Paper cutting is a traditional Chinese art with a history of over two thousand years. It is for celebrations, festivals and home decoration, often with red color,     1     is the lucky color in China.

Paper cutting has become one of art forms since the     2     (invent) of paper in the Han Dynasty. It was popular in the royal palaces and noble houses as     3     favorite pastime (消遣) among ladies. Later, during the 7th and 13th centuries, it was     4     (wide) spread in folk festivals and celebrations.

The main tools for paper cutting are scissors and knives. For the scissor, several pieces of paper     5     (lay) together. The theme is then cut. For the knife, several layers of paper are put on a soft foundation     6     (consist) of a mixture of tallow and ashes.

Arts come from life and serve life, so     7     (do) paper cutting. The bright red, green or light blue paper cuttings are often used     8     (add) merry atmosphere to the festivals or celebrations.     9     they are often found in wedding ceremonies or festivals in China. Today, people often like to decorate their windows, walls, mirrors, lanterns and doors with       10     (color) paper-cuts. In Chinese culture, it can reflect many aspects of life, such as prosperity, health, or harvest.

At a pottery workshop in Qicun Township in east China’s Shandong Province, more than 50 workers are making pottery items. After being processed through 72 complex steps, the products will be sold to     1    (place) across the country and even to European countries.

The pottery craft in Qicun Township enjoys     2     history of over 7,000 years. According to Xiang Biao,     3     is a sixth-generation inheritor (继承人) of the pottery craft in his family, the Xiang family has kept alive the     4    (tradition) pottery craft through generations of efforts. In 2013, the Xiang pottery workshop     5    (list) as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) protection unit in Shandong.

“The inheritors of the Xiang family have not only carried forward the ancient techniques from their ancestors, but also made breakthroughs in the     6    (select) of raw materials, product usability, innovations and research on the formula (配方) of the pottery products. We have the ability     7     (make) over 500 kinds of pottery products,” said Xiang Biao.

Over the years, Xiang Biao and his team     8    (carry) out huge improvements to the kilns (窑), making them more environmentally friendly and energy-saving. They have also breathed new life into the pottery products by adding new elements     9     them.

Xiang Biao’s team can make and sell more than 200,000 pottery items a year,     10    (achieve) annual sales of $581,500. His business has helped more than 50 rural workers secure jobs.

An academic exchange event     1     (title)“China’s Four Great Discoveries in the 20th Century” was held at the National Library of China. Experts said Oracle Bones(甲骨文), the Juyan Bamboo Slips (竹简), Dunhuang Literature and the Files of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are China’s four greatest discoveries,    2     need to be better promoted in modern China.

The event aimed     3     (explore) the academic value and cultural influence of ancient Chinese texts. It also     4     (seek) to highlight their vital role in the     5     (preserve) and protection of civilization, while making people have confidence     6     Chinese culture and history. The event gave     7     unique view on the evolution of Chinese writing and literature, and is the first one that displays the four parts as a whole. It has contributed     8     (significant) to China’s academic and cultural history. “China’s Four Great Discoveries in the 20th Century” meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people,    9     (bring) together valuable cultural treasures from     10     (variety) locations.

With roots     1     (date) back thousands of years, Chinese seals (印章) are more than just a unique image; they are symbolic of identity, status, and culture. A Chinese seal is a seal or stamp used to mark important documents, pieces of art, contracts, or any other item that     2    (require) a signature.

The seal was first created in 221 BC. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered his first imperial (皇帝的) seal to be carved using beautiful white jade (玉).     3     (call) the“Xi”, the imperial seal was only used by those in power. It wasn’t until the Ming and Qing dynasties     4     the seal’s usage moved from the imperial to the personal, due to the     5     (expand) of arts. Artists began using a stylized seal carving of their names to mark ownership of their works.     6     (individual) also began using a personalized stamp for important documents. These non-official stamps were called “Yin”.

    7    (typical), the seals are carved into stone, but they can also     8     (make) of wood, bamboo, or bone. Seals are carved in one of two ways: the material is carved away from the character, leaving a red ink outline when used on paper,     9     the character is carved into the material, leaving the character     10    white among a red background.

10 . Popular topics during 2023 Spring Festival

Currently, 17 provincial-level regions in China have begun the use of digital yuan, or e-CNY. The Tianjin branch of China Construction Bank has also launched a digital yuan promotion activity, offering discounts of up to 50 percent to those who spend digital yuan on shopping during the Spring Festival holiday.

The first month of 2023 took a giant leap and became the highest-earning January of all time in China, selling a total of 201 million tickets for 10 million screenings in over 10,000 cinemas. Insiders said people started a new custom of going to cinemas during the Spring Festival and China’s improvement of COVID-19 control measures further made the January box-office earnings rise.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said the tourism market recovers remarkably, with an increase of 23.1% compared to the same period last year. As for the income of the domestic tourism industry, travel data showed Chengdu, Shanghai and Guangzhou were the top 3 domestic destinations. It is also said that more than 2.3 million people have crossed the border, with 1.2 million entering and 1.1 million exiting.

Why? Legend has it that the cat and the rat were riding across a river on an ox to win the last seat in the zodiac (生肖) when the rat pushed the cat into the water and won the race. However, in the Vietnamese version — where there was no rabbit — the cat could swim and ended up arriving first. Funny as the story is, the change actually has something to do with language misunderstanding, as the word tied to the sign of the rabbit and pronounced mao (卯) is similar to mèo, the Vietnamese word for cat.