1 . Nowadays, it is common to see people wearing Hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group, at parks and attractions. More and more people are falling in love with Hanfu culture. The development of Hanfu culture has witnessed (见证) numerous changes in recent years and is taking on various forms.

Zhang Xiaomin has been a fan of Hanfu for five years now. Thanks to the popularity of social media, she can easily learn the latest trends and knowledge about Hanfu online now. “People used to only collect or appreciate Hanfu privately,” Zhang said. “But now it has moved to the mass market.” In the past, many people had the misunderstanding that “Han” refers to the Han Dynasty. Now more people are knowledgeable about Hanfu, and even expert in distinguishing (区分) the differences in Hanfu from different dynasties.

Miss Tang has also noticed a similar change. “Fans have become particular about the design and style of Hanfu,” Miss Tang said. “For advanced hobbyists, those seemingly fairy-like Hanfu dresses are not enough, since this style has been adapted to meet the tastes of the masses. They care more about how original Hanfu style are, like Quju (曲裾) and Mamianqun or ‘horse-face skirts’, which look more serious and complicated.”

The development of Hanfu has also triggered (引发) different events. You Gancheng has been in Hanfu circles for 13 years. “The Hanfu festival that a museum held in April offered many interesting activities like lectures, ceremonies, concerts and fairs,” she said. “Hanfu culture weeks, festivals and academic forums all provide platforms for fans to communicate.”

The rise of Hanfu culture also means the birth of an emerging business. Miss Cang has been running a Hanfu store for four years. The store provides Hanfu rental and photography services. “Many international schools now come to us for Hanfu events on traditional holidays,” Miss Cang said. Her store also actively participates in Hanfu festivals. “We often run a stand in Hanfu fairs, selling and displaying Hanfu we’ve designed. Sometimes we even provide Hanfu as prizes for competitions,” she said.

Old trains are very attractive and mysterious, whether it’s because of their history and their function or simply because they look so fierce and huge. Many old derailed trains have been transformed into anything like homes, art galleries and even amusement parks. As part of a recovery program to restore a failed railway, Ecuadorian design firm Al Borde transformed a tired, old train into a mobile cultural center, which they call “Wagon of Knowledge” (Vagon del Saber).

Selected by the Ecuadorian(厄瓜多尔)Ministry of Culture and Heritage, the community oriented project is to reactivate settlements along its route. After more than a decade of absence, these areas not only recover a means of communication but are enhanced economically, as the cultural promoters use the train car as an activator of public space and a meeting point for the locals. The multifunctional nature of the carriage — it is without a strictly defined architectural program and can therefore be designed flexibly — allows for musical performances, theater shows, training programs and celebrations.

The train was renovated(修复)to achieve the greatest number of uses with the minimum number of elements.

A public square and a theater with a capacity of 60-80 people, as well as work spaces for 20 users were incorporated by attaching three extensions to the train: a roof with several deployment( 部 署 )options, retractable furniture and two storage spaces — simple systems operated by the cultural romoters turn the cart into their desired requirements. Set to travel around the route, the cultural unit will begin to accumulate and facilitate new stories.

Intended to move from place to place without a strict set of limitations to define its use, it becomes something flexible that adapts to the needs of the moment, so that it “carries neither goods nor tourists, but culture and public space”. As we can see here, there are a lot of possibilities, thanks to various interchangeable components that can allow the train to shift from conference space to a performance venue in a snap.

It’s a creative way to give new life to a historically important train that was once even derailed, and to ensure that it can keep on serving the public. One more thing, people don’t have to go to this public space; it will travel to come to them.

3 . In 2015, the town of Carefree, in the USA was seeking a pumpkin carver to help their newly-planned Enchanted Pumpkin Garden Festival become an instant success. Luckily for them, the sculptor Ray Villafane fell in love with the four-acre Carefree Desert Gardens and agreed to carve pumpkins for the tourists. Then, the festival became a hit in 2015. Now the annual event, which took place from October 19-28, in 2008, includes many fun activities for both kids and adults. However, it is the pumpkin carvings that remain the star attraction.

This year, Villafane and his team reached the garden in early October to carve the popular “pickled (腌制的) pumpkins”. Placed inside tanks resembling a kind of plants to fit in with the environment, the 3D pumpkin artworks were put in a special liquid that helped preserve them for a longer period of time.

Throughout the festival, Villafane and his team also held several live demonstrations, adding to the impressive carved pumpkins on exhibition. They also volunteered to give many pumpkin-carving fans valuable tips.

Besides the wonderful carvings, guests had the chance to go into a pumpkin world, complete with tales. The tales featured pumpkin dead bodies running through the grass, and a group of helpless pumpkins attempting to free their peers imprisoned by a scary-looking figure with only bones. Then, there were the hard-working rats who were sewing a pumpkin.

The highlight of the festival came on October 27, when Villafane transformed a huge pumpkin into a dinosaur. The festival also featured activities including pie-eating matches, story-telling, face painting, and pumpkin-carving matches.

Villafane’s skill first came to light in 1993 after he sculpted a pumpkin for his students during Halloween. In 2004, while still teaching, he decided to use his skills to create action figures for Marvel Comics. Over the next two years, the artist created numerous popular characters. In 2006, Villafane accepted a full-time position about carving toys at DC Comics. In 2010, he finally decided to go after his true love—pumpkin carving. Since he first began carving, the expert has sculpted 2,576 pieces of outstanding works in 102 cities around the world.

The expert using basic carving tools for his most complex creations stands out in the festival.