Switzerland returned five lost cultural treasures to China on August 24th, 2023. This is the     1     (two) time that Switzerland has returned cultural treasures to China.     2     December 2014, Switzerland returned a cultural treasure of the Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 220) to China.

China’s official Wang Shiting took part in the ceremony for the return of Chinese lost cultural treasures. It     3     (hold) successfully on August 24th. And an     4     (agree) between China and Switzerland was signed on the day.

The returned cultural treasures include four pieces of chinaware (瓷器) and one coin, with high historical value. The return     5     (complete) shows the common hard work of the two countries. They work together in the protection of cultural treasures. This has played a great role in improving understanding and friendship between people from the two     6     (side). Wang said that in a speech at the ceremony.

He also said China is happy to have the treasures returned. And China will enjoy     7     (work) with Switzerland in areas. They will deal with the return of cultural treasures, research on ancient cultures     8     museums exchanges.

The relations between Switzerland and China become     9     (close) than before. It is     10     great honor for Switzerland to return these five cultural relics (文物) to China.

Xunpu is a small fishing village in Fujian. Last year, some women     1     (share) their photos online. They had their hair in buns (发髻) and wore special local headdresses with fresh,     2     (color) flowers called “Zanhuawei.” These photos became very popular online. Soon, many     3     (tourist) started coming to the village to see Zanhuawei for themselves.

Wearing flowers has been a tradition in Xunpu since the Tang Dynasty. The village is well-known     4     its delicious, fresh seafood. At the market, women selling seafood wear flowers in their hair, making it easy for customers to tell     5     (they) from other sellers. This flower tradition is also part of celebrations like weddings. Invitations come decorated with flowers, and women guests wear these flowers to     6     event.

In Xunpu, the style of flower headdresses changes with the     7     (wearer) age. Kids from eight to twelve place flowers near their temples (太阳穴). Teenagers around 13 use round buns with fresh flowers in them. Middle-aged women choose spiral (螺旋的) buns, decorating them with flowers and gold. Elderly women prefer red flowers, scarves,     8     other accessories (配饰).

The local people believe that by wearing flowers in this life, one stays pretty forever. In 2008, the tradition of flower-wearing among Xunpu women was     9     (list) as part of China’s intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产). Also, people in Xunpu are taking     10     (many) actions to protect this traditional art.

4 .

Many young college graduates would like to have a stable (稳定的) job after graduation, but Samdrub Norbu thinks differently. The 23-year-old founder of Yangchak Art has been running a Tibetan (西藏的) ________ business for more than half a year since his graduation last year.

Samdrub Norbu, born to a common family in Tibet, is ________ about Tibetan music. He learned more about the Tibetan guitar in the college and since then, the guitar has become one of his best friends in life, and it almost ________ leaves his side.

While still studying in college three years ago, he opened a shop in his home county ________ Tibetan musical instruments. However, with few knew or played them, the business ________ and he lost almost 500,000 yuan ($69,000), which resulted in a terrible effect on him and his family. “I ________ a time of great difficulties.” he said, “Even my girlfriend left me. In those ________ days of my life, I asked my self again and again ________ I should go on.”

And the answer was “________”. He realized how clear and ________ the dream of making a living while protecting the Tibetan guitar still stayed in his heart. And he should never give it up. That was why he started the ________ business after his graduation.

With the support from the local government, ________, his business is running well this time. He also has a workshop to make Tibetan guitars himself and plans to set up a Tibetan art school. “Tibetan music is something that can bring ________ away from us. I don’t know what will happen in the future but I’m so ________ now to have the chance to introduce it to the world. I really hope more people will come and enjoy the special Tibetan ________ themselves.” Samdrub Norbu smiled.

Over the past few years, technology has played an very important role in culture protection in China. One of the beneficiaries (受益者) of this trend is the Xi’an City Wall, China’s largest and best-preserved (保存最完好的) ancient city wall.

Located at the heart of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, the city wall was built as a military defense (军事防御) system over 600 years ago. The wall is up to 14 meters wide at the top.

Bearing witness to history, the city wall is also the part of modern city life. A lot of tourists go on top of it, while streams of cars and buses pass through the city gates daily.

However, the city wall has experienced some damage over the years. This produced the challenge of protecting the ancient treasure without influencing its modern functions. Some experts tried to deal with this challenge by using high technologies.

Last year, Muon Imaging Technology (μ介子成像技术) was used in the wall. This technology was developed by a research team of Lanzhou University. It can scan the inside of the thick body of the wall to discover damage, without any harm to the wall itself. With such technology, the preservation of the city wall has changed from repairing to damage checking and prevention.

“In recent years, China has made a national cultural digitization strategy to encourage the cultural industries. The Xi’an City Wall will develop in line with this strategy to make culture preservation and cultural tourism stronger,” said Zhao Bin, director of the Xi’an City Wall Digital Industry Innovation Center.

A Virtual Visit to Stolen Art

Virtual (虚拟的) museums are nothing new these days.   

Technology has allowed people to take trips to some of the world’s greatest museums on their couch. Now how about a virtual visit to stolen art?

UNESCO is building the world’s first virtual museum of stolen cultural artifacts (文物). Their aim is to raise public awareness of culture heritage (遗产) protection.

“Behind every stolen work lies a piece of history,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “We want to place these works back in the spotlight so that more people can notice them.”

The virtual museum works as an educational tool. It will offer visitors 3D images of stolen artifacts. There will also be detailed information about their history.

The project will be designed by Francis Kere. The architect won the famous Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2022. For the museum, he has designed a virtual globe with a spiral (螺旋的) central structure.

When it is opened in 2025, the museum will present 600 pieces of artifacts. One of the most important items is a 3rd-century alabaster stone inscription. It was taken from Awwam temple in Yemen. Visitors will also be able to see an ivory relief from the 7th century BC. The work of a lion attacking a man was stolen from, the Baghdad Museum. A green stone mask looted from the Maya site of Rio Azul will also be on display.

“These are objects that once existed, but we don’t know where they are,” said Ernesto Ottone. He is UNESCO’s assistant director’ general for culture. “We will exhibit them in a space where we can really tell the story and the context behind them.”

“No one has imagined a museum like this,” Azoulay said. “The presentation of each artwork is a deep dive (深入研究) into its universe, its culture, and the society that produced it,” she added.