, Dr Dituri stayed busy. He often exercised in the morning. He taught his college classes and had online chats with over 5,500 students from 15 different countries and regions.

On June 9, 2023, Dr Dituri returned to the surface where he could finally see the sun again. Doctors quickly checked that he was okay. “The human body has never been underwater that long,” Dr Dituri said. “This experience has changed me in an important way.”