A traditional festival closely related to spring, which is     1     (little) known than major traditional festivals, and remained silent for centuries, comes back, thanks to growing     2     (enthusiastic) for traditional Chinese culture and a rising demand for seasonal sightseeing tours. Huazhao Festival is said     3     (celebrate) as the birthday of the flower goddess in the second month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

Its origin can date back to the period before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and was     4     (official) set as a festival during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, China Tourism News reported. During the Tang Dynasty, the festival     5     (fall) on the 15th day of the second lunar month. It was one of the three nationwide celebrations back then. The     6     two were Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.

However, the timing of the festival varies between regions, because of the difference in     7     flowering begins. As a result, many parts of the country take turns to start their celebrations,     8     (present) a feast (盛宴) for the eyes in relay. Regardless     9     various highlights, the festive celebrations across different regions share the     10     (feature) of hanfu, a traditional Chinese style of clothing, and flower appreciation.

Sitting in the shade of the grape trellises (架), 70-year-old Rehman Abdulla is carving the hard wood     1     the body of a dutar, a traditional musical instrument.

“I     2     (make) traditional musical instruments for more than 60 years, since I was a kid,” said the Uygur man. His home village of Towanki-ogusak, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomo Region, is     3     (true) remarkable for the making of traditional instruments. “More than 70 housecholds are engaged in making them,     4     (account) for one tenth of the total,” said Dong, chief of the village.

Rehman Abdulla began to teach the craft (手艺) to his son, Mamut Rehman, and other villagers several years ago. In 2021, Mamut started to sell a wide range of     5     (product), almost all the traditional instruments in the Uygur culture, on short-video platforms.

    6     (protect) the instrument-making techniques, authorities established a workshop for the craftsmen in Towanki-ogusak in 1999. With     7     (act) support from governments at all levels, the makers in the workshop receive government subsidies (补贴). In recent years, schools near Towanki-ogusak have organised after-school practical classes in the village,     8     allow students to observe the production process of traditional musical instruments and the skills that     9     (use) in playing them. “If children learn the craft at     10     early age, they can pass on these excellent cultural traditions from generation to generation,” said Dong.

In 2000, Xidi and the nearby Hongcun village     1    (declare) world heritage (遗产) sites by UNESCO for their outstanding     2     (preserve) of rural architecture dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now, walking along the bluestone streets in Xidi or Hongcun, visitors can appreciate the distinctive Huizhou-style houses,     3     (feature) white walls, dark tiles (瓦片) and horse-head gables (山墙), and feel like they are immersed in a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Huizhou architecture, with its long tradition and great diversity, occupies     4     important place in Chinese architectural landscape. Since Huizhou is a     5     (mountain) area with few flat areas of land, its houses tend to be built to match the natural features.

Huizhou is famous for its stone, wood and brick carvings, which are     6     (wide) used in the decoration of local houses. In this way, native people integrate their aesthetic values and emotions     7     the buildings, making them more beautiful and educating their children through the meanings     8     (contain) in the patterns.

Features of Huizhou houses display the characteristics of local people. “If you look at the outside of a Huizhou house, it seems enclosed (封闭的) by walls,     9     the insides are open and broad. It is just like Huizhou people,     10     are often reserved toward strangers but friendly when you get to know them,” says Zhou Hu, director of Shexian’s cultural heritage administration.

An Introduction to Dumplings

“China is a major country in the world and at the center of many developments. To study China and its language can broaden children’s minds and improve    1     (they) career prospects,” says Joan Deslandes, head teacher of Kingsford Community School in East London.

She    2     (make) the remarks at the prize-giving ceremony at London’s Chinatown for the winners of the Chinese proficiency (水平) competitions for primary- and secondary-level students. Altogether, nearly 500 British students participated in the two competitions     3     (hold) earlier this year online.

Around 140 students and teachers from 17 schools were present at the event earlier this month. They interspersed (点缀) the prize-giving ceremony with     4     (performance), including Chinese songs, traditional dances and musical instruments.

“And those were just the small number of students     5     won the competition, but behind them there are many schools     6     (teach) Chinese, and a lot of enthusiasm about having Chinese as    7     language option in this country, says Joan.

“China is playing an important part in the    8    (globe) vision. We need to equip the children     9    all the skills to stay connected as they grow up. That involves language and cultural understanding. And in terms of prospects for employability, knowing the Chinese language and being able to communicate    10     (efficient) with people from China can only benefit the young people of this country,“ she adds.

10 . Accompanied by typical Jin opera music, a red-faced performer with a long beard showed up at the hall of a high school in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. All the students in the hall stood up and craned (伸长) their necks to get a better look. In their eyes, Jin opera was something from the past.

They are not alone. It goes without saying that kids nowadays are much more familiar with popular music than traditional opera, which is why performing artist Wu Lingyun, together with his colleagues, goes to campuses to promote the art.

Wu Lingyun is best known for his role as Guan Gong, a general during the late Han Dynasty period.

Wu began playing the role in 1985, at the age of 21, and has been associated with it ever since.

Wu was significantly influenced by his parents, both of whom are also famous Jin opera performers. With a natural talent for performing and great effort, Wu was soon recognized by audiences and later awarded the Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award in 2000, the highest award for Chinese drama performing arts.

Given Wu’s considerable fame, one might think he would now prefer to enjoy a life of leisure. However, this is far from the case. Deep down, Wu has a big dream. He pictures a growing future for Jin opera. Wu expected more chances for more people to get to know about the art, hoping Jin opera could become a worldwide art.

Wu has also made some changes to the traditional art to bring it up-to-date.“Jin opera should keep pace with the times if we want to bring it back to life and get the young generation to accept it,“ he says. “An art without life can never survive”“