Are you familiar with pop star Jay Chou’s Blue &White Porcelain? Its original lines, just     1     the composer Fang Wenshan described, were inspired by Ru porcelain (汝瓷).

Ranked best among famous kinds during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Ru porcelain is known for its unique pale blue glaze (釉). Oceans     2     Ru porcelain flooded onto the market around the year of 1100, but the     3     (exist) of Ru ware now is actually rare. Thanks to the efforts of Ru porcelain inheritors, people can now appreciate it     4     (close) at hand than before.

Born in Ruzhou, Henan province, Li Chao has spent a decade     5     (better) crafting skills. Ru porcelain goes through 72 steps, the    6     (one) of which is knead (揉) mud. Any small errors could lead to disaster, said the 41-year-old inheritor. He then stressed that a Ru porcelain inheritor must be patient enough. Every item of artwork     7     (full) deserves our admiration.

Techniques of making Ru porcelain will     8     (lose) with senior inheritors gradually passing away. So,     9     Li spares no effort in doing is introducing it to wider masses.     10     (achieve) this goal, he creatively uses Ru porcelain in making daily ware popular among young people. Now he’s aiming to expand the market by introducing it to the whole world.

China has many famed explorers. There was Zhang Qian,     1     traveled into Central Asia,     2     (open) corridors of trade that became the Silk Road. Zheng He was a great mariner in the 15th century. Yet these voyages     3     (undertake) under the direction of governments Xu Xiake was different.

Born in 1587, Xu Xiake grew up in a rich family. Yet he rejected the     4     （comfort) life to travel the lost world of imperial China. As one of the greatest land explorers, Xu Xiake is said     5     (travel) thousands of miles of Chinese mountains and rivers on foot in his lifetime. The written work of Xu Xiake's travel records and diaries contains some 404, 000 Chinese characters,     6     enormous work for a single author of his time. It mixes     7     (detail) of geography, botany and local history with the ratings of the Ming Dynasty lodgings (住宿).

“On the surface, Xu's travel can neither be classified as great affairs of state     8     great undertakings that changed the course of history.” writes the cultural historian Zheng Peikai. “Xu traveled to satisfy his own     9    (curious) — he traveled for the sake of traveling.”

Xu Xiake traveled across China for 34 years. Perhaps his     10    (great) journey was his last. At age 50, he traveled to the tropical frontiers of Yunnan. Hundreds of years later, we follow. Naturally, he is the father of Chinese backpacking.

First-time visitors to Chengdu may find it to be a city with rich cultural heritage. The emblem(标志) of a gold leaf,     1     (feature) four flying birds surrounding the sun, can be seen everywhere in the city. The emblem, which represents Chengdu,    2    (choose) as the symbol of China Cultural Heritage by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2005.

After the discovery of the Sanxingdui Ruins in the city of Guanghan in 1929,    3    was believed to be one of Sichuan’s most important archaeological finds, a 3,000-year-old gold-leaf sunbird was unearthed at the Jinsha Ruins in 2001. In 2018, Chengdu made the decision     4     (become) a world cultural city. In recent years, Chengdu’s efforts to globalize have accelerated,    5     a series of major international cultural and sports activities have been held, laying the foundation for it to build     6     into a world-famous tourist city.

Chengdu’s     7     (attract) range from giant pandas     8     the poetic legacy of the Du Fu Thatched Cottage. Hidden in thick greenery, the Temple of Marquis Wu was built as     9     memorial hall in honor of Zhuge Liang and now China’s personification of loyalty and wisdom. The city also offers a museum including a cottage modelled after the poetic descriptions of Du Fu, one of China’s     10     (great) poets, emphasizing his influence on Chinese literature.

Chinese martial arts,     1     (know) as Chinese Kungfu by most foreigners, is a traditional Chinese physical activity with thousands of years of history. As a precious element of China’s cultural heritage, Chinese Kungfu has also won its fame all around the world.

The origin of Chinese Kungfu, according to some historical records and antique discoveries, can date back even     2     prehistoric times. Survival back then     3     (mean) scrambling (争夺) to take or protect food from others and animals. Kicking and boxing were a part of daily life, thus forming the     4     (early) series of Kong-fu movements and performances.

In modern times, Chinese Kungfu was first introduced abroad to the United States by Chinese-American Kungfu master Bruce Lee,     5     movements in his great movies swept American audiences off their feet. From then on, Chinese Kungfu learners can     6     (find) everywhere.

As one of film genres, Kung Fu Film has     7     (main) been produced in China, peaking in the 1970s, and has been dominated by Hong Kong action cinema. Bruce Lee is one of the famous     8     (actor). Martial arts fiction is     9     great hit for Chinese Kungfu lovers, too. Even though some novels are filmed into TV shows or movies, some people still like to read the original version, because     10     is more authentic.

Sugar painting, one symbol of traditional Chinese art, uses hot liquid sugar to create objects on a marble (大理石) or metal surface. As     1     unique art form in China, it is said to go back around 600 years ago to the Ming Dynasty. Over time, its charm is gaining more     2     (recognize) and attention.

    3     is so breathtaking about sugar painting is its production process. With hot sugar poured from a small in spoon onto a flat surface, the outline of the figure     4     (draw) with a thick stream of sugar. Then     5     (relative) thinner sugar is added to support the outline and fill in the figure of the body in     6     (combine) patterns, supported by a wooden stick. The painter has to work quickly,     7     (make) sure he gets every shape just right before the sugar cools down.

Today the chance to appreciate this classic art form is much     8     (small) than it once was, but it still has the power to amaze     9     (tourist) who come across talented street artists who make these amazing creations. Hopefully, sugar painting, whether it serves as a delicacy     10     an artistic treasure, will continue to last for generations.

The “Chuanbei Big Puppet (木偶) Show” in Nanchong, Sichuan Province,     1     (list) as an item of national intangible cultural heritage since 2006. And     2     makes this traditional performance so special is the use of life-sized puppets.

The art dates back over 300 years, and 82-year-old Li Siyuan is a     3     (recognize) master of his trade.

You can’t     4     (simple) rely on your hands to perform the big puppet show. Footwork is needed as well. The puppets, through the control of puppeteers, can dress up, light     5     candle, and even perform magical face-changing shows. Each puppet is at least 1.8 meters tall, and weighs over 20 kilograms.     6     takes skill and effort to really control them well.

“The traditional puppet, along with the ability     7     (control) it, is fast becoming a rarity in China. So,     8     (pass) this dying cultural heritage from one generation     9     the next is becoming a real challenge,” noted Li.

The good news is that the big puppet show in Nanchong is slowly gaining     10     (accept) and popularity among younger generations. Masters like Li Siyuan hope this age-old art and tradition can thrive in the modern era.