1 . On April 18—the International Day for Monuments and Sites, China Daily’s digital employee Yuanxi and Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes’ official virtual cartoon figure Jiayao together introduced an interactive digital platform that hosts a virtual copy of the Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave(藏经洞) to the world.

The platform was developed jointly by the Dunhuang Academy and the Chinese tech firm Tencent. It uses gaming technologies to show the historical scenes of the Library Cave in the digital world.

The Library Cave in Mogao Grottoes was discovered in 1900, with more than 60,000 cultural relics dating from the 4th century to the 11th century unearthed. It was one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.

On the platform, visitors can role-play and “time travel” to ancient dynasties and talk with eight historical figures. The public can enter the platform through the Digital Dunhuang website and its WeChat mini program.

In the digital age, the model of “culture+technology” has been introduced to promote the development of Chinese culture. The digitalization rate of China’s precious cultural relics is now over 70 percent, according to the 2022 China Digital Collection Industry Research Report released by iResearch.

Institutions such as the Palace Museum have also started online digital services of their own. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology allows the public to view the interior of the buildings through the Palace Museum’s WeChat mini program.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has also encouraged the development and transformation of cultural intellectual property(知识产权) by digital means. China Central Television has created a series of digital collections with different Dunhuang themes, such as the Dunhuang divine deer(神鹿) Youyou. It was created based on the image of the nine-colored deer from Dunhuang murals(壁画). The public can see the divine deer on CCTV’s own digital platform.

Digital collections cater to the consumption habits of young people, who grow up in the information age. They not only protect the intellectual property of the collections but also bring the public closer to China’s “excellent traditional culture”, noted Dunhuang Art Institute.

Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy, told Xinhua that more efforts will be made to explore new forms for showing cultural relics and offer the public greater cultural experiences to develop Dunhuang culture.

6 . Major Snow, the 21st solar term of the year, begins this year on Dec 7 and ends on Dec 20, marking the start of the season. It begins when the sun reaches the celestial longitude (天文经度) of 255° and ends when it reaches 270°     1    , so it is named Major Snow.

By the start of Major Snow, most of China has already seen the start of winter.     2    . At this time of year, the snow gradually settles in the Yellow River Basin. In far north there is heavy snow; while in the south, it is mild with less rainfall.

    3    . Snow adds warmth and wetness to the winter wheat, preventing dry air in winter. It can also store and lock in water needed for the following year, and it kills off bacteria and pests which decreases the risk of disease.

During Major Snow, people often eat jujube cakes, made from red jujube dates (枣) which are rich in vitamin C, protein, calcium, iron, vitamins and other nutrients.     4    . Jujube dates not only replenish (补充) the spleen and stomach, but also protect the liver, increase muscle strength, and are said to be anti-aging. Because of their affordable price and high nutritional content, jujube cakes are popular all over China at this time of year.

In some areas, cured meats become a specialty product, as a way to store meat over the winter months. As the saying goes, small snow seals the ground, heavy snow seals the river.     5    .

Major Snow is an excellent season for people to replenish their bodies. There is another saying, “Replenishing your body in winter means you will be strong enough to fight a tiger in early spring.”

7 . Britain is divided into different areas. Britain is one of the most diverse nations in Europe with over 250 different languages being spoken in London alone. With such a various culture, adapting to it can be a challenge for anyone.     1    .

Forget the stereotypes (陈旧观念). Many of the long-formed stereotypes simply have nothing to do with Britain today. Don’t think that everyone enjoys drinking tea or beer. Abandoning some old ideas of people and culture will allow you to be more open-minded and easily get into the culture.

    2    . Britain is made up of different regions that have their different traditions and languages. Understanding different cultures will help you avoid making mistakes.

Get used to small spaces. Like all European nations, Britain does not have the luxury of space. Houses, apartments and cars are all smaller.     3    .

    4    . Always apologize for knocking into someone, even if it is his fault. Respect people’s personal space and always wait in line. Bill Bryson’s book Notes from a Small Island is filled with useful tips.

Accept the jokes.     5    . Kidding, teasing, and “taking the mick” are all ways to describe making fun of someone but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Playing tricks on someone is a common way to show affection. As Britons usually put it, “You never make fun of someone you don’t like.”

At the foot of the Tianshan Mountain sit two ancient fortress (要塞) towns, showing the power of the Qing Dynasty hundreds of years ago. The fortress towns are located in Barkol Kazak Autonomous County, which     1     (be) close to Mongolia to the north.

Early in the 1990s, Barkol established a cultural heritage protection institution (机构) and the repair to     2    (it) two fortress towns has since become a major project. Since 2014, the Barkol government has spent 30 million yuan in     3     (repair) the towns.

The Qing emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong underwent a long battle     4    lasted for almost 70 years in Xinjiang. Barkol was then a command center and a supply base for the Qing military, so the government had the two fortress towns     5    (build) in Barkol. Today most of the ancient walls of the towns are still     6    good condition.

Over the past years, the local cultural heritage authorities have been repairing the     7    (value) relics, rebuilding the gate towers and repainting the walls, for     8     purpose of making them return to their former condition.

Nowadays, the fortress towns have become a landmark for local cultural tourism. In October 2019, they     9    (list) as national key cultural heritage sites. The towns are a symbol of the Chinese people’s     10    (determine) to preserve national unity (团结).

9 . The origins of the Christmas traditions are the most fascinating of any holiday. All our favourite activities can be traced (追溯) back to specific points in history, and knowing how these things came about just makes celebrating Christmas much more wonderful.

The original Nicholas was born in 280 A.D. in the small country of Lycia, which is now part of modern Turkey. Nicholas became first a priest (牧师) and then a bishop (主教) in the early Christian church. The first paintings of him show Nicholas wearing the clothes of a Christian bishop—red decorated with white. When we see Santa’s suit today, we’re still seeing the two kinds of colors.

Nicholas became famous for gift-giving. In the early fourth century, a story began to spread about Nicholas coming at night to the home of three poor girls who did not have money and therefore could not get married. While the girls slept, Nicholas left gold coins in their stockings, which were drying by the fire. That’s how the tradition of Santa filling stockings got its start.

In 1841, Santa first appeared at a department store in Philadelphia. This Santa tried to climb down a chimney to impress the children who were watching, but he got stuck halfway down. In 1890, department store Santas began appearing all over America, especially on the East Coast around Boston. Parents in other countries joined together and hired passenger trains to take their families to see these Santas.

At the same time, Ralph E. Morris of the New England Telephone Company suggested that strings of lights be hung on Christmas trees. After all, lights would be much safer than candles. Our modern-day image of Santa as a fat man is based on ads of the Coca-Cola company in the 1930s. Artist Hans Sundblom used a retired salesman named Les Prentice as his model.