3 . It’s a race against time, as generations of cultural heritage conservators at the Dunhuang Academy make a great effort to protect the artistic charm of the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, despite erosion (侵蚀) by sand and wind.

The team is devoted to protecting the 45,000 square meters of murals (壁画) and more than 2,400 painted sculptures of the 735 caves of the site, the construction of which spans about a thousand years, from the 4th century to the 14th century. The cultural relics are the product of the cultural exchanges that took place over centuries on the ancient Silk Road. “Our work, repairing murals and painted sculptures, is to better preserve the caves, which promotes the great Dunhuang spirit of inclusiveness to the world and inspires modern people,” says Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy.

Commonly seen “diseases” affecting the murals include cracking and flaking, as well as erosion that is caused by changes in temperature and humidity of the caves, and the deposition of salts. To restore a mural requires an all-rounder. Restorers should know painting, master the skills of a mason and have some knowledge of chemistry and physics, to be able to recognize the problems and their corresponding causes and deliver a solution. They must also select proper materials and tools, and conduct experiments, before formally carrying out the restoration and evaluating the effect afterward.

The restoration should respect the original work and aim to maintain the status quo of the murals rather than repainting them. When the restorers find some parts of murals missing or fading away, they never repaint them to create a “perfect” appearance in restoration. “Cultural relics are witnesses of history,” explains Su. “When you pursue the so-called intact (完好无损的) look for artistic reasons, you will lose their key meaning.”

Cave conservation is about continuously solving problems. “It needs a long-term research to better preserve the caves, over a much wider time span that goes beyond our lifetimes,” Su says. But at least, they can keep the current look of the murals for as long as possible.

4 . Culture shock is a broad term for a series of personal difficulties that people go through in new places ant is usually most extreme for those who can not speak the language of the place they have moved to or for those who aren’t familiar with the social rules. Both of these things applied to me in China when I moved there in 2011. So, naturally I went through the full well-known stages of culture shock: the honeymoon, frustration, adjustment and acceptance.

When I arrived I was excited and optimistic but I quickly became annoyed by cultural differences, missing how things worked back home.

By the end of my first year I had totally lost my self confidence and I became a bit clumsy and sensitive person and I thought it was China that made me that way.

Then in my second year I started to pick up some language skills and I found fun activities to do in my spare time. I made great foreign and Chinese friends and later I developed an interest in Chinese history and culture. Based on the above I learned to consider myself a confident and happy foreigner.

Today I’m back in the US where I’m pursuing a PhD at university in my hometown. It’s been a little tough to readjust to the life in my home country. I suffered at first from reverse culture shock, experiencing the four stages in the opposite order.

I’d complain loudly about the little things like I could no longer shout “ fu wu yuan” to get a waiter’s attention in a restaurant. But eventually I came to realize that my home had become an entirely new place when I was away. That, by itself , was exciting.

6 . Chinese Teapot Escaping from British Museum Goes Viral

Chinese state media has praised a viral video series telling the story of a jade teapot coming to life and fleeing the British Museum to make its way back home.

The set of three short videos, entitled Escape from the British Museum, shows the teapot turning into a young woman in a green dress, who then engages a London-based Chinese journalist to help her reunite with her family. It appears to have struck a chord (弦) in China after first being released by independent vloggers on Douyin. By Monday evening, it had reportedly received more than 310 million views. The plot line taps into growing Chinese criticism of the British Museum after reports last month that more than 1,500 priceless objects, including gold jewelry, semi-precious stones and glass, were missing, stolen or damaged.

In August the state media Global Times called for the return of Chinese artifacts from the museum “free of charge” in the wake of the controversy. “The huge holes in the management and security of cultural objects in the British Museum exposed by this scandal (丑闻) have led to the collapse of a long-standing and widely circulated claim that ‘foreign cultural objects are better protected in the British Museum’,” it said. It strongly supported the video series for touching on a “powerful message” about the importance of cultural heritage and reflecting “Chinese people’s desiring for the repatriation of the Chinese cultural relics.”

State broadcaster CCTV also gave the short films a glowing review saying: “We are very pleased to see Chinese young people are passionate about history and tradition... We are also looking forward to the early return of Chinese artifacts that have been displayed overseas.”

The museum scandal made headlines around the world and reawakened earlier demands by the Chinese media to restore the country’s relics. The new three-part show has triggered a wave of nationalism among viewers, with many praising the creative plot that reduced them to tears by showing how the teapot experienced the happiness of returning to China to see pandas and watch a flag-raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square.

7 . The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in a conversation may also show stubbornness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person’s needs.

Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what maybe implied is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.

Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.

Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient’s silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.

9 . Many travellers are familiar with the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. However, less is known about the organization’s List of World Heritage in Danger. It currently specifies 53 World Heritage sites under threat of “serious and specific dangers” due to factors such as climate change, armed conflict, and development pressures. The accelerated degeneration of these cultural treasures is a reality that should concern the world, since the younger generation may not have the opportunity to visit them.

For this reason, insurance company Budget Direct, and NeoMam Studios, a creative studio based in the UK, have created a series of GIFs to restore World Heritage sites and demonstrate what these ruins would have looked like if they had been preserved.

Drawing attention to sites at risk, the project aims to give everyone the opportunity to visit these sites virtually. It started with in-depth research around the sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Based on the results, the team made a selection according to two main criteria: First, they were man-made places. Second, they still had standing elements. Focusing on the selected sites, the team worked with architects Jelena Popovic and Keremcan Kirilmaz and industrial designer Erdem Batirbek to research and illustrate six of these legendary locations.

In this series of GIFs, six sites are digitally restored to their former glory. They include Hatra in Iraq, Leptis Magna in Libya, Palmyra in Syria, Portobelo-San Lorenzo in Panama, Nan Madol in the Federated States of Micronesia as well as the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls.

Time does not stand still, and neither does technology. Thanks to these photorealistic images and electronic devices, we can travel, without leaving home, to those places that, whatever their future may be, will always be part of the collective memory.

10 . The Chongyang Festival is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which is also known as the Double Ninth Festival.     1    .

Climbing mountains

People like to climb mountains during this festival. One reason is that the ninth lunar month, with clear autumn sky and clean air, is a good time for sightseeing.     2    . It is really refreshing to climb mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature at this time in autumn.

Climbing mountains also refers to “climbing to a higher position”. Another reason why climbing mountains is valued by people, especially by the elderly, is that it has a meaning of “climbing to longevity(长寿)”. Climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival was already popular in the Tang Dynasty.     3    .

Drinking the chrysanthemum flower (菊花) wine

The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique in brewing. In ancient times, people usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, and put the mixture of them and grains into the wine.     4    . The wine is said to have good effects on sharpness of the eyes, the drop in high blood pressure, loss of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity.

    5    

The Double Ninth cake is also known as the “flower cake”. It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually grew into the present cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Festival.