2 . As part of Yangzhou culture, Yangzhou cuisine (美食) is the best known for its long history. Since the a    1     times, Yangzhou has been the center of Huaiyang cuisine. The earliest known r    2     can be found in The Book of History (尚书). Huaiyang cuisine appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, d    3     in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and flourished (繁盛) in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

For many years, Yangzhou snacks have been well known for their great variety with different fillings and beautiful s    4    . Some of them are like balls, stars and so on. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yangzhou city was praised as “a place whose pastry shops were the finest under heaven”. Yangzhou snacks won high praise from visitors b    5     at home and abroad.

Among the famous masters during the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Beauty Shaw in Yizheng was the b    6     at making Yangzhou snacks. The snacks she made were said to be as v    7     as gold because they are all small, cute and as white as snow and they are hard to buy. Beauty Shaw is also c    8     as one of the top ten masters of ancient China.

Fuchun Teahouse was built in Yangzhou in 1885. It has b    9     a famous Chinese restaurant for its long history and high quality. It is also famous for i    10     self-made tea Kuilongzhu.

If you come to Yangzhou, don’t miss Yangzhou cuisine!

Switzerland (瑞士) is famous for its beautiful views. Many people dream of living there. Thanks to the local policy, their dream has come true in Albinen (阿尔比嫩).

Albinen is in Valais, a state in the c    1     of the Swiss Alps. It is a beautiful mountain village and it is c    2     as one of Valais’ most beautiful villages. In the peaceful and quiet village, it’s a    3     to breathe in the fresh mountain air while enjoying the view. It is a perfect place for people to spend their holiday.

B    4     roads were built, only footpaths allowed people to reach Albinen. In 1902, there was no hotel or shop. At that time, the population there was only 301, the l    5     population ever. Since the 1940s, people have been leaving the village and most of them were young because there were not enough jobs. Although cars reached Albinen in the 1960s and the roads brought in tourists, Albinen’s population c    6     to fall. In 2017, there were about 240 people living there. The village school was closed so the village’s 7 children had to go to a    7     town by bus every day.

To attract people under 45 years old to buy or build new homes in the village, the mayor (镇长) of Albinen, Beat Jost, carried out a policy in 2017. Each adult would be g    8     $25. 000 and each child would be paid $10, 000. But they had to live in the village for ten years.

People around the world knew the news q    9     “The policy fully worked. We had 12, 000 requests by e-mail or phone, ” said the mayor. “At last we accepted 38 people, i    10     twelve children.” And at the end of 2019, the village had four births. It had been a new record for 20 years!

    1     are you in Guangzhou? Emily and I are fine     2     London. It is winter now, and the weather here is not very nice. It’s snowing heavily. London is a beautiful     3     modern city. There     4     many famous buildings in London, such as the Big Ben and the British Museum. We have much fun and learn a lot in the museum.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve (圣诞前夕), and there are many people at Harrods. They are buying Christmas presents there. In the park, children are playing with snow. Everyone is happy. By the way, the tea here is great. And Emily is going to buy some black tea for you.

We are going back     5     Shanghai soon and we miss you very much.

Love,

Steve

In the recently passed winter holiday, the nickname “s    1     potatoes” which refers to “nanfang xiaotudou” has been p    2     across the country, almost everyone knows them through news, TVs or other social medias (社交媒体).

Harbin, located in northeastern China, is f    3     for its cold winter and fantastic ice sculptures. Over the past winter holiday, the city has turned itself into one of the most favourite tourist places to go in China. A    4     to He Jing, the director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Harbin’s tourism boom (旅游繁荣) this year is not just a coincidence (巧合), but the r    5     of years of careful preparation.

Since the beginning of 2023, the city has been developing plans to improve the tourism industry. “We t    6     immediate (立即的) action to improve whatever the visitors complain about b    7     we would like to stand in the shoes of visitors and make Harbin a better place to visit. To help visitors w    8     are not used to cold weather, we have set up many heated places for them to change clothes and p    9     free hot drinks for them. Local specially frozen pears are even cut into small pieces. We just want to impress visitors with all the small details, m    10     them feel comfortable and welcomed.” He Jing says.

Just like what Harbin did to show their unique beauty and warm hospitality (好客) to the visitors, I think every city in China is willing to do the same to make people around the world to experience the real beauty and warm hospitality of China.

Steep hills and lakes dotted (点缀) here and there in Ninghai County, Zhejiang Province. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, some of the areas was c    1     by active volcanoes.

Several villages that have existed for h    2     of years reflect the geological forces. One of them is Xujiashan Village. U    3     houses in ancient Chinese villages that are mostly built of wood, bricks (砖块) or clay (黏土), those in Xujiashan are all built of local stones. The tour g    4     calls it a “stone village”.

Most of the stones u    5     to build the villages are a copper (铜色的) color. The locals call them “bronze slates”. The stones are used to build houses, bridges, roads, benches and gardens. B    6     of its special appearance, Xujiashan was chosen in 2018 as one of the 10 most beautiful villages in Ningbo.

Before tourism was developed in Xujiashan about ten years ago, most of the y    7     people in the village left to seek opportunities in bigger cities. The old left behind continued to work the land.

“We have kept a lot of traditional customs in the village, such as bamboo weaving (编织) and the pounding of rice cake dough,” said Zhang Dewang, a restaurant o    8     in the village. “They are simply part of our lifestyle.”

Although the n    9     of the village translates as “Xu’s Mountain”, one of the landmarks in the village is named Ye’s Ancestor (祖先) Hall. Most villagers are descendants (后代) of the Ye clans (宗族). The memorial tablets of Ye’s ancestors are well protected and respected in the c    10     of the hall.