1 . Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is a great book that has attracted young and old readers for over a century. Its long-lasting popularity shows Sewell’s skillful storytelling and the great message at the novel’s heart.

Through the eyes of Black Beauty, readers are sent to a world filled with trouble, pity, and hope. Sewell’s choice to tell the story from the horse’s viewpoint (角度) was a new method which made it easier for future writers to explore the thoughts of animals. The main ideas in the novel are just as important today as they were in the Victorian times.

Black Beauty is a lovely black horse that begins as a carriage (马车) horse, but when he is hurt, his rich owner decides that he is no longer good enough to be a carriage horse. From that moment, he is passed from owner to owner and goes through lots of hard work. Even though many unpleasant things happen to Black Beauty at the hands of unkind humans, he lives up to his name both outside and inside.

This story of his life from birth to old age is beautifully descriptive. Everything from his active days as a baby horse on a farm to a hard life pulling carriages on stone roads in London can be readily pictured in the readers’mind. Each part carries an important message about animal well-being, kindness, and respect, and is filled with plenty of page-turning suspense (悬念).

This Collector’s Edition of Black Beauty shows respect for this beloved book. Each part of the book has been carefully considered. From the drawings on the cover to the colored blocking, this is truly one-of-a-kind. The matching colored endpapers add an extra touch of luxury (奢侈), making it the perfect addition to any collector’s library and a great chance to experience the story that will reach your heart and stay with you forever.

4 . The British Museum is filled with some of the world’s most famous historical items. If you love history, it’s a good place to visit. It is said to be the top museum in London. The museum has millions of objects, making you worry about your first visit.

If you need help in exploring the museum’s displays, about 80,000 objects from a total collection of 8 million items, try joining a guided tour. There are various free tours. You can also rent audio guides.

Entry to the museum is free, but access to some exhibitions will charge you. The museum limits the number of people in the museum to ensure there’s room for you to safely enjoy your visit. You’re advised to book a free ticket to guarantee the entry. Self-led groups of 10 or more people will need to book a group ticket. School groups should contact the box office to book their visit to the museum.

Daily: from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (Fridays: 8:30 pm)

Last entry: 4:00 pm (Fridays: 7:30 pm)

The museum is closed from 24 December to 26 December.

Cafes and restaurants

Court Cafés: from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Great Court Restaurant: from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm

Bicycle racks are available inside the gates of the main entrance on Great Russell Street. If you’re planning to visit by car, please be aware that the museum doesn’t offer parking facilities. There is a taxi rank on Great Russell Street at the museum’s main gates. Going to the museum by bus or subway is very convenient, which can be your first choice.

For more information, visit the British Museum’s website.

5 . Family vlogging — the frequent recording and uploading of personal videos of the family, usually on video sharing website — has become big business nowadays, especially among parents of young children. The more viewers such videos can get, the more money the family can make. At first thought, it does seem like an easy way to make money. However, are we doing right by putting their lives up for public attention?

For one thing, as the children grow up, they increasingly become aware that what they do needs to be admirable enough for the public to enjoy — Being young children, they also would want to do whatever it takes to please others. They then feel the pressure to be perfect, and as that is something not always possible, they become anxious and stressed. Comments from viewers and the expectations of sponsors (赞助者) can also affect the parents’ reactions towards their children.

Another problem is the lack of privacy in the children’s lives. As the children reach adolescence, there is a greaser need for personal space. At 12 or 13, very few children would appreciate being filmed while eating or having a conversation with their friends. Teenhood is a time of significant change in an individual, both physically and emotionally, and is a time when parents need to protect their children and guide them, instead of exposing them to the eyes of the public.

Family vlogging can be irresistible, given how it allows parents to bring greater fun to their family lives. There is also the easy money and the fame to look forward to. Indeed, all would probably go well, but only as long as parents keep in mind that, if not managed well, making their children live their lives in the unforgiving eyes of the public could prove to be a big mistake.

6 . Camping tips: Which overnight wilderness experience is right for you?

If you’re an experienced backpacker, read no further. This article is for camping rookies, those who have never slept beneath the stars or haven’t pitched a tent since their youth but are seriously thinking about overnighting in the wilderness.

Car camping

At its most basic, car camping involves packing a tent, sleeping bag, fold-up chair, cooler and camp stove into your vehicle and staying at a drive-up campground. Nearly every national park, and many state and county parks and private facilities, offer drive-up campgrounds with restrooms, potable water, fire rings or pits, and maybe even hot showers. So there are lots of choices.

The downside of car camping is the fact that these campgrounds are often packed with other campers. Not a lot of privacy, they can be noisy, and possibly hinder your quest of communing with nature.

Backpacking

No vehicle required; just your feet and a good pair of hiking boots or shoes to get you to the next overnight spot. A multi-day hiking trip is without doubt the most immersive way to experience the great outdoors.

Different from maybe car camping, it requires the least expense and equipment. All you really need are a backpack, sleeping bag, water bottle, small first-aid kit, enough food to last the entire travel. It can be done just about anywhere on the planet.

Boat Camping

While this does involve owning or renting a watercraft or using a ferry or water taxi service to reach the overnight site, camping via canoe, kayak, raft or boat offers a similar get-away-from-it-all adventure as backpacking.

Experienced paddlers and boaters usually prefer to camp on their own along a secluded shoreline. But many adventure or wilderness outfitters offer guided trips that can last anywhere from a couple of days to two or three weeks. With a boat, you can sometimes camp places that not even backpackers can reach.

7 . Born in an unknown village in Huarong county, Hunan province, Yi had few opportunities to play instruments when he was young.

At the age of 6, when most performers have already begun studying the piano at music academies, Yi learned the traditional stringed instrument the erhu from a group of people lodging at his home. It was not until much later that he first saw a piano when he visited his cousin’s house in Huarong.

“My family was too poor to buy a piano for me, so I often used to visit my cousin, even though it took about an hour to travel the 20 kilometers to his home over rocky roads just for the opportunity to sit at the keyboard,” Yi said.

Yi first arrived in Shenzhen 19 years ago and worked in factories, on construction sites and in kitchens. He had not played a piano for nearly 30 years.

The public pianos in Huaqiangbei offered him a fresh start. On a hot summer’s day, while   taking a break from work at a nearby construction site, Yi and his son passed one of the instruments. Encouraged by his son, Yi decided to give it a try.

He rubbed his hands nervously on his clothes, but the moment he placed his fingers on the keys, he felt more comfortable and his confidence returned. Although his masterly performance at the piano keyboard quickly made him an online sensation in China and overseas, Yi is not the only one to benefit from the pianos in Huaqiangbei.

Inspired by the British artist Luke Jerram, who has placed more than 2,000 street pianos in over 70 cities worldwide since 2008 with the words “Play Me, I’m Yours” printed on their sides, the public piano project in Huaqiangbei was launched by the local government in 2018.

Zhang Chen, deputy director of the Huaqiangbei subdistrict office, said: “Huaqiangbei is located in the commercial district in the center of Shenzhen. We have been trying to provide diverse facilities to bring high-quality public cultural services to the area. We are surprised that the public piano project has attracted so many people to play the instruments, and others to watch them perform.”