3 . The Cheongsam, also known as Qipao, evolved from the Manchu female’s changpao of the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu ethnic people were also called the Qi people by the Han people in the Qing Dynasty, hence the name. The history of this clothing reflects the rise of the modern Chinese women in the twentieth century.

In 1920s, the cheongsam flourished in Shanghai. Through the 1930s and 1940s it constantly changed, highlighting the femininity（女子气质） of Chinese women in metropolitan cities. The dress got more fitted and body-hugging, with some daring designs featuring side slits （开衩） that reached up to the thigh. It’s customary to pair the dress with high heels. Women tried different fastenings, pipings, and collars, as well as short sleeves, long sleeves, and sleeveless cheongsams. Traditional silks were replaced with cheaper, contemporary textiles. In terms of design, the traditional flower patterns remained widespread, but geometric and art deco patterns also gained popularity.

The cheongsam has heavily influenced designers in high fashion. The Metropolitan Museum of Art did a whole exhibit in 2015 on how Chinese culture influenced world fashion called “Through the Looking Glass”. Elements of cheongsam were even seen in the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Celebrities such as Anne Hathaway and Grace Kelly have been seen wearing a cheongsam.

Today Chinese people seldom wear a cheongsam in their daily life. It is used as a uniform at restaurants and hotels and on airplanes in Asia. Formal occasions such as weddings, parties or banquet dinners, and seasonal celebrations such as Lunar New Year are appropriate times to wear a cheongsam. And the dress is a frequent choice of wear during diplomatic visits.

In 2018, a white girl in a high school in Utah wore a cheongsam to her ball and posted photos online that caused an uproar in the US for cultural appropriation （文化挪用）, opening a huge debate on cultural appreciation versus appropriation. However, netizens in China had a different viewpoint. “I am very proud to have our culture recognized by people in other countries,” said a user on WeChat, “She looks beautiful in it!” they said.

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.

World Olive (橄榄) Tree Day takes place     1     26th November every year. It was established     2     (official) at the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2019.The olive tree, especially the olive branch, holds an important place in people’s mind. Since ancient times, it     3     (symbolize) peace, harmony and     4     (wise) .It is important not just to the countries     5     these noble trees grow but also to people and communities worldwide.

Protecting and growing the olive tree is     6     increasingly urgent thing as the world fights against climate change. The conservation of cultural and natural heritage is one of UNESco’s     7     (center) goals, and marking World Olive Tree Day strengthens the efforts to achieve it.

World Olive Tree Day is set up     8     (encourage) the protection of the olive tree and stress the values it symbolizes,     9     (inspire) people to appreciate its important social, cultural, economic and environmental significance to humans.

There is much to learn, share and celebrate on World Olive Tree Day, and UNESCO encourages everyone to participate in     10     (activity) such as debates, conferences, cultural events and exhibitions organized worldwide.

French disaster epic Notre-Dame on Fire hits Chinese big screen

This April marks the     1     (four) anniversary of Notre-Dame in Paris being engulfed by the biggest blaze in its history.

NotreDame on Fire, now in Chinese cinemas, is a disaster epic     2     veteran French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud, who also helmed Wolf Totem(2015), a drama film     3     (adapt) from Chinese writer Jiang Rong’s eponymous novel. The film made its China premiere on April 6 in Beijing in the presence of France’s Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak and the director.

Presenting a blow-by-blow recreation of the gripping events that     4     (happen) on April 15, 2019 when the fire at the French medieval catholic cathedral rocked France and shocked the whole world, Annaud’s new film hails the heroic people who put their lives on     5     line to accomplish the awe-inspiring rescue. Annaud unveiled the filming details of the film to the audience     6     (attend) the China premiere.

“It was a     7     (danger) movie. The actors were actually very close to the extremely violent fire, 1,200-degree Fahrenheit fire. There are very few digital special effects. Almost all of what you have seen are     8     (identical) reconstructed sets that I set on fire,” he said.

“When I saw this movie in Paris last year, it took me a few hours     9     I could breathe and walk normally on the street,” said Malak at the film’s China premiere.

The French minister announced that 2024 will be the France-China Year of Culture and Tourism and she invited Chinese tourists to travel to France for the occasion, especially to see the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris,     10     , after almost six years of extensive renovations, is scheduled to reopen to the public in December of the same year.

Huizhou heritage comes to life

It was a natural choice for veteran Huang Yu, after serving in the army and owning a business in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for years, to go back to his hometown in Xidi village, Huangshan, Anhui province, in 2016. He took over the homestay his parents opened when he was a middle school student.

In 2000, Xidi and the nearby Hongcun village were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO for their outstanding     1     of rural architecture dating to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Now, walking along the bluestone streets in Xidi or Hongcun, visitors can appreciate the distinctive Huizhou-style houses,     2     white walls, dark tiles and layered horse-head gables, and feel like they are immersed in a traditional Chinese ink painting.

This level of preservation could not be achieved without the participation of local residents. According to Huang, this awareness is not new - since all streets and alleys in Xidi are paved with bluestone,     3    , street dealers carrying wares on shoulder poles were forbidden from letting their poles touch the ground in order to protect the bluestone.

A local folk     4     says: “One is not lucky to be born in Huizhou. At 13 or 14 he is kicked out of his hometown to make a living.” It     5     at the struggles once endured by the people of Huizhou. Toward the end of the Ming Dynasty, a group of Huizhou merchants became famous, trading in salt, wood and tea, and working as pawnbrokers (当铺老板) with a reputation for     6     and honesty.

“Some folk customs have been retained and newly     7     toward tourism, offering glimpses into the lives of the ancient Huizhou people.”These customs are revived as a demonstration for tourists, and to maintain the     8     of traditional culture. Zhang Wangnan, director of the China Huizhou Culture Museum in Huangshan says “This     9     the combination of intangible with tangible cultural heritage.”

He further suggests that the old Huizhou villages explore and find their own unique, marketable themes. “Each of them should find a     10    local feature, whether it is tea, chrysanthemum or rapeseed flowers, and then make it the theme of the village, so that they can give full play to their distinctive cultural charm.”