More than 20 years ago, when Gao Zhongtai was a reporter in Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province, he started     1    (follow) news about the research and development of China’s deep-sea     2    (man) submersibles at the China Ship Scientific Research Center.

The Wuxi-based center, China’s largest ship and ocean engineering research institute, is behind the success of the country’s three deep-sea manned submersibles: Jiaolong (Sea Dragon), Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) and Fendouzhe (Striver).

Gao     3    (conduct) interviews with the key scientists and engineers. However, his reporting was never going to get the story behind the story, or the intricate details about the research and development.

That is why Gao, in his 60s, wrote the book Shenqian (Diving Deep),     4    (publish) earlier this year, in which he recorded how scientists and engineers     5    (develop) the world’s most advanced deep-sea manned submersibles in the last 20 years,     6    (start) from scratch.

Before Shenqian, Gao published nonfiction works like Dying to Survive, about a leukemia patient trying to save himself and other cancer patients by illegally     7    (buy) generic drugs from India, and history novels set in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He is also a TV series screenwriter.

Since Fendouzhe, China’s most advanced deep-sea manned submersible, successfully traveled to the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, the deepest natural frontier on Earth, in 2020, Gao has always wanted     8    (write) a book about this feat.

Although he had been following the news for decades, he still found it difficult     9    (understand) the science and technology used on deep-sea manned submersibles. He spent a great deal of time trying     10    (figure) out. To better discuss the motivation of exploring the ocean, he also researched more about the sea.

In 2023, China achieved eye-catching performance in the shipbuilding sector, with solid progress in producing liquefied natural gas tankers, container vessels and high-end ships,     1     ( make) huge strides to become a world powerhouse in the field.

With the     2     (deliver) of its first homemade cruise ship, Adora Magic City, China has become the only country in the world to have mastered building an aircraft carrier,     3     large liquefied natural gas carrier and a large cruise ship.

Young Chinese bring hanfu to the world during Spring Festival

Young people dressed in hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group in China,    1     (spot) in many    2     (locate) around the world during this year’s Spring Festival holiday.

An initiative launched in late January by Xiaohongshu,     3     Chinese lifestyle-focused social media platform, invited users to upload photos or videos of themselves and friends wearing hanfu at landmarks around the world from January 28 to February 19.

The first two weeks of the initiative saw some 10,000 Xiaohongshu users share their photos     4     (take) from around 30 countries and regions around the world. One user even posted photos from Antarctica.

Many young Chinese people working or studying overseas also invited     5     (they) foreign friends to wear     6     (tradition) Chinese costumes to celebrate the Spring Festival together.

Hanfu, as well as other traditional forms of Chinese costume,     7     (experience) a surge in popularity in recent years. Clothes featuring traditional Chinese elements combined with modern designs,     8     are dubbed the “new Chinese style” have developed into a fashion trend among the     9     (young) generations not only in China, but also worldwide.

Analysts say the rise     10     “China chic” reflects young Chinese people’s confidence in their own culture. Wearing Chinese-style costumes not only reflects the wearer’s Eastern temperament, but also presents Chinese aesthetics to the world.

From: chinadaily.com.cn

Nanjing is a city that has played an important role in Chinese history for thousands of years. Nanjing     1     (name) the capital city first in 229 AD during the Three Kingdoms period. It has been a capital city many times. It’s a place that is relatively unknown     2     foreigners yet very popular with local tourists.

When Dave and I got the chance     3     (travel) to it, we jumped at it. We hadn’t known anything about Nanjing before going, but hearing that it was a popular destination from Shanghai, we were excited to explore it. It turns out that Nanjing is one of our favourite     4     (place) to visit in China.

We first went to Nanjing Niushoushan Cultural Park. A trolley (电车) took us to the top of the mountain     5     we could view the immaculate(圣洁的) Buddhist Palace that was built into the side of the mountain.     6     (open) in 2015, it is an example that proves the traditional and the modern can co-exist.

But soon we     7     (realize) that a real treat was inside the palace when we took the escalator (自动扶梯) 6 stories underground to see the Thousand-Buddha Hall. With a height of 28 metres, the golden hall is     8     (impress).

We highly recommend     9     (take) a full day to explore the Niushoushan Cultural Park to visit all the sites on the mountains. And do remember visiting the Usnisa Palace is     10    must.

The earliest Chinese kites     1     were made of wood were called muyuan (wooden kites) They date as far back as the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) at least two thousand years ago. After the     2     (invent) of paper, kites began to be made of this new material, paper, and this paper kite is called zhiyuan.

The method of making a kite can be divided into three parts. Firstly, use thin bamboo strips (条)     3     (make) a kite frame (框架), and according to taste, kites can have     4     (attract) shapes like a dragonfly, a swallow, a centipede or a butterfly. Secondly, glue paper onto the framework. The paper     5     (require) to be thin. Finally, decorate the kites     6     colorful paintings and ribbons.

Although the basic method remains the same, styles of kite making are presented     7     (different) in every place. The kites in the “World Kite Capital” of Weifang in Shandong Province are well known for     8     (they) fine materials, painting, sculpture and flexible flying movement. One of these kites, which was over 300 meters long and in the shape of a centipede with a dragon’s head, won the     9     (one) place in the International Kite Festival held in Italy. This kite is now shown in the Weifang Kite Museum. Every year, the World Kite Festival will be held there and is expected to draw many fans with a love for     10     (fly) kites.

The dragon lantern festival is set to open Lanterns, symbols of joy and     1     (happy) since ancient times, have become one of China’s cultural icons. During the Lantern Festival every year, lighting lanterns     2     (be) an important part of Chinese New Year celebrations.

The Zigong lantern festival, dating     3     the Dang Dynasty, stands out from the lantern shows in China and has been listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产). With     4     (it) combination of lanterns with landscapes, the Zigong lantern festival covers various art forms such as sculpture, and traditional Chinese painting. Up to now, it     5     (attract) over 400 million visitors.

The lantern exhibition features nearly 2 kilometers of lighted streets. There are about forty sets of different lanterns,     6     (include) huge lanterns, crafted lanterns, decorative lanterns and themed lantern sets inspired by     7     (tradition) Chinese legends and classical literature. Varieties of animal-shaped lanterns will show great artistic charm to visitors.

Throughout the lantern festival, there will be a series of Chinese cultural experiences,     8     include a lighting ceremony, a traditional Hanfu show and     9    creative New Year painting exhibition. Limited-edition lanterns will be available for visitors     10     (buy).